Robert Rollinger: An Afro-Eurasian “Hyperpower” and Its Ancient Near Eastern Roots
This lecture is part 1 of 4 of the 2022 Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series, delivered by Robert Rollinger on the theme, “The Achaemenid Persian World Empire.”
Abstract
An Afro-Eurasian “Hyperpower” and Its Ancient Near Eastern Roots (First Millennium BCE)
The lecture focuses on the structure, genesis, and historical setting of the Achaemenid Empire. It discusses major aspects of the royal ideology, the position of the Great King, and the Empire’s resilience in periods of crisis.
About the Speaker
Robert Rollinger
University of Innsbruck
Robert Rollinger is Professor of Ancient History and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the Leopold-Franzens University of Innsbruck. His main research areas are the history of the Ancient Near East and the Achaemenid Empire, contacts between the Aegean World and the Ancient Near East, ancient historiography, and the comparative history of empires. Recent publications include Imperien in der Weltgeschichte. Epochenübergreifende und globalhistorische Vergleiche (co-edited; 2014), Mesopotamia in the Ancient World. Impact, Continuities, Parallels (co-edited; 2015), Alexander und die großen Ströme. Die Flussüberquerungen im Lichte altorientalischer Pioniertechniken (2013), Short-term Empires in World History (co-edited; 2020), A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, 2 volumes (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) (co-edited; 2021), Empires to be Remembered (Studies in Universal and Cultural History) (co- edited; 2022) or Decline, Erosion and Implosion of Empires (Studies in Universal and Cultural History) (co-edited; 2022).