Medieval Islamic Art Persian Painting Royal Safavid Manuscripts Lovers Bathers

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Format:Oversized Pictorial Softcover
Length:128 pages
Publishers:George Brazilier (1976)
Dimensions:11½ x 8½ inches; 1½ pounds
Region of Origin:Middle East

Persian Painting: Five Royal Safavid Manuscripts of the Sixteenth Century by Suart Welch. NOTE: We have 75,000 books in our library, almost 10,000 different titles. Odds are we have other copies of this same title in varying conditions, some less expensive, some better condition. We might also have different editions as well (some paperback, some hardcover, oftentimes international editions). If you don’t see what you want, please contact us and ask. We’re happy to send you a summary of the differing conditions and prices we may have for the same title. DESCRIPTION: Softcover. Publisher: George Brazilier (1976). Pages: 128. Size: 11¼ x 8¼ inches; 1¼ pounds. Classical painting flourished in Iran during the sixteenth century under the aegis of the Safavid Shahs. The forty-eight color plates reproduced here represent the most unusual and dazzling miniatures painted during this period. A semi-nomadic people of luxuriant taste, the Iranian nobility created a life-style of world within magical world: brocade tents in which the Shah and his man feasted mid-battle were pitched in the desert; palaces opened onto fountains and gardens; lovers, bathers, game-players, and warriors all had their place within a single panorama. The artists captured it all, often spending months filling in their small paintings with minute detail to render the whole world on a single page. With their unique techniques, they applied lapis lazuli, malachite, silver, and gold throughout their art. In these exquisitely portrayed settings, a world of great luxury and delicacy unfolds on every folio – each realized in the shimmering, jewel-like paintings that delight the eye and please the mind. The author traces the historical developments of Safavid Rule, provides commentaries on each painting, and clarifies the fine points. CONDITION: LIKE NEW. Unread (but faintly “shelfworn”) oversized pictorial softcover. George Brazilier (1976) 128 pages. Book appears to be unread. There’s no reading crease and there’s no indication of the book actually having been read through, or even browsed for that matter. The inside of the book is pristine. The pages are clean, unmarked, unmutilated, crisp, tightly bound. Of course it’s always possible that a few bookstore browsers may have flipped through the book while it was on the bookseller’s shelf – which is always a possibility with any book which traveled through normal retail distribution channels which would include traditional shelved (“brick and mortar”) book stores. However there are no indications the book has ever been read, we’re just presuming that with the book being over 45 years old…someone, somewhere, at some time must have flipped through it least the first few pages…even if there are no such indications. The covers exhibit only very mild edge and corner shelfwear in the form of crinkling to the spine heel, less (faintly) to the spine head, and almost indetectibly (extremely faintly) to the open cover corners (oftentimes referred to as the cover “tips”). And when we say “faint”, we mean just that, literally. It requires that you hold the book up to a light source and scrutinize it quite intently in the reflected light (yeah, we’re nitpicking at this point) to discern this shelfwear. It’s very faint and not discerned with cursory inspection. However it is our duty (in the interest of full disclosure) to mention it, regardless of how faint it is. The overall condition of the book is not too far distant from what might pass as otherwise “new” (albeit faintly “shelfworn”) stock from a traditional brick-and-mortar open-shelf book store (such as Barnes & Noble, Borders, or B. Dalton, for example) wherein otherwise “new” books are often a bit “shopworn” exhibiting faint shelfwear the consequence of routine handling and simply the ordeal of constantly being shelved and re-shelved. Satisfaction unconditionally guaranteed. In stock, ready to ship. No disappointments, no excuses. PROMPT SHIPPING! HEAVILY PADDED, DAMAGE-FREE PACKAGING! Meticulous and accurate descriptions! Selling rare and out-of-print ancient history books on-line since 1997. We accept returns for any reason within 30 days! #1277d. PLEASE SEE DESCRIPTIONS AND IMAGES BELOW FOR DETAILED REVIEWS AND FOR PAGES OF PICTURES FROM INSIDE OF BOOK. PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW. PUBLISHER REVIEWS: REVIEW: The sixteenth century saw a flowering of classical painting in Persia. Art flourished under the aegis of the Shahs, and the pages reproduced in this volume represent the most unusual and dazzling miniatures in these Safavid manuscripts. Within settings exquisitely portrayed, a world of great luxury and delicacy unfolds on every folio as palaces open onto fountains and gardens, lovers and warriors sigh or are vanquished – all realized in shimmering, jewel like paintings that delight the eye and please the mind. Stuart Cary Welch, Honorary Curator of Manuscripts at the Harvard College Library and Lecturer in the Fine Arts at Harvard University, traces the historical development of the Safavid Rule and clarifies the fine points of each miniature reproduced here.” Softcover, 8 x 11 inches, 127 pages; includes 