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5 results

  • The Ancient Iranian Perception of Cyrus the Great

  • A. Mani Irannejad
  • Journal:
    Iranian Studies / Volume 56 / Issue 2 / April 2023
    Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    16 September 2022, pp. 231-253
    Print publication:
    April 2023
    • Article
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  • While the only surviving legends of Cyrus the Great are found in Graeco-Roman sources, such sources ultimately speak to the varied views of Cyrus in Achaemenid Iran. Following a survey of the historical conditions leading to the rise of the Persian Empire under Cyrus and its consolidation under Darius, this article explores the characteristics of western Iranian historiography of the Median “state” and dawn of the Persian Empire in the Achaemenid period. This article argues that the Median and Iranian orientation of the Achaemenid Empire from the time of Darius provided the grounds for the infusing of Young Avestan myths and legends in western Iran. In particular, this article investigates parallels between stories of Cyrus the Great and those of Kauui Haosrauuah (Kay Khosrow); an investigation that points to the assimilation of the former with the latter that likely began in the Achaemenid period and later led to a two-way interaction of legends about these figures. In addition, this article also explores the Iranian tradition's depiction of Alexander and his association with Kay Khosrow, which is similar to his association with Cyrus the Great in western sources and may further show Cyrus the Great's assimilation with the Iranian tradition through his identification with Kay Khosrow.

  • 23 - Zengids, Ayyubids and Seljuqs

  • Edited by David Luscombe, University of Sheffield, Jonathan Riley-Smith, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    14 October 2004, pp 721-752

  • Summary

    For thirty years by 1063, Nizam al-Mulk devoted every effort to shaping the jerry-built Seljuqid political enterprise into a centralized absolutist monarchy. The decadence of Seljuqid power in western Iran after the death of Ma'sud coincided with the collapse of Seljuqid rule in the East. In 1078 Malikshah's brother Tutush conquered Syria, but from the outset the latter's ambitions were not easy to restrain. The occupation of Damascus reunified Syria for the first time since the death of Tutush, and the way in which unity was achieved ensured that Nur al-Din could exploit the city's military and fiscal resources with no fear of rebellion. In the eyes of Nur al-Din and Saladin, the Isma ʾilis interpretation of Islam espoused by the Fatimids was flagrantly heretical. The Ayyubids had had their eye on Mesopotamia and Mosul since Saladin's time, and in any case it made sense to pre-empt any efforts at a Zengid revanche in Mesopotamia and north Syria.

  • 8 - ALEXANDER IN IRAN

  • Edited by I. Gershevitch
  • Book:
    The Cambridge History of Iran
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    06 June 1985, pp 420-501

  • Summary

    Alexander's conquest is a turning-point in the history of Iran, and although a full treatment of Alexander would be out of place here, an attempt will be made to select what is most relevant within the context of that history. Alexander did not stay to organize Egypt, but at once went to the Western Desert, to consult the oracle of Ammon at Siwah, long known and respected in Greece. The Indian campaign took less than two years, covering a remarkable amount of territory unknown to the Greek world in that time, in climatic conditions which even the hardened Macedonians soon found burdensome. Alexander divided the army, sending Hephaestion and Perdiccas along the main route with one part, while he took a more difficult northerly route himself, a strategic idea similar to his invasion of Fārs. Imitation of heroes, Achilles, Heracles, Dionysus, had always been part of Alexander's personality.

  • 21 - METALWORK AND GLYPTIC

  • Edited by I. Gershevitch
  • Book:
    The Cambridge History of Iran
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    06 June 1985, pp 856-869

  • Summary

    Without a body of material from controlled excavations in western Iran on sites of the 7th and early 6th centuries BC the special character of Median metalwork is still largely a matter of surmise. Men and women throughout the Achaemenian Empire wore a rich variety of personal ornaments. For the 4th century the astonished comments of classical authors indicate the magnificent spoils which fell to Alexander the Great in the treasuries of Babylon, Persepolis, Susa and Ecbatana, where precious metals were often hoarded in the shape of vessels. What little evidence there is for the technology of fine metalwork in the Achaemenian Empire largely comes from Egypt. Throughout the Achaemenian period glass factories in Syria and Mesopotamia were producing multi-coloured glass beads, amulets, inlays and cored vessels in a manner and to patterns long established in the region. In Iran from prehistoric times engraved seals had been used to impress clay tags and tablets with marks of property and authority.

  • 18 - ARABIC LITERATURE IN IRAN

  • Edited by R. N. Frye
  • Book:
    The Cambridge History of Iran
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    26 June 1975, pp 566-594

  • Summary

    Arabic literature in Iran can be traced from the 1st/7th century onwards, it is nevertheless true that for the first two centuries or so the sources available are scanty and widely dispersed in later works. Yet during the Umayyad epoch Arabic literature in Iran was not much different from what obtained elsewhere in the Muslim world. Nevertheless, the hold of the Arabs over their empire and the identification of Islam with Arabism persisted down to the end of the Umayyads. Other genres of Arabic literature appear in the early 'Abbāsid period. Iran saw two important dynasties arise on its soil in the 4th/10th century: the Būyids, who ruled in the south and also in Iraq, and the Sāmānids, who ruled in the east from their court at Bukhārā. Like the Būyids in the south and west of Iran, the Sāmānids were also great patrons of the arts and sciences.