Tag: Achaemenid Empire

Harding, Phillip (ed.). 2026. Diodoros of Sicily: Bibliotheke Historike: Translation, with introduction and notes. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Diodoros of Sicily (c.90–c.30 BC) spent thirty years producing an encyclopedic compendium of world history from its mythical beginnings to his own day. His is the only surviving, connected account of Greek affairs from 480/79 to 302/1. The books translated in this volume offer the best account of the career of Philip II of Macedon, his conquest of Greece and his assassination, as well as the earliest extant history of the career of Alexander the Great. Book 16 is also the main source for the Persian re-conquest of Egypt by Artaxerxes III (Okhos), the seizure of Delphi by the Phokians in the Third Sacred War, and Athens’ defeat by a coalition of her allies in the Social War. The translation is supported by extensive notes, and the Introduction examines Diodoros’ moral and educational purpose in writing, the plan of his work, his sources, and his qualities as a historian.

Rutter, Keith. 2026. Coinages in the Achaemenid Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Brings together the evidence for coin production and use over the whole Achaemenid Empire

• Demonstrates how the actual production of coins was a phenomenon mostly confined to the western satrapies of the empire
• Unlike other studies of ancient coinage which focus on its spread westward into Greek lands after its invention in Asia Minor, this book looks east, to communities and kingdoms where the dominant culture was often not Greek
• Treats coins as part of the wider context of exchange and resource allocation in the empire

The Achaemenid Empire was huge and the material available for studying it is disparate. The coinages produced in the empire offer distinctive perspectives and provide insights into crucial questions about how the empire was organised and administered. The numismatic evidence is particularly important due to its first hand, contemporary nature: it speaks to us directly, not through the prism of later accounts.

Keith Rutter, an international specialist in numismatics, provides us with the first comprehensive account of the great variety of coinages produced in the Achaemenid Empire. He shows us how the iconography found on coins poses new questions on artistic influences, details of administration and religious beliefs. This highly illustrated book is the starting point for anyone who wants to understand the topic.

Johnson, David M., Gabriel Alexander Danzig and Rodrigo Illarraga (eds.). 2026. Debating Cyrus: Leadership in Xenophon’s ›Cyropaedia‹ (Xenophon Studies 2). Berlin: De Gruyter.

Is Xenophon’s Cyrus the Great the model leader he seems to be, or does his apparent success actually demonstrate the dangers of imperialism and one-man rule?

Debating Cyrus gathers contributions from many of the world’s leading scholars in Xenophontic Studies, and features scholars with a wide range of approaches to reading classical texts. Our essays discuss the surprisingly subtle techniques Xenophon employs, and study topics including ambition, the rule of law, hunting, tragedy, romance, and the use Cyrus makes of love and fear. A cluster of essays considers Cyrus’ one apparent failure — the failure to ensure his kingdom will prosper after him. Other essays show what we can learn about the Cyropaedia by comparing it to other works by Xenophon and his contemporaries.

Our aim is not to resolve the debate about Cyrus, a debate that will live on as long as readers care about Xenophon’s magisterial account of the founder of the greatest empire of his day and disagree about what sort of leadership to expect from a leader like Cyrus. Our goal is to prepare readers to engage in the debate themselves.