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The Persian Empire
- Narrated by: John W. Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
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The Persian Empire
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Summary
For the past 2,500 years, we've heard about the Persian Empire as a decadent civilization run by despots, the villains who lost the Battle of Marathon and supplied the fodder for bad guys in literature and film. But it turns out this image is inaccurate. As recent scholarship shows, the Persian Empire was arguably the world's first global power- a diverse, multicultural empire with flourishing businesses and people on the move. The key is to look at the Persian Empire from the Persian's perspective. Over the span of 24 fascinating lectures, you'll take on the role of a history detective to discover the truth about this grand civilization.
You'll discover the key to the empire's success lay in its greatest rulers, each of whom played a critical role in shaping and strengthening a civilization we still remember today. But while the great kings were administering justice or waging wars, everyday Persians were just as important to the success of the empire.
You'll also learn about the empire's efficient communications network; the Persian economy and the workers and entrepreneurs who supported it; the role of women in the empire, especially the influence of royal women; and the daily cultural exchanges between the diverse peoples of the empire.Professor Lee shows you a whole new history of the ancient world - a perspective largely unknown even by students of history. These lectures capture the people, the strength, the rise and the downfall of this great empire, revealing the complexity behind centuries of a previously one-sided history. Take this opportunity to complete your understanding of the ancient world and discover the humanity of the ancient Persians.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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What listeners say about The Persian Empire
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mary
- 10-06-22
Excellent
Very well presented and informative, the author / narrator succeeded in making the history both enthralling and exciting. I learnt a lot and highly recommend this course.
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- Louis Eguchi Wale
- 20-07-15
Love Persian history and this book is great. The great courses never let me down!
This is a great unbiased view of Persian history with lots of unknown facts from this learned lecturer. If you have a view on Greek history this audiobook offers a fair and fresh opposing view from the history writers from Ancient Greece and Alexander the Great.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Liam
- 25-06-19
Excellent
Having only known of the Persians slightly I wondered what I would make of this and was pleasantly surprised. Very informative and helpful. It was pitched at a good level for me. The accompanying notes were good but one or two good maps would been useful in locating incidents. As ever we fell back on Google for maps.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Manish
- 18-08-18
Persian Empire
This is a brilliant course. It really counters the standard view of Greek and western history. it shows how enlightened and cultured the Persians were. It really should be required by all classical scholars as a view "from the other side".
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- Sam
- 31-12-22
Brilliant
Another brilliant lecture series. One of the better quality ones. Highly structured. Articulate. Not overly long or detailed. Smooth, read, narration. Fascinating subject. Recommended.
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- S
- 04-05-23
Excellent
Very well researched and presented lecture course, enjoyed it. I learnt a great deal from listening to these lectures, thank you.
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- Mr
- 16-08-16
excellent
One of the best great courses I have heard. Clear and informative with a good pace of narrative.
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- AB Straining
- 25-01-16
A wonderfully clear overview
This was a comprehensive survey of Persian history. It placed the development of the Persian empire into its cultural context. It was refreshing to look at the empire from the perspective of its inhabitants rather than simply through the eyes of the Greek historians.
I was struck by the ethical nature of early Persian religion; that Persian nobles and kings were expected to "ride well, shoot straight and tell the truth".
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- G
- 15-04-19
Really interesting course
I found this a fascinating account of the history of the Persian empire. The lecturer delivered his material with clarity and enthusiasm making it interesting and enjoyable to listen to. The two lectures covering a ‘road trip’ around the empire were particularly good. Definitely recommended to those with an interest in ancient civilisations.
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- Nik Jewell
- 11-05-18
An Exhaustive Account
Given that most of what we commonly know of Persia comes from a Greek perspective, through Herodotus and Arrian, detailing the battles of Marathon, Thermoplyae, Salamis and Platea and then Alexander's conquest, Lee sets out to provide a corrective to this, telling the story from the Persian point of view, and filling in the missing years.
Adding to the account using mainly Ctesias and Xenophon, rock inscriptions and the Persepolis Tablets, Lee largely succeeds in the attempt, teasing out significant levels of detail.
This is fairly exhaustive, by which I mean than almost every possible detail is utilised to its full extent, leaving one with the impression that there is not a lot more of general, rather than specialised academic, interest to be known.
Lee's presentation is good, the accompanying notes comprehensive, and all in all this one of the best Great Courses I have listened to.
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2 people found this helpful