The History of the Persian Empire

Professor of History at the Institute of the East of the University of Chicago, Albert Olmsted, who dedicated his life to studying the ancient Near East, has compiled previously unknown material about the life, times, and thought of the Persians into a cohesive narrative. It was Persia that, for two centuries—from the expansion of the rule of King Cyrus the Great over Greece to the burning of Persepolis, the capital of the kingdom, by Alexander the Great—held the enviable position of the dictator of history. In his book, the author demonstrates how science, literature, language, and myths of the ancients grew from the blending of many cultures and contributed to the formation of future civilization.