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Internet Ancient History Sourcebook

Persia

See Main Page for a guide to all contents of all sections.

• Persia: General
• The Persian State: Acheamenids (560-330 BCE)
• The Persian State: Parthia and Arcsacids (247 BCE-226 CE)
• The Persian State: Sassanids (224-636 CE)
• Persian Religions
• Art and Architecture
• Modern Perspectives on Ancient Iran

Note: To continue investigation of Medieval Persian Culture, see the Islamic History Sourcebook

• WEB Encyclopedia Iranica [Internet Archive backup here]
  Very detailed articles on all aspects of Iranian/Persian culture and history
• WEB Livius: Persia and Livius: Greater Iran [Internet Archive backup here]
  Many articles, sources, illustrations on Persian and the wider area in which Persian was spoken in antiquity.
• WEB Parthia.com [Internet Archive backup here]
  Focused on the Parthia persiod but useful for all things Persian.

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• Herodotus (c.490-c.425 BCE): On the Customs of the Persians [This Site]
• Cyrus (b.580-r.560/59-529 BCE, ): Cylinder Recording Conquest of Babylon (mid 6th Cent. BCE) [At British Museum]
• WEB Cyrus the Great (r.560/59-529 BCE) [No at Internet Archive]
  Illustrations of the great Persian King.
• Xenophon: When Cyrus the Great was a Boy [At this Site]
• Kurash (Cyrus) the Great: The Decree of Return for the Jews, 539 BCE [At this Site]
  From Persian and Biblical sources.
• Bible: Ezra 1 and Isaiah 45
  Cyrus orders the return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem. Cyrus as the Lord's anointed.
• Greek Reports of Babylonia, Chaldea, and Assyria [At this Site]
  From Herodotus. Includes accounts of the Persian conquest.
• Seal of Darius (r. 521-486 B.C.) [At Livius.org]
• Herodotus (c.490-c.425 BCE): The Satrap System under Darius the Great Histories 3.89-97 [At Livius]
• Herodotus (c.490-c.425 BCE): Queen Tomyris of the Massagetai and the Defeat of the Persians under Cyrus [At this Site]
• Herodotus (c.490-c.425 BCE): The Persians Reject Democracy/Darius' State Organization [At this Site]
• Xenophon (431-354 BCE): Anabasis, or March Up Country 401-399BCE, full text, [At this Site]
  The story of the march to Persia to aid Cyrus, who enlisted Greek help to try and take the throne from Artaxerxes, and the ensuing return of the Greeks, in which Xenophon played a leading role.
• Xenophon (431-354 BCE): Anabasis [Full Text][Project Gutenberg]
• Xenophon (431-354 BCE): Anabasis first four books [Full Text][Project Gutenberg]
• Xenophon (431-354 BCE): Anabasis Vol I om Ancient Greek [Full Text][Project Gutenberg]
• Xenophon (431-354 BCE): Cyropedia [Full Text][Project Gutenberg]
• Ctesias: Persica (404-397BCE) [At Livius]
  Ctesias was a Greek physician at the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes II Mnemon. He wrote several books about Persia and India. This an excerpt from the Persica by the Byzantine scholar Photius (c.815-897).
  
• Plutarch (c.46-c.120 CE): Life of Artaxerxes (r. 465-424BCE) [At MIT]
• Accounts of Persian "Despotism" and Law, c. 430-300 BCE [At this Site]
• Livius: Behistun
  The recovery and eventual decipherment of the Cuneiform on the Behistun Rocks was crucial in the process of our modern ability to read the several languages written in cuneiform script. The inscription was from the reign of Darius the Great (r. 522-486 BCE). Also see the informative articles at Wikipedia: Cuneiform, Behistun Inscription, and Henry Rawlinson.
• The Behistan inscription of King Darius; translation and critical notes to the Persian text with special reference to recent re-examinations of the rock (1908) [Internet Archive]
• WEB Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions [At U Chicago]
• 2ND A.T. Olmstead: History of the Persian Empire (1948), full text of a classic secondary work. PDF. [At U Chicago] [Internet Archive version here]

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• WEB Parthia.com [Internet Archive backup here]
• WEB Parthian Sources Online [Internet Archive backup here]
  A digital collection of texts from the ancient Parthian Empire.
• Appian: The Mithridatic Wars, from Roman History [At Livius ][Internet Archive version here]
• Appian: Mithridates & The Roman Conquests in the East, 90-61 BCE, excerpts from Appian, Mithridatic Wars, 114-119, and Plutarch, Life of Lucullus. [At this Site]:
• Persia and its Religious Mix to 300 AD [Modern Account at Internet Archive]