48 color plates, numerous black & white illustrations, and commentary. REVIEW: Welch was born to a prominent family in Buffalo, New York. He began collecting drawings by Indian artists as a boy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Harvard University in 1950, then did graduate work there in classical art. Because they offered no Indian or Islamic art courses at the time, he became an autodidact. His first paid position at Harvard was in 1956, as honorary assistant keeper of Islamic Art at the Fogg Museum. He later developed one of the first curricula for Islamic and Indian art. He was curator of Islamic and Later Indian art at the Harvard Art Museum, and from 1979 to 1987, he was also special consultant for the department of Islamic art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Welch taught at Harvard until his retirement in 1995, and he donated much of his collection to the school. A resident of New Hampshire, Welch died in 1998 of a heart attack while traveling in Hokkaido, Japan. The remainder of his personal collection was auctioned by Sotheby’s in 2011. On 6 April 2011, a single page from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp (The Houghton Shahnameh) of which Welch was the leading scholar, was sold for 7.4 million pounds ($12 million). REVIEW: Michael Barry, born in New York City in 1948, raised in France, now lectures at Princeton University, his alma mater, on the traditional and modern cultures of Iran and especially Afghanistan. Barry is widely published and holds six literary prizes. Stuart Cary Welch, former curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art at Harvard University’s Fogg and Sackler Museums, is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost specialists of Persian and Mughal painting. REVIEW: Reproductions of outstanding manuscript miniatures painted during Persia’s sixteenth-century Safavid Rule are accompanied by commentaries on the historical, formal, and stylistic fine points of each. PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS: REVIEW: Reproductions of outstanding manuscript miniatures painted during Persia’s sixteenth-century Safavid Rule are accompanied by commentaries on the historical, formal, and stylistic fine points of each Outstanding color illustrations. Professor Welch’s commentary is superb. READER REVIEWS: REVIEW: Mention the words “Safavi” or “Safavid” to people in the West and you will most likely get a blank stare in return, but this Iranian dynasty presided over a great cultural flowering in literature and architecture as well as in art. Stuart Cary Welch produced a beautiful introductory guide to some of the beauties of that era, taking illustrations from several famous books and collections of the 16th century height of Safavid glory. While the political history of the time in Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan (all parts of the Persian world in a cultural sense) was full of battles, massacres, sieges and sudden changes of rule-very much like Europe at the same time-the delicacy of Persian art knew no bounds. Brilliant, jewel-like colors, striking designs, and bold displays of mythical heroes touched in gold and surrounded with the miniature figures of the Persian court world appear on the pages of this book that is guaranteed to satisfy. Chinese-style rocks and trees mingle with Islamic calligraphy and Persian legends. While this book reproduces the illustrations both in full and in detail, the text is only the slightest of introductions to what can be a consuming study for any lover of art at its greatest. Buyers of this book will want to look further. May I suggest Anthony Welch’s two books “Artists for the Shah” and “Shah `Abbas and the Arts of Isfahan”, “Persian Drawings” by B. W. Robinson, and “Persian Painting” by Basil Gray. Another related volume, a treat for anyone interested in Persian art, would be “Isfahan: Pearl of Persia” by Wilfred Blunt and W. Swan. REVIEW: Stuart Cary Welch is an art historian (I think he taught at Harvard, but I’m not sure) who loves his work, and it clearly shows in this volume. The pictures are exquisite, the reproductions are beautiful, but the best part is the commentary: his only goal is to make the work — and the stories the pictures tell, for they are all essentially book illustrations — as much a pleasure to the audience as it was to him. He could not wear his learning more lightly nor with more enthusiasm, and yet it is clear he must know everything there is to know about this culture. Right after you get this, you’ll immediately go right back to Amazon to get a copy of the Shah-Nama, the marvelous epic Iranian poem that so many of the splendid miniatures in this volume illustrate. REVIEW: This is a glorious, and gorgeous, book of 48 reproductions of Persian minatures, dealing with subjects as disparate as Alexander the Great (called Iskander in Persia) and Layla and Majnoon, the classic love story of ancient Persia. Almost without meaning to, the reader absorbs a fair amount of Persian legends, most of which are taken from the Shanameh. I don’t usually like art books (they’re too big, too heavy and too pretentious) but Persian Painting is one of a kind. You will not regret buying it, and you will look at it again and again. The color and quality is luscious, the (fairly short) texts describing each plate are informative without being boring, and some of the pictures are absolutely stunning. I