Persian Empire: Did you mean...?

Lecture by Dr. John E. Curtis, OBE, FBA, Keeper of Special Middle East Projects, The British Museum. Introduction by Joan Aruz, Curator in Charge, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This program is presented...

In the Persian Empire, some regional governors (satraps) were authorized to issue coins for military purposes. They combine Persian and Greek imagery, showing a strap's head and a local reverse image. These are some of the earliest coin portraits...

The Battle of Plataea was a land battle between Greeks and Persians near the small town of Plataea in Boeotia in 479 BCE. Following up their naval victory at the Battle of Salamis in September 480 BCE against the same enemy, the Greeks again...

Map of the Persian Royal Road from Susa to Sardes.

Persian Poet Nizami (l. c. 1141-1209 CE) depicted on a rug. Ganja Museum, Azerbaijan

The Sassanian Empire (224-651) was the greatest expression of Persian culture in the ancient world. It was consciously modeled on the earlier Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) which established Persian supremacy in the region and developed...

Garshasp kills the dragon, illustration from the Shahnameh, Sultanate of Delhi, c. 1450. Rietberg Museum, Zürich.

Scene from Shahnameh: Rustam (or Rustum) shoots Isfandiyar in the eyes with a double-pointed arrow, from manuscript Ms. or. fol. 4251, Berlin State Library

Persian miniature painting on a tile, earthenware under coloured glazes, probably from Isfahan, 17th century CE. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The so-called 'garden scenes' are among the most typical settings in the Persian...

The Greco-Persian Wars or Persian Wars were a series of battles in the 5th century BCE between Greece and Persia. This series of wars consisted of some famous battles; Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea which resulted in a Greek victory...