Descent and Marriage in Achaemenid Iran
Descent and Marriage in Achaemenid Iran
The fourth lecture begins by examining the use of ethnos and genos in Herodotus’ discussion of Median and Persian ‘tribes.’ It then turns to the genealogy of Darius I; Xerxes’ succession; Sisigambis’ filiation and descent; cross-cousin and parallel cousin marriage in the Achaemenid royal families; uncle-niece marriage; and brother-sister incest.
About the Speaker
Daniel Potts is Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and History in the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW) at New York University. He received his AB (1975) and PhD (1980) in Anthropology from Harvard University, specializing in Near Eastern archaeology. He taught previously at the Freie Universität Berlin (1981-86), the University of Copenhagen (1980-81, 1986-1991) and the University of Sydney (1991-2012), where he held the Edwin Cuthbert Hall Chair of Middle Eastern Archaeology. His main areas of interest are greater Iran, Mesopotamia, and the Persian Gulf, and as a field archaeologist he has conducted numerous excavations, among others in Iran and Turkey. He is a Corresponding Member of the German Archaeological Institute and ISMEO (Associazione Internazionale di Studi sul Mediterraneo e l’Oriente), and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
Citation
Potts, Daniel. "Descent and Marriage in Achaemenid Iran," The Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series. March 9, 2020
About the Speaker
Daniel T. Potts
New York University
Daniel T. Potts is Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and History at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University. A member of the Harvard team that excavated Tepe Yahya in the 1970s, and co-director of the Iranian-Australian team at Tol-e Nurabad, Tol-e Spid, and Qaleh Kali (2003–2010), he has worked on many aspects of Iranian archaeology and history, from prehistory to the Qajar era.