bought two copies, and cut out 3 of my favorite paintings, which are now framed and are hanging on the wall opposite as I write this review. REVIEW: A brief history of Persian miniature and painters were covered in the introduction. The paintings attributed to painters of early Safavid such as Sultan Muhammad, Aqa Mirak, Mirza Ali, Shaykh Zadeh and etc. were presented in an orderly fashion. Eight of these miniature paintings belong to Shahnameh of Ferdowsi (Houghton), four to collected poems of Ali Shir Nawai, four to Diwan of Hafiz, nine miniature belongs to Khamsa of Nezami and finally eleven miniature paintings from Haft Awrang of Jami presented well in color print in this book. REVIEW: This is my go-to resource for Persian paintings right now. There are color images on every page, as well as close-ups on various details. I wish there were more information; however, strictly as a visual resource, this is fantastic! REVIEW: This is an excellent book by Stuart Cary Welch. Lots of beautiful miniatures featured in full color. REVIEW: Five stars! It is a priceless book. I ordered a second copy for my daughter to learn about Iranian arts . It is very informative and helpful. REVIEW: This is an excellent book by Stuart Cary Welch. Lots of beautiful miniatures featured in full color. I would also highly recommend this book also: “Figurative Art in Medieval Islam: And the Riddle of Bihzad of Herat (1465-1535)” by Michael Barry and Stuart Cary Welch. REVIEW: The refined art of miniatures very nice choice of illustration. Old book but beautiful colors preserved and not republished. A pity as it would be worth it!! ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND: Ancient Mesopotamia: The oldest known communities in Mesopotamia are thought to date from 9,000 BC, and include the ancient city of Babylon. Several civilizations flourished in the fertile area created by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flowing south out of Turkey. These river valleys and plains of Mesopotamia are often referred to as the “fertile crescent” by historians and archaeologists. The region lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which are about 250 miles apart from one another. The ancient Sumerians and Babylonians were inhabitants of Mesopotamia. Ancient Mesopotamia included parts of what is now eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and most of Iraq. This whole area layus between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. By 4,000 BC large cities had developed within the region. Considered one of the cradles of civilization, the region is referred to frequently in The Bible. Biblical accounts even describe the region as the birthplace of Abraham. The region also produced the first written records, as well as the wheel. The region was conquered by the Akkadians in the 24th century BC. The Akkadians ruled for about two centuries. The ancient city of Ur controlled the region for the next two centuries until about 2,000 B.C. Mesopotamia was not again united until about 1750 BC. At that point in time the Kingdom of Babylon arose and reigned supreme in the area for about one and one-half centuries. The Babylonians in turn were conquered by Hittites from Turkey in about 1595 BC. The longest control of the area was by the ancient Assyrians, who ruled the area from about 1350 through about 600 BC. After a brief interlude of chaos, the Persians conquered the area. The Persians controlled the region for three centuries until Persia and all of its territories were conquered by Alexander the Great. This occurred in the last of the 4th century BC. However the Greeks only held the region for about one century before it again fell to the Persians. The Persians and Romans wrestled over the area for a number of centuries. Finally in the 7th century AD the area of Mesopotamia fell to the Islamic Empire [AncientGifts]. The Roots of Ancient Persia: Persis was the ancient Greek name of the approximate area of modern Fars in Central Iran. The name is derived from the Persian “pars” from the Persians who settled in the area in the 7th century BC. Prior the place was known as Anšan. “Persis” also referred to the latter Persian state of the Hellenistic and Imperial periods. Persis was the Persian homeland. It was a land predominated by river basins and plateaus which stretched forth from the Zagros Mountains. The region consisted of river-drained plains between two ridges of the Zagros Mountains, running horizontally from east to west. The land was composed of basins and valleys. It was agriculturally fertile, sustained by a complex web of irrigation ditches. The north-western plains were characterized by more hills and valleys at a higher altitude. This region received more rain than the south-eastern counterpart. In the higher altitudes, temperate forests could be found with oaks, date palms, and pomegranates. In this region was Pasargade (present-day ), the early capital of the Persian Kings of Kings. Equally famous was the city of Persepolis. Nearer to the salt lakes in the north lay Ansan, the ancient seat of Persian power. Ansan was the original home of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire. The Mand River separated Ansan from other cities in the east. Persis is also the name given today to a small kingdom of the eponymous area which lasted roughly from 300 BC to 211/212 AD. Little is recorded pertaining to the early history of the Kingdom of