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• Herodian: History of the Roman Empire 6:2 [Wikisource]
  Describes the overthrow of Artabanus IV, last of the Parthian dynasty, by Ardashir I. In this text Ardahir is refered to as Artaxerxes. The battle fought on 28 April 224CE makes the end of the Parthians and the beginning of the Sassanid era.
• The Karnamik-I-Ardashir, or The Records of Ardashir, [At this Site]
  The records of Ardashir, Founder of the Sassanian Kingdom
• Wikipedia: Zurvanism
  Zurvanism was a variety of Zoroastrianism supported by the Sassanid state.
• The Story of King Vahahran & his Queen, c. 300 CE [At this Site]
• 2ND Matteo Compareti: The Sasanians in Africa [Internet Archive version here]
• 2ND Craig Morley: Rome and the Sasanian Empire in the Fifth Century A.D: A Necessary Peace [PhD 2015] Iinternet Archive version here]
• P'awstos Buzandac'i'. History of the Armenians, 5th century, full text, trans. Robert Bedrosian, [At Atallus]
• Ghazar P'arbec'i'. History of the Armenians, 5th century, full text, trans. Robert Bedrosian, At [At Atallus]
• Sebeos: History, 7th century, full text, trans. Robert Bedrosian [At Atallus] [this is the first of a series of files].
• Procopius (c.500-after 562 CE): The Persian Wars [At Lacus Curtius]
• Procopius (c.500-after 562 CE): The Persian Wars [At Project Gutenberg]
• Procopius (c. 500 – 565): History of the the Wars, trans. H.B Dewing. Full text. [Wikisource]
• Book I (The Persian War pt.1)
• Book II (The Persian War pt.2)
• Agathias (c530-582/594CE): On the Sassanians, from Histories, trans. Averil Cameron. DOP 23 (1969) PDF [Farsib] [Internet Archive version here.]
• Antiochus Strategos: The Sack of Jerusalem (614CE)
• 2ND Richard Frye: Heritage of Persia, 224-229 [At this Site]
• 2ND Richard Frye: History of Ancient Iran, 325-334 [At this Site]

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• WEB Avesta Page [Website] [Internet Archive backup here]
  A significant collection of Zoroastrian texts.
• WEB Circle of Iranian Studies: Religions & Beliefs in Ancient Iran [Archive backup here]
  Texts and discussions of Manichaeism, Mithraism, and Zoroastrianism.
• 2ND Zoroastrianism or Mazdaism [Internet Archive version here]
• 2ND Zoroastrianism i: Historical Review up to the Arab Conquest [Encyclopædia Iranica]  
• The Selections of Zadspram [At Avesta] [Internet Archive version here]
• Zoroaster [Was At CCNY, now Internet Archive]
• Zoroastrian Creed [At this Site]
• Zoraster Repulsed by Everybody Gatha: Yasna 46 [Was At Eliade, now Internet Archive]
• Gatha of the Choice Zaraththustra reveals the exemplary choice which took place at the beginning of the world. Gatha: Yasna 30 [At enteract.com]
• Second Gatha of the Choice Gatha: Yasna 31 [Was At Eliade, now Internet Archive]
• Zoroastrian Dualist Cosmogony: Ohrmazd and Ahriman Greater Bundahishn 1:18-26 [Was At Eliade, now Internet Archive]
• Ahura Mazda Teaches Yima How to Save all the Best and Fairest in the World Vivavdat,' Fargard II [Was At Eliade, now Internet Archive]
• A Mazdean (Zoroastrian) Sacrifice to the Sun Khorshed Yasht 1-5 [Was At Eliade, now Internet Archive]
• The Crossing of the Cinvat Bridge and the Roads to Heaven and Hell Menok I Khrat' I, 71-122 [Was At Eliade, now Internet Archive]
• The Yatkar-I-Zariran, or Memoirs of Zarir [At this Site]
  This is supposed to be a "history" of the early struggle of the Zarathustrians around the time of Zarathustra.
• 2ND Iranian Influence on Judasim [Website] [Internet Archive backup here]
• Sir Monier Monier-Williams: The Towers of Silence, 1870
  The Parsees (modern Zoroastrians) in Bombay in the 19th century.

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• WEB The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 B.C.) [At Metropolitan Museum NYC]
• WEB Ancient Iran (550–330 B.C.) [At British Museum]
• WEB Epic Iran (550–330 B.C.) [At V&A Museum]
• UNESCO: Persepolis
• Livius: Ctesiphon (the Parthian and Sassanid capital city)

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• Tolerant empires vs. intolerant democracies.

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NOTES:

The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook is part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project. The date of inception was 4/8/1998. Links to files at other site are indicated by [At some indication of the site name or location]. WEB indicates a link to one of small number of high quality web sites which provide either more texts or an especially valuable overview.

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The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of  Fordham University, New York. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University.  Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.

© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall, created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 12 March 2023 [CV]