After a first phase of dynamic expansion the Great Kings changed into a kind of ‘diplomatic policy’, particularly known from the western edge of the Achaemenid empire. Since Xerxes I…
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Within his accounts of Greco-Persian hostilities in Asia Minor Herodotos relates burning of a number of temples, among them two major ones, of Kubaba in Sardis and of Apollo in…
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This contribution addresses issues related to how the book of Esther is applied in ancient historiography. Due to the fictional character of the book, it is hard to find points…
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This paper investigates the early development of the Zoroastrian fire temples in Central Asia. Utilizing the latest archaeological discoveries in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the paper argues that Central Asia witnessed…
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The region around Nippur was literally clustered with urban settlements until about the end of the first half of the 2nd Millennium BC, followed by a supposed depopulation at the…
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One key to the success of the Achaemenid empire was the subtle art of controlling local narratives, beliefs, and perspectives within the lands of its imperial expansion. In some cases,…
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The aim of this talk is the reconsideration and in-depth analysis of a key office in first millennium BCE Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia. Associated with several different designations – AGRIG,…
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In the late decades of the sixth century B.C., the founding fathers of the Achaemenid Persian Empire conceived and created exceptional centers of power. New styles of monumental architecture and…
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Empires continue to be associated with power and imperialism in the first place. However, as Walter Scheidel once observed: “It is unnecessary and unhelpful to examine claims and ideologies associated…
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The talk sets the Achaemenid-Persian Empire in its historical contexts with a special perspective on the imperial turn. It sketches the major historical developments from Neo-Assyrian through Seleucid times and…
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