Persis. It is only dimly lit, characterized by conjecture and contradictory hypotheses. According to the most recent analysis the kingdom appeared during the reign of the Hellenic King Seleucos. Seleucos was one of Alexander-the-Great’s generals/successors. During Seleucos’s reign of 305-281 BC Persis and the whole Middle East were under Seleucid control. Seleucos apparently formed an alliance with a local Persian dynasty which grew to gain , substantial power in Persis. Persis rulers took the title of “Frataraka”, or “keeper of the fire”; This title appears to have been equivalent to a sub-satrap title. Their power in Persis was complimented by the presence of a Seleucid satrap of Persis. This balance of power led to some sort of co-existence, but the precise details relationship are not fully understood. The four first rulers of Pesis were “Artaxares I” (“Ardaxshir” in Persian), “Oborzes” (or “Wahabarz”), “Autophradates I” (or “Vadfradad”), and “Bagadates” (or “Bagdan”). These ruler retained the title of “Frataraka” title and minted coins under that authority. It seems Persis kept fairly good relations with the Seleucids. The exception occurred during the reign of Oborzes, during the period of about 270 to 240 BCE), when according to the Greek Historian Polyaeneus the forces of Persis killed around 3,000 Greek colonists. Evidence of turbulent reigns can be found in coin overstrikes. These indicate for instance that the rulers Autophradates I and Bagadates were not on good terms with one another. When the Seleucid Antiochos III came to power he installed a Greek by the name of Alexander alongside Alexander’s brother Molon at the head of the Persis satrapy in Media. According to Polybius the 2nd century BC Hellenic/Greek Historian Polybius Alexander despised Antiochos III. Alexander helped his brother Molon along with the Upper Satrapies to revolt against Antiochos III during the period 222-220 BC. Again according to Polybius when Alexander and Molon were defeated the two committed suicide. Antiochos III then sent Tychon who was chief secretary of his army to “take the command of the Persian gulf province”. The revolt must have been supported by the Persis Frataraka, as the Persis dynasty disappeared until the reign of “Autophradates II” (or “Vadfradad” in Persian). Onward from the reign of this ruler until that of the last ruler the Kings of Persis all bore the title “Malakh” instead of “frataraka”. Persis kings seem to have maintained their loyalty to the Seleucids the Parthians defeated the Seleucids in 141 BCE. The Parthians then kept the Persis kingdoms as vassals, as they also later did with several little kingdoms in Mesopotamia. One of the kings of Persis was Ardashir. The son of Sassan, Ardashir revolted against the Parthian King Artabanos VI in 211/2 AD defeated him. Thus Ardashir founded the Sassanian empire. This ended the kingdom of Persis as under his rule Ardashir simply merged Persis with the defeated Parthian Empire. Very little is known of the cultural aspects of the kingdom of Persis. They ruled from Estakhr, where Achaemenid tombs are located. The dynasty shows several indications of Hellenization on their coins and on the scarce representation they left history, alongside reminiscent pictures from Achaemenid art. Administration aspects were probably similar to those used by the early Sassanids, with a king giving orders to several kyrios (Lords). Ultimately the legacy of the kingdom of Persis became visible through Sassanid cultural elements, even though many important aspects remain unknown [Ancient History Encyclopedia]. Ancient Persia: Ancient Persia (geographically roughly equivalent to modern-day Iran) is among the oldest inhabited regions in the world. Archaeological sites in the country have established human habitation dating back 100,000 years to the Paleolithic Age. Semi-permanent settlements most likely for hunting parties were well-established before 10,000 BC. The earliest archaeological finds in the region include Neanderthal seasonal settlements and tools. These finds help trace human development in the region from the Paleolithic through the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Ages. The city of Susa (modern-day Shushan), which would later become part of Elam and then Persia, was founded in 4395 BC, making it among the oldest in the world. Although Susa is often equated with Elam, they were different polities. Though it was contemporaneous with Elamite culture Susa was founded before even the Proto-Elamite Period, which ran from about 3200 through 2700 BC. The ancient kingdom of Elam in this area was among the most advanced of its time. Its oldest settlement is the archaeological site of Chogha Bonut. Chogha Bonut dates back to around 7200 BC before it conquered in part by the Sumerians, later completely by the Assyrians, and then by the Medes. The Median Empire of 678 to 550 BC was followed by one of the greatest political and social entities of the ancient world, the Persian Achaemenid Empire. This empire existed from 550 through 330 BC at which point in time it was conquered by Alexander the Great. One of Alexander’s successor generals founded the Seleucid Empire which controlled much of the region from 312 through 63 BC. However the Seleucids gradually lost control of the region to the Parthian Empire, which existed from 247 BC through 224 AD. The Parthians were in turn succeeded by Sassanian Empire, which controlled