History is generally written by the victors; thus, attempting to come to a coherent understanding of a foe, especially one deemed "the other," can prove challenging. Such is especially true about the Achaemenid Persians.

The author has set out to write a history of the Persians which attempts to distance itself from the self-congratulating Greek narratives about who the Persians were and what they were about, instead attempting to let the Persians tell their own story based on inscriptional and archaeological evidence from the ancient Near East.

The author sets forth the story of the Persians from their arrival on the Iranian plains until Darius the Great; he then spends time talking about Persian religion, culture, court, harem, slavery, and other cultural aspects; he then tells the story from Xerxes until the end of the empire at the hands of Alexander the Great. The epilogue details modern Iran's relationship with the Achaemenid heritage.

The goal of de-centering Greek witness is commendable even if impractical: the author is still forced to grapple with the Greek sources at almost every opportunity because of the paucity of other source. Nevertheless, he does well to elevate our view and understanding of the Persians: they did create the first world empire worthy of the name, established greater stability than was seen before with the Assyrians/Babylonians or after under the Seleucids; developed a bureaucratic system which would become the model for all future world empires; and maintained their strength throughout, falling prey to a brilliant and powerful Alexander. The author notes, and it is worth the reminder, that the Persians are spoken of favorably in the Old Testament, even though there did seem to be a couple of rebellions in Judea that could have caused great distress.

While it is important to not allow the Greeks to define the way we understand the Persians, we must also remember that the Achaemenid Persians presented themselves the way they wanted to be seen. Yes, the Greek invasions were probably not as significant to the Persians as they were to the Greeks, but that does not mean they are insignificant; relative Persian silence may actually be rather deafening. Why the author feels the need to be apologetic about the slave system in Persia is historically baffling; of course there were slaves, as there were in the previous and future empires. Doesn't make it right or good, of course; but it comes with the territory.

Nevertheless, it is a recently updated history of the Persians, which is always good to have, and provides a good perspective. Recommended.

Western understanding of Persian/Iranian history has been greatly influenced by what was reported by outsiders (namely the Greeks who largely sought to demonize the empire with whom they fought several wars). This text tries to balance the account … purportedly using Persian sources. It is not a textbook though … the history is told in a narrative style that brings together a number of differing sources to build a “presumed’ context in the absence of specific details … such as describing how an individual might be dressed for the occasion … these rather intimate vignettes are fairly interesting, at least until the author’s bias hits you right between the eyes with pejorative descriptors (such as pedestrian, et al.) applied to the Greeks that serve no academic function and detracts from the expected rational exposition of “a history.” This obvious bias detracts from the over all scholarship that presents significant details about how the Persian court/government operates that now come across more as an apology that a recounting of facts. The author even justified Darius fleeing for his life in several engagements against Alexander as motivated by his desire to “save” his legacy and not because he was a coward abandoning his armies. Frankly the brutality of the Persian court was appalling to western/modern sensibilities and I had to wonder and the author’s defense against the Greek perception of moral decadence with references imperial power and force of armies as if the two were mutually exclusive. Over all, it seems we get a history almost as equally flawed as what we get from Herodotus … who was the author’s favorite target.

I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#Persians #NetGalley.

There was a need for such a book to look at Persian history beyond the main commentaries coming from Rome and Greece. Some of the statements are a bit strangely specific as if the author was present in person during the events described, But in general, I liked it and recommend it. I like the author's style and so far Persian sources.

I really, really wanted to love this book.

(That, children, is called 'foreshadowing'. You can almost see the BUT looming behind those words.)

A book that's basically the postcolonialist version of Persian history we've all been waiting for! A view on Persian history that's not just repeating the Greek and Roman commentaries that were absolutely written with a very particular perspective! YES PLEASE. And even more when the Llewellyn-Jones makes the acerbic comment in the introduction about how the concept of European superiority can be dated back to Herodotus etc and the way they presented the terrifying East. So yes, let's have a version of Persian history that is largely based on Persian sources, or uses the Greek sources very carefully - to find the Persian reality behind the Greek propaganda.

