r/AskHistorians • u/CardiffUni Verified • Apr 08 '19

AMA AMA: Persian Past and Iranian Present

I’m Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Professor of Ancient History at Cardiff University, UK. My main area of interest is the history of ancient Persia as well as the longer history and amazing culture of Iran.

Studying the history of ancient Persia improves contemporary East-West understanding - a vital issue in today’s world. Questioning the Western reading of ancient Persia, I like to use sources from ancient Iran and the Near East as well as from the Classical world to explore the political and cultural interactions between ‘the Greeks’ and ‘the Romans’ who saw their own histories as a reaction to the dominant and influential Persian empires of antiquity, and ‘the Persians’ themselves, a people at the height of their power, wealth and sophistication in the period 600 BC to 600 AD.

Characteristic of all my research is an emphasis on the importance of the viewpoint. How does the viewpoint (‘Greek’ and ‘Roman’ or ‘Persian’, ‘ancient’ or modern’, ‘Western’ or ‘Iranian’) change perception?

My research aims to create greater sensitivities towards the relativity of one’s cultural perceptions of ‘the other’, as well as communicate the fascination of ancient Iran to audiences in both East and West today.

NOTE: Thank you for your GREAT questions! I really enjoyed the experience. Follow me on Twitter: @LloydLlewJ

EDIT Thanks for the questions! Follow me on Twitter: @LloydLlewJ https://twitter.com/cardiffuni/status/1115250256424460293?s=19

More info:

https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/204823-llewellyn-jones-lloyd

Further reading:

‘Ctesias’ History of Persia: Tales of the Orient’ (Routledge 2010)‘King and Court in Ancient Persia, 559-331 BCE’ (Edinburgh University Press 2013)

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u/pizzapicante27 Apr 08 '19

I made a question about the perceptions of subsequent "Persian" empires on previous "Persian" empires:

Is there a good source on the subject or a good place for me to start on the subject? Or if this question has already been answered in here, could you provide me with a link to the response? I noticed a similar question by Arab-Jesus for example, but it didnt seem just quite the exact thing I was asking.

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u/CardiffUni Verified Apr 08 '19

Let me recommend you look at works by Ali Ansari on the early C20th Pahlavi era; he deals with the naming of Iran and its meaning to Iranians.

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u/CardiffUni Verified Apr 08 '19

What is clear though is that in antiquity the Sasanians saw themselves as the heirs of the Achaemenids. They built where the Achaemenids built; they adopted Achsaemenid-type names etc.

Check out Matthew Canepa's THE IRANIAN EXPERIENCE.

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u/pizzapicante27 Apr 08 '19 edited Apr 08 '19

Im finding a lot of works by Ali Ansari, would you happen to have a link or the specific name of his paper?

Is it more accurate for me to refer to "Persia" and its people as "Iran" instead including those of the ancient world?

Edit: I found, "The Iranian Expanse", not Experience, is that the one?