the region from 224 through 651 AD. The Sassanian Empire was the last of the Persian governments to hold the region before the Muslim Arab conquest of the 7th century AD. Aryan tribes are thought to have initially migrated to the region at some point prior to the 3rd millennium BC. Their country would later be referred to as Ariana and Iran, literally the land of the Aryans. The term ‘Aryan’ should be understood according to the ancient Iranian language of Avestan. The term literally meant “noble”, “civilized” or “free man” and designated a class of people. The term had nothing to do with race in general, or Caucasians specifically. The term refers to Indo-Iranians who applied the term to describe themselves in the religious works known as the Avesta. The term ‘Aryan’ interpreted as referencing racial Caucasians was not advanced until the 19th century. These Aryan tribes were made up of diverse people who would become known as Alans, Bactrians, Medes, Parthians, and Persians, among others. They brought with them a polytheistic religion closely associated with the Vedic thought of the Indo-Aryans. The Indo-Ayrans were the peoples who would settle in northern India. The religion was characterized by dualism and the veneration of fire as an embodiment of the divine. This early Iranian religion held the god Ahura Mazda as the supreme being. Other deities in the pantheon included among others; Mithra (sun god/god of covenants), Hvar Khsata (sun god), and Anahita (goddess of fertility, health, water, and wisdom). At some point between 1500 and 1000 BC the Persian visionary Zoroaster claimed divine revelation from Ahura Mazda. Also known as Zarathustra, he advocated recognizing the purpose of human life as choosing sides in an eternal struggle. The struggle was between the supreme deity of justice and order, Ahuras Mazda, and his adversary Angra Mainyu. The latter was the god of discord and strife. Human beings were defined by whose side they chose to act on. Zoroaster’s teachings formed the foundation of the religion of Zoroastrianism. This religion would later be adopted by the Persian empires and influence and shape their culture. The Persians settled primarily across the Iranian plateau and were well-established by the 1st millennium BC. They settled primarily across the Iranian plateau. The Medes united under a single chief named Dayukku. Dayukku was known to Greek history as Deioces. He ruled from 727 through 675 BC, and founded the Mede state in Ecbatana. Dayukku’s grandson was Cyaxares. He ruled from 625 through 585 BC and would extend Median territory into modern-day Azerbaijan. Under their king Achaemenes in the late 8th century BC the Persians consolidated their control of the central-western region of the Bakhityari Mountains. Their capital city was Anshan. As noted above the Elamites were already established in this area at the time. They were most likely the indigenous population. The Persians under their king Thiepes settled to the east of Elam in the territory known as Persis. Thiepes was the son of Achaemenes, and he ruled from 675 through 640 BC. The territory of Persis was also known as Parsa, and is roughly contemporaneous with modern Fars. Persis which would give the tribe the name they are known by (“Persian”). The Persians later extended their control of the region into Elamite territory. They intermarried with Elamites and eventually absorbed the culture. Sometime prior to 640 BC Thiepes divided his kingdom between his sons Cyrus I and Ararnamnes. Cyrus ruled the northern kingdom from Anshan from about 625 through 600 BC. Arianamnes ruled in the south. Under the rule of Cambyses I (who ruled from 580 through 559 BC) the two kingdoms were re-united, who ruled from Anshan. The Medes were the dominant power in the region. The kingdom of the Persians was actually a small vassal state under the Medes. This situation would reverse after the fall of the Assyrian Empire in 612 BC. Already weakening the fall of the Assyrian Empire was hastened by the campaigns of the Medes and Babylonians. They had led a coalition against the weakening Assyrian state. The Medes at first maintained control until they were overthrown by Cyrus II. Cyrus II was also known as “Cyrus the Great” and is credited with the founding of the Achaemenid Empire. He was the son of Persian Cambyses I, and grandson of Astyages of Media who had ruled from bout 585 through 550 BC. In about 550 BC Cyrus II overthrew his grandfather Astyages of Media and began a systematic campaign to bring other principalities under his control. He conquered the wealthy kingdom of Lydia in 546 BC, Elam (Susiana) in 540 BC, and Babylon in 539 BC. By the end of his reign, Cyrus II (“the Great”) had established an empire which stretched from the modern-day region of Syria down through Turkey and across to the borders of India. This became known as the Achaemenid Empire, named for Cyrus II’s ancestor Achaemenes. Cyrus II is unique among ancient conquerors for his humanitarian vision and policies as well as encouraging technological innovations. Much of the land he conquered suffered from a lack of adequate water supply. Cyrus he had his engineers revive an older means of tapping underground aquifers known as a qanat. The qanat was a sloping channel dug into the earth with vertical shafts at intervals. These vertical shafts reached down to the channel. Thus through the access provided by the shafts water could be brough up