"Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire" Published

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sean_m
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"Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire" Published

Post by sean_m »

My first book is coming out from Franz Steiner Verlag this month: "Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire: Past Approaches, Future Prospects." Its the first book on Achaemenid armies since 1992, and the first written by someone who can read any ancient Near Eastern language.

It contains most of what was in my free-to-read PhD thesis, as well as:
- New material on archaeology, cuneiform and biblical sources, and artwork
- English translations of all long quotes from languages other than English
- Three maps covering most of the cities and archaeological sites mentioned
- Two illustrations of period artwork
- Indices of sources cited, words in ancient languages, and people, places, and technical terms
- Extensively revised footnotes and bibliography

There is not as much material on the fourth century BCE as some members of pothos might wish, because there are fewer indigenous sources than on the period down to 486 BCE. What there is is a way of thinking about armed force under the Teispids and Achaemenids, and of using all kinds of sources (documents, art, archaeology, comparative evidence, and Greek and Latin literature) like we use in Roman Army Studies. So if that way of thinking is convincing, you can use it to think about cataphracts and kardakes and Darius III in more depth than I had time and space for.

You can find more information at http://www.steiner-verlag.de/titel/9783515127752.html

Financial times are hard for most of us, and these books with a run of a few hundred copies are not as cheap as something from Pen & Sword. If you are interested but can't afford 74 Euros + s&h, you could request that your public or university library order it (usually they have a requests form) or get a free copy in exchange for reviewing it for a magazine like Slingshot or an academic journal (contact the magazine or journal).
My blog (Warning: may contain up to 95% non-Alexandrian content, rated shamelessly philobarbarian by 1 out of 1 Plutarchs)
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