And it starts so well. There's a discussion about Persia vs Iran as a name - and I'm not sure whether his explanation of the political nuances there are accurate, so I defer to others on that, but it seemed to make sense within what I do know. There's a discussion about the archaeological activities that give historians what they know from Persepolis etc, and a candid admission about the lack of sources. The Persian history proper starts with a discussion of the movement of different peoples into the area we know today as Iran, and some speculation about how they interacted etc. Then it moves into discussing the development of the Persian empire as empire, and interaction with the Medes. All of this section was intriguing and the use of inscriptions was well done. I did start to get a bit uncomfortable about the lack of reference to other sources - like other historians; I understand that getting the balance of what can seem to be most approachable, and what can seem too scholarly, may revolve around footnotes etc but... there's just no way the author didn't use other references.

I also started to get a bit uncomfortable when the author claimed that Cyrus' mother "delighted in singing Median nursery rhymes to him" (p60 of the e-version), because that seems... weirdly specific? And then I got to the description of him as "lean and good-looking in that way that Persian men are uniquely handsome" (p63 of the e-version) and I had to stop and blink and decide whether to laugh or cry. What happened to treating the Persians as real people and not exoticising them, which I thought was part of the postcolonial agenda? I also have a problem with the statement that "A society that requires such codes of respectful behaviour" (obeisance before the monarch, etc) "is very likely to have autocratic political organisation, characterised by the coercive power of a king" (pp194-5). It just seems too blanket a statement.

And then! We have Darius' half-sister and wife described as "a Lady Macbeth-like villainess, hellbent on power and ruthless in her bloody ambition" (p288) and I really started to wonder whether it was now a different author, or if he had been to sexy the book up. Next we have "years of adoration and unnaturally demonstrative mother love meant that [Darius] was self-centred, cruel, vindictive, and brutal" (p292); and that mothers experience "that particular twang of jealousy... when their sons give their hearts to other women" (p294). In case we worried that it was about misogyny, we then have a eunuch described as "a veritable creature of the court" (uh, eunuchs who are made eunuchs to BE at court are literally that??) who was "born to corruption, whose ambitions were for the very highest office of state" (p333) and I just can't even. The author then has the temerity to accuse the Greeks of employing the "topos of the wicked eunuch" and I need to ask some questions about self-awareness.

So. I am ambivalent about this book. It's a super necessary idea, and the use of Persian inscriptions and the way some of the Greek sources are handled is a really good example of how to read through sources to get more than they think they're saying. On the other hand, some of the descriptions are clearly ridiculous (robes of "chiffon-like linen, gauzy cotton, and shimmering silk" (p293) - not to mention that nursery rhyme - really need some evidence!). And the bits quoted above are enough to make me despair. Did I learn something about the Persian empire and the kings who ruled, and the way it all worked? Absolutely. Is this the last word in Persian imperial history? I sure hope not.

Would not recommend to someone who is completely new to the history of this area and time, or to someone who is naive in reading historical books. For those looking to deepen their knowledge, it's useful - with the caveats above.

I enjoyed this book very much. I knew some about the Persians but this book definitely helped me fill in gaps in my knowledge. I feel this is an excellent text to use with early historical studies and especially as a text to compare with Greek texts. Highly recommend this book and I will be purchasing it as soon as it hits stores.

In “Persians” Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones sets out to tell a fresh history, in his words “This history uses genuine, indigenous, ancient Persian sources to tell a very different story from the one we might be familiar with, the one moulded around ancient Greek accounts. This story is told by the Persians themselves. It is Persia’s inside story. It is the Persian Version of Persia’s history.” He achieves this magnificently, it is a beautifully written and a captivating read.

The Persians were, as many of the other ancient civilisations rather brutal in the way they dispensed justice and regime change but that is not the focus of the book, it centres on the thinking, the culture and the greatness of Persians. The second part of the book breaks from the chronology to discusses the overarching elements of life in this age and is my favourite unpacking the bureaucracy, the construction of monuments, the etiquette and so on. I really enjoyed understanding the way of life and appreciating the extend of their power and how they managed such an empire.