to ground level from the subterranean channel, or “qanat”. Cyrus II is often erroneously credited with inventing the qanat system. However the qanat system was actually attested to earlier by Sargon II of Assyria. Sargon ruled from 722 through 705 BC. An inscription describing his 714 BC Urartu campaign notes qanats in use around the city of Ulhu in Western Iran. The qanat system is mentioned as creating fertile fields from any river. It seems Cyrus II developed a much wider network of qanats across a much greater area. However the system was actually an earlier Persian invention. Likewise an earlier innovation was the yakhchal. These were great domed coolers which created and preserved ice. They were in essence the first refrigerators. Cyrus encouraged the widespread us of the yakhchal. Cyrus II’s humanitarian efforts are well-known through the Cyrus Cylinder. This preserves a record of his policies and proclamation of his vision. That vision was that everyone under his reign should be free to live as they wished as long as they did so in peaceful accord with others. One example of such humanitarianism might be the fact that after Cyrus conquered Babylon he allowed the Jews to return to Judah. Prior the Jews had been taken from their homeland by King Nebuchadnezzar who had ruled from 605 through 562 BC. This event is known to history as the “Babylonian Captivity”. Cyrus even provided the Jews with funds to rebuild their temple. Cyrus also allowed the Lydians to continue their worship of their goddess Cybele. And Cyrus allowed other ethnicities to continue worshipping their own deities as well. All Cyrus II asked in return for this magnanimosity was that citizens of his empire live peacefully with each other, serve in his armies, and pay their taxes. In order to maintain a stable environment Cyrus (“the Great”) he instituted a governmental hierarchy. Naturally Cyrus was at the top of the hierarchy. Following were the advisors who surrounded him, and who relayed his decrees to secretaries. These then passed on Cyrus’s decrees to regional governors (“satraps”) in each province (“satrapy”). The governors, known as “satraps”, only possessed authority over bureaucratic-administrative matters. A military commander in province, known as a “satrapy”, possessed oversight authority with respect to military/police matters. By dividing the responsibilities of government in each satrapy, Cyrus II lessened the chance of any official amassing enough money and power to attempt a coup. The decrees of Cyrus the Great, as well as any other news, traveled along a network of roads linking major cities. The most famous of these would become the Royal Road running from Susa to Sardis. This was established after the rule of Cyrus by one of his successors, Darius I. Messengers would leave one city and find a watchtower and rest-station within two days. There the messenger would be given food, drink, a bed, and once refreshed, was provided with a new horse to travel on to the next station. The Persian postal system was considered by the Greek Historian Herodotus to be a marvel of his era. The Persian system became the model for later similar postal systems. Cyrus founded a new city as capital, Pasargadae. However Cyrus moved between three other cities which also served as administrative hubs. These cities were Babylon, Ecbatana, and Susa. The Royal Road connected these cities as well as others. Thus the king was constantly informed of the affairs of state. Cyrus was fond of gardening and made use of the qanat system to create elaborate gardens. These gardens were known as “pairi-daeza”, which eventuallyu gave rise to the English word and concept of “paradise”. Cyrus is said to have spent as much time as possible in his gardens daily while also managing the expansion of his empire. Cyrus died in 530 BC, possibly in battle. He was succeeded by his son Cambyses II, who ruled from 530 through 522 BC. Cambyses II who extended Persian rule into Egypt. Modern scholars continue to debate the identity of Cambyses’s successor, It could either of been his brother Bardiya, or a Median usurper named Gaumata. Gaumata took control of the empire in 522 BC. According to some historical accounts it is suggested that Cambyses II assassinated his brother Bardiya. Gaumata then assumed Bardiya’s identity while Cambyses II was campaigning in Egypt. Either way a distant cousin of the brothers assassinated this ruler, whatever his true identity, 522 BC. The cousin took the regnal name of Darius I, who was also known as “Darius the Great”. Darius I ruled from 522 through 486 BC), and would extend the empire even further. Darius would also initiate some of the empire’s most famous building projects. These would include the great ancient city of Persepolis, which became one of the empire’s capitals. Domestic unrest broke out during Darius’s reign even though he continued Cyrus II’s policy of tolerance and humanitarian legislation. Such unrest was not uncommon as it was standard for provinces to rebel after the death of a monarch. This “tradition” stretched as far back in time to the Akkadian Empire of Sargon the Great in Mesopotamia, who had ruled from 2334 through 2279 BC. The Ionian Greek colonies of Asia Minor were among these areas of unrest. Since their rebellious efforts were backed by Athens, Darius launched an invasion of Greece. The advance of Darius’s armies was halted at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. After