Myth and History in Ancient Persia: The Achaemenids in the Iranian Tradition

This book fills an important gap in Achaemenid studies by using traditional Iranian narratives, such as those found in the famous Shahnameh, or ‘Book of Kings’, of Ferdowsi, to analyse the Greco-Roman accounts of Median and Persian royalty. The study shows that the classical authors derived their accounts from Iranian traditions, grounded in age-old myths and legends. This analysis serves many purposes. It refines the extent to which the classical sources may be used in historical reconstru...