I appreciated the way the author shares what is known versus what is thought to be, it feels an honest telling of an amazing people. The epilogue tells us where the Persians are today. If you enjoy well-told and insightful history, don’t miss this one! It’s a four out of five on the enJOYment scale.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Perseus Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the first general audience book that I can recall about the Persian Empire since Tom Holland's Persian Fire (released in 2005) and it was a great read. Knowing about the Persian's nomadic origins, as well as the section devoted to what it was actually being a Persian gave this book a flavor that help the time period jump off the page.

As with any book about the ancient world, the author spends time talking about sources, and it is much appreciated!

Most of us of a certain age have an idea of how the ancient Greek world was. Xerxes was the villain and the brave Spartans were the heroes that we want to see ourselves as. Persians add to that knowledge and dispel some of those long-held myths. The Persian Empire was the most powerful state in its day. Far surpassing any of the small Greek city-states such as Athens, Sparta, or Thebes. This book tells a tale of an Empire that spanned three continents at its largest extent, made up of tens of millions of people and encompassing over five million square miles. The Achaemenid Empire is more than the character of Xerxes portrayed in the Movie 300. Learn about the rich history of the region.

What sources do most westerners use to learn about the Persian Empire?

The most common is probably the Bible, where Cyrus the Great--the founder of the empire--is hailed as "Messiah" for his role in bringing the Babylonian exile to an end. Daniel is thrown into a Persian lion's den. Esther emerges from the harem of Artaxerxes to make a bold request for her people's salvation. There are many more, mostly posivite, interactions leading to the Christmas narrative, where Magi travel from the east to bring gifts to the Christ child.

The second source is from the Greeks. The battles at Thermopylae and Marathon are still well known to western readers and moviegoers. Alexander the Great's long series of victories took place throughout the Persian Empire that he overthrew.

Drawing on ancient sources, both Greek and Persian, Llewelyn-Jones paints a robust picture of the Persian Empire and the Achaemenid Dynasty at its center. Part of his reason for writing the text, he writes, is to counter the idea that Alexander had overthrown a corrupt and tottering realm. "Despite the trials and tribulations of the family itself," he writes, "the Achaemenid empire was strong and functioning well at the time of its conquest by Macedon."

I'm not sure that he convinced me of that fact. While there are chapters on the culture and day-to-day life in the empire, Llewelyn-Jones focuses on the Achaemenid family: the dominance of Cyrus, the flowering of the empire under Darius the Great, and the court intrigues and assassinations that haunted the family in the half-century before Alexander appeared.

Nevertheless, Llewelyn-Jones paints a fascinating picture of empire. He reveals a story that always existed in parallel to those accounts I mentioned earlier from the Bible and Greek sources. He punctures many myths from the Bible: that Belshazzar never could have seen 'the writing on the wall' because he was killed in battle well north of Babylon; that Esther was anything other than a concubine in a household dominated by women from a handful of Persian nobel familes.

Of the ancient empires before Rome, Persia was the greatest, the vastest, the wealthiest. The reader gets a strong sense of this from <i>The Persians: the Age of the Great Kings</i>. Great, terrifying kings. Lovely, intelligent, vindictive queens. The royal intrigues are as complex as the diverse empire that the dynasty ruled. He also brings the gleaming capitol of Persepolis to life, describing its palaces and gardens--especially the gardens, which were so important to the Persians and from which legends like the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life were spun into western canons.

In a final chapter, Llewellyn-Jones shows how the greatness of the Persian Empire remains a political football today. In the years leading up to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the Shah had promoted the empire as a forerunner of his own absolutism. Khomenei, the ayatollah who overthrew him, loathed the idea of a pagan, pre-Muslim golden age, and came within days of razing the last remaining ruins of Pesepolis into the dust. Even today, Iranian resistance to Islamic hegemony and theocracy may incoporate Achaemenid symbols and references.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Wildfire for providing me with a galley in exchange for an honest review. <i>The Persians</i> is an excellent source on a writing that students of ancient history will want to add to their libraries.

I was drawn to this title when I heard the author was "Drawing on Iranian inscriptions, cuneiform tablets, art, and archaeology..." Using such deep and recent sources, here is told the story from the tribal roots of the Persians in competition with the Medes, through the long-lived rivalry with Greece, a golden age of empire building, and final transformation into a Hellenized nation under the conquering Macedonians. There are plenty of illustrations and the writing is engaging and lively. Personally, I would have liked to hear more of the ancient voices in direct translation while being very pleased with this book. Supporting material includes a dramatis personae and detailed bibliography. A very interesting Epilogue looking back from modern Iran (where the author has very positive research experiences) and explains an adoration of Cyrus The Great and his age by a largely young and secular population enduring theocratic rule.

This book offers an interesting look at the Persians and their empire from an interesting POV-the Persians themselves. The author relies on sources directly from the Persians, giving readers who, like me, really only know them through brushes with classical Greece, an in-depth look a complex and dynamic part of the world that's gotten the short end of the stick for a long time. Most Western historical works, according to the author's intro, relied on contemporary Greek sources to study the Persians, and these sources-understandably-were very biased against the Persians. The writing is interesting and the story is engaging, definitely a book worth checking out.

I found this work on the Persians to be an amazing piece of scholarship. Jones did a wonderful job of breaking down this empire using their primary sources or at least what is available and also including the standard sources one would usually consult when looking at the Persians. I think this is an amazing look into one of the mightiest empires of the ancient world.

Let's talk about Persia! :)

The reason why I gave this book 5 stars would be mainly because I haven't read much of nonfiction regarding history. I forgot everything I had learnt about Persia long time ago, and I found this as a nice opportunity to educate myself further on this topic.

All the time while reading, I had the feeling like I was watching a documentary on History Channel, writing style is easy to follow, everything has a clear and chronological order (as it should have) and the details given are just about right. I don't think I am the right person to evaluate if this would be interesting for those who are already knowledgeable, but I would give it a go.



Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for the ARC.

Found this to be a really dull book and its not just because its non-fiction. There are plenty of history books that are very engaging.

In this comprehensive history of the Persian Empire, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones covers a period of about 900 years, beginning with the Persian migration to the Iranian plateau and ending with Alexander’s conquest.
The Old Persian language was only deciphered in the nineteenth century, which means that before that we only had outside perspectives on the Persians, chiefly in the Hebrew Bible, where they are represented in a mostly positive light, and in Ancient Greek sources, where they are the archetypical barbarians: lustful, cowardly, and despotic.
This book uses ancient Persian sources, like tablets and seals, to tell a story that is very different from the one most of us are familiar with: not one where the freedom-hating Persians are prevented from destroying democracy by 300 Spartans, but one where the war with some Greek city-states is only one of many conflicts in the borders of a vast empire.
Llewellyn-Jones doesn’t dismiss Greek sources, but uses them, along with other writings and archeology, to sieve the truth from the Persians sources. The purpose of art in the Persian Empire was to promote the idea of a peaceful, united empire and its monarch as the defender of the Truth. Beneath every indigenous Persian source - text, image, or artefact - there lies an imperial agenda.
Although the Persians were fairly respectful of local cultures as long as they submitted to the Empire - they used local languages, upheld local cults, and adapted local forms of government - there is an ugly side to any forced occupation, and Llewellyn-Jones doesn’t shy away from it: he examines the horrific consequences of revolting against the Empire, the fight for power within the imperial family and the tortuous executions that usually followed, as well as slavery.
Persians: the age of great kings is a great pick for anyone looking for a soup to nuts history of the Persian Empire: compellingly readable, with a balanced overview not only of the big men history, with chapters on all the monarchs, but also of the social history, with a middle section dedicated to topics such as slavery, the role of royal women, bureaucracy, and religion.

A fascinating look at the rise of the Persian empire and the personalities that made each generation until Alexander came along. This would make a great podcast!