his death Darius (“the Great”) was succeeded by his son Xerxes I. Xerxes I ruled from 486 through 465 BC. He is most famous for raising what is believed to be the largest army in history up to that point for his unsuccessful invasion of Greece of 480 BC. Following the failed invasion history records that Xerxes I occupied himself with building projects. Most notable among these projects were additions to the great city of Persepolis. Darius’s successors likewise continued building additions to the capital city. The Achaemenid Empire would remain stable under later rulers until it was eventually conquered by Alexander the Great. This occurred during the reign of Darius III, who ruled from 336 through 330 BC. Darius III was assassinated by his confidante and bodyguard Bessus. Bessus then proclaimed himself Artaxerxes V. However he only ruled from 330 to 329 BC as shortly after assassinating Darius III he was executed by Alexander the Great. Alexander styled himself as Darius’ successor and is often referred to as the last monarch of the Achaemenid Empire. After Alexander’s death in 323 BC his empire was divided up amongst his generals. One of these was Seleucus I Nicator. Seleucus had taken control over Alexander’s conquests in Central Asia and Mesopotamia. Expanding these territories he founded the Seleucid Empire. Ruling from 305 to 281 BC Seleucus Hellenized the region. Seleucus kept the Persian model of government and religious toleration. However he filled the top administrative positions with Greeks. Even though Greeks and Persians intermarried, the Seleucid Empire favored Greeks. Greek became the language of the court. Seleucus began his reign putting down rebellions in some areas and conquering others. However he always maintained the Persian governmental policies which had worked so well in the region in the past. Even though this same practice was followed by Seleucus’ immediate successors, regions rose in revolt. Some such as Parthia and Bactria managed to break away and gain their independence. For instance in 247 BC Arsaces I of Parthia established an independent kingdom which would become the Parthian Empire. Arsaces would rule from 247 through 217 BC. The Seleucid king Antiochus III (“the Great”) who ruled from 223 through 187 BCE) would retake Parthia briefly in around 209 BC. However Parthia was on the rise and shook off Seleucid rule afterwards. Antiochus III was the last effective Seleucid king. However though he had reconquered and expanded the Seleucid Empire, he was defeated by Rome at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC. The consequential Treaty of Apamea forced upon him by the Romans in 188 BC resulted in significant losses. As a consequence of the treaty the empire was diminished to less than half its former size. Shortly after this the Parthian king Phraates seized on the Seleucid defeat and expanded Parthian control into former Seleucid regions. Phraates ruled from 176 through 171 BC. His successor Mithridates I would rule from 171 through 132 BC. Mithridates consolidated these regions and expand the Parthian Empire further. Parthia continued to grow as the Seleucid Empire shrank. During this time of Seleucid decline and Parthian growth the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes focused entirely on his own self-interests. Antiochus IV ruled from 175 through 164 BC. His successors would continue the pattern. The result was that the Seleucids were finally reduced to a small buffer kingdom in Syria after their defeat by the Roman general Pompey the Great. In contrast following the reign of Mithridates II the Parthian Empire was at its height. Mithridates II ruled from 124 through 88 BC. By the point in time that the Seleucids suffered their defeat at the hands of Pompey the Great in 63 BC, the Parthians had expanded their empire even further. The Parthians reduced the threat of rebellion in their provinces by shrinking the size of their satrapies, which by that point in time were called “eparchies”. They allowed the kings of conquered regions to retain their positions with all rights and privileges. These client kings paid tribute to the Parthian Empire, enriching that treasury, while maintaining peace simply because it was in their own best interests. The resulting political stability allowed Parthian art and architecture to flourish while prosperous trade further enriched the empire. Both the art and the architecture reflected a seamless blend of Persian and Hellenistic cultural characteristics. The Parthian army was the most effective fighting force of the age. This was principally due to the army’s cavalry and the perfection of a technique known as the “Parthian shot”. This technique was executed by mounted archers who while feigning retreat would turn and shoot backward at advancing adversaries. This technique is the source of the English language phrase “parting shot”. This characteristic tactic of Parthian warfare as a complete surprise to their adversaries. It remained so even after opposing forces became aware of it. Under Orodes II (who ruled from 57 through 37 BC) the Parthians easily defeated and killed the triumvir Crassus of Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC. The Parthians later defeated the Roman forces of Mark Antony in 36 BC. The Parthians thus delivered two severe blows to the might, morale, and reputation Rome’s military might. Nonetheless Rome’s power continued to