Empire, Authority, and Autonomy in Achaemenid Anatolia

Elspeth R. M. Dusinberre

Cambridge University Press, Apr 29, 2013 - History - 374 pages

The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550-330 BCE) was a vast and complex sociopolitical structure that encompassed much of modern-day Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, and included two dozen distinct peoples who spoke different languages, worshiped different deities, lived in different environments, and had widely differing social customs. This book offers a radical new approach to understanding the Achaemenid Persian Empire and imperialism more generally. Through a wide array of textual, visual, and archaeological material, Elspeth R. M. Dusinberre shows how the rulers of the empire constructed a system flexible enough to provide for the needs of different peoples within the confines of a single imperial authority and highlights the variability in response. This book examines the dynamic tensions between authority and autonomy across the empire, providing a valuable new way of considering imperial structure and development.

Contents

• INTRODUCTION: 1
• GOVERNING ANATOLIA: 32
• Combining the Practical and Ideological: 49
• Summary: 81
• EATING AND DRINKING WITH CLASS AND STYLE: 114
• DEALING WITH THE DEAD: 141
• Painted beams from Tatarlı: 179
• Silver from Sinope: 181
• Silver vessels from Erzincan: 183
• Deve Hüyük Grave Group 1 authors drawing: 185
• Deve Hüyük Grave Group 15 authors drawing: 186
• Deve Hüyük Grave Group 20 authors drawing: 187
• Gold foil clothing appliqué from Silifke: 188
• Stele from Delipınar authors drawing: 189
• Reconstructed pillar tomb at Xanthus: 191
• East side of the Harpy Tomb: 192
• Audience scene from Persepolis: 193
• The Inscribed Pillar at Xanthus: 194
• The Sarcophagus of Payava: 195
• The theater group at Myra: 196
• Kızılbel southwest corner departure scene: 197
• Kızılbel south wall Gorgons and Pegasus: 198
• The Nereid Monument: 200
• Erbbina ? under a parasol from the Nereid Monument: 201
• Mausoleum at Halicarnassus reconstruction: 202
• Artemisia II ? and Mausolus ?: 203
• Rhodian silver didrachm of 400333: 204
• Mausolus ?: 205
• WORSHIPING THE DIVINE: 207
• Relief of Matar from Ankara: 210
• Midas Monument: 211
• The main step monument at Midas City: 214
• Marble temple sculpture from Sardis: 216
• Stele from Sardis with Artemis and Cybele: 217
• Silver coin of Ephesus fifth century with bee and incuse: 218
• Construction at Ephesus and Didyma authors drawing: 220
• Statue from Achaemenidperiod Didyma: 221
• Relief from Building G at Xanthus: 223
• Xanthus Building G detail and the kings horse from the Apadana at Persepolis: 224
• The altar to Artemis at Sardis: 227
• Coin of Mausolus authors drawing: 230
• Sanctuary of Zeus at Labraunda: 231
• Andron B at Labraunda: 232
• Sphinx from Labraunda: 233
• Cappadocia and Dascylium: 238
• Tarsus stater struck under Pharnabazus 379374: 239
• EDUCATING THE YOUNG AND Old: 245
• EMPIRE AND IDENTITY IN ACHAEMENID ANATOLIA: 259
• Notes: 273
• Bibliography: 315
• Index: 367

About the author

Elspeth R. M. Dusinberre is an Associate Professor in the Classics Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She has published articles in the American Journal of Archaeology, Ars Orientalis, Anatolian Studies and the Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research. She is the author of Aspects of Empire in Achaemenid Sardis and Gordion Seals and Sealings: Individual and Society.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Empire, Authority, and Autonomy in Achaemenid Anatolia
• Author: Elspeth R. M. Dusinberre
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2013
• ISBN: 1107018269, 9781107018266
• Length: 374 pages
• Subjects: History / Ancient / General; History / Middle East / General; History / Middle East / Turkey & Ottoman Empire; Social Science / Archaeology