Entangled Worlds

For
more than a millennium, ancient Persia and the classical Mediterranean were
deeply intertwined-not merely through conflict but also through diplomacy,
trade, and cultural exchange. From the rise of the Achaemenid Empire in the
sixth century BCE to the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the twilight of Sasanian
Persia in 651 CE, political, religious, and artistic exchanges shaped-and
were shaped by-the dynamic interactions between ancient Persia, Greece, and
Rome. These encounters fostered a complex web of cultural connectivity,
challenging the notion of antiquity as a series of isolated civilizations and
revealing its deep, enduring entanglements.

Bringing the
disciplines of classics, Iranian studies, and global history into dialogue,
this volume examines how successive Iranian empires-Achaemenid, Seleucid,
Arsacid (Parthian), and Sasanian-engaged with their western (and occasionally
eastern) neighbors. Essays on diplomacy, religion, art, and intellectual life
offer fresh perspectives on ancient historiography, cross-cultural
mythmaking, material and visual culture, and the political and religious
dynamics of empire. Featuring more than 100 illustrations,
Entangled Worlds is a compelling
resource for scholars, students, and general readers interested in the shared
legacies of the ancient world.