increase following the reorganization as an empire, founded by Octavius Augustus, who ruled from 27 BC through 14 AD. By 165 AD the Parthian Empire had been severely weakened by incessant and frequent Roman campaigns. The last Parthian king was Artabanus IV who ruled from 213 through 224 AD. Artabanus was overthrown by his vassal Ardashir I. Ardashir I was a descendant of Darius III and a member of the royal Persian house. During his reign from 224 through 240 AD Ardashir I was chiefly concerned first, with building a stable kingdom founded on the precepts of Zoroastrianism. Second to protect that stable kingdom from Roman warfare and influence. To this end Ardashir he made his son Shapur I co-regent in 240 AD. When Ardashir I died a year later, Shapur I became “King of Kings”. Ruling from 240 through 270 AD, Shapur initiated a series of military campaigns to enlarge his territory and protect his borders. Like his father Shapur I was a devout Zoroastrian, but adhered to a policy of religious tolerance in keeping with the practice of the Achaemenid Empire. Jews, Christians, and members of other religious faiths were free to practice their beliefs, build houses of worship, and participate in government. The religious visionary Mani who lived from 216 through 274 AD was founder of Manichaeism and was a guest at Shapur I’s court. Shapur I [rpved himself quite capable as an administrator. He ran his new empire efficiently from the capital at Ctesiphon, which had earlier been the seat of the Parthian Empire. Shapur also commissioned numerous building projects. He initiated the architectural innovation of the domed entrance and the minaret. He revived the use of the qanat which the Parthians had neglected. He also revived the yakhchal (refrigerator) as well as wind-towers. The wind towers were also known as wind “catchers”. These were originally an Egyptian invention and were used for ventilating and cooling buildings. It may also have been Shapur who commissioned the impressive Taq Kasra arch. This arch is still standing at Ctesiphon, although some scholars credit this to the later monarch Kosrau I. Shapur perceived that his Zoroastrian vision cast him and the Sassanians as the forces of light. They believed themselves to be serving the great god Ahura Mazda. They preceived themselves as opposing the forces of darkness and disorder, which were epitomized by Rome. Shapur I’s campaigns against Rome were almost universally successful. Shapour even succeeded in capturing the Roman emperor Valerian, who had ruled Rome from 253 through 260 AD. Shapur forced Valerian into a role as Shapur’s personal servant, using him as a footstool when mounting his horse. Shapur saw himself as a warrior king and lived up to that vision. He took full advantage of Rome’s weakness during the Crisis of the Third Century (which lasted from 235 through 284 AD) to enlarge the Sassanian Empire. Shapur I lay the foundation for the Sassanian Empire which his successors would build upon. The greatest of Shapur’s successors was Kosrau I. Kosrau I, also known as Anushirvan the Just, ruled from 531-579 AD. Kosrau I reformed the tax laws so they were more equitable. He divided the empire into four sections. The defense of each section was the responsibility of its own general. This permitted quick response to both external or internal threats. Thus Kosrau managed to tightly secure the Sassanian borders. Kosrau also elevated the importance of education. He founded the Academy of Gondishapur. The Academy was the leading university and medical center of its day. Scholars from India, China, Greece, and elsewhere composed its faculty. Kosrau I continued the policies of religious tolerance and inclusion, as well as the ancient Persian antipathy towards slavery. Prisoners of war taken by the Roman Empire became slaves. Prisoners of war taken by the Sassanian Empire became paid servants. It was was also illegal to beat or in any way injure a servant, no matter one’s social class. Thus the life of a ‘slave’ within the Sassanian Empire was far superior to the lives of slaves elsewhere in the ancient world. The Sassanian Empire is considered the height of Persian rule and culture in antiquity. It is perceived to have built upon the best tenets of the Achaemenid Empire, not only incorporating these characteristics, but improving upon them. As was the case with most (if not all) other ancient empires, the Sassanians declined the result of weak rulers who made poor choices. Contributing factors also included the corruption of the clergy and the onslaught of the Bubonic Plague in 627 and 628 AD. Unable to recover from these handicaps, particularly decimation by the plague, the Sassanians were unable to muster the strength (or population necessary) to resist conquest by the Muslim Arabs in the 7th century AD. Even so Persian technological, architectural, and religious innovations would come to shape the culture of the conquerors and their religion. The high civilization of ancient Persia continues today with direct, unbroken ties to its past through the Iranian culture. Although modern-day Iran corresponds to the heartland of ancient Persia, The Islamic Republic of Iran is a multi-cultural entity. To say one is Iranian is to state one’s nationality. In contrast to say one is Persian is to define one’s ethnicity. These are not synonyms. Iran’s multi-cultural heritage directly descends from the paradigm of the great Persian empires of