Shaghaghi Zarghamee, Reza. 2025. Myth and History in Ancient Persia: The Achaemenids in the Iranian Tradition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
This book fills an important gap in Achaemenid studies by using traditional Iranian narratives, such as those found in the famous Shahnameh, or ‘Book of Kings’, of Ferdowsi, to analyse the Greco-Roman accounts of Median and Persian royalty. The study shows that the classical authors derived their accounts from Iranian traditions, grounded in age-old myths and legends. This analysis serves many purposes. It refines the extent to which the classical sources may be used in historical reconstructions and sheds new light on the literary methods of authors, such as Herodotus, Ctesias, and Xenophon. Finally, the book offers insights into one of the thorniest enigmas in Iranian historiography, the apparent disappearance of Illustrious rulers like Cyrus II, Darius I, and Xerxes I from native historical traditions. Standing at the crossroads of Iranian studies and Classics, this book is an indispensable source for scholars of ancient Iran, Greek historiography, and the Shahnameh.
Table of Contents
Part I. Oral Traditions, Myths and Legends
1. Achaemenid Oral Traditions and Tales Told From ‘Heart-to-Heart’
2. Myths and Legends of Ancient Iran
3. Median and Persian Familiarity with the Iranian Traditions
Part II. Sources and Case Studies
4. An Approach to the Sources
5. Herodotus, Deioces and the Creation of Kingship
6. Dragon-slayers and Conquering Kings: The Iranian Background to the Cyrus Sagas
7. Myth as an Alternative to Epigraph: Darius the Dragon-Slayer and the Cycle of the Khwarenah
Part III. The Missing Great Kings
8. Achaemenids and Kayanids Revisited
9. Whither the Medes and Early Achaemenids?
Part IV. Conclusion
Conclusion: History, Myth and Cultural Identity
Appendices
Appendix 1: Historical Enemies Believed to Have Been Identified with Azhi Dahaka
Appendix 2: Summary Chart of Onomastic Correspondences
Appendix 3: Myth-Inspired Names in the Memorial List of the Farvardin Yasht and Parthian and Sasanid Epigraphical Sources
Appendix 4: Attestations of the Names of Mythical and Legendary Figures Mentioned or Alluded to in the Yashts in the Onomastics of Various Pre-Islamic Epochs
Appendix 5: Sequences of Key Mythical and Legendary Figures in the Yashts
Appendix 6: Recurrent Elements from the Cyrus Sagas in the Ardashir Cycle
Appendix 7: Heroes with Humble Upbringings in Pre-Islamic Iranian Traditions
Appendix 8: Parallels Between the Cyrus Sagas and Traditions Concerning Thraetona and Kavi Husravah
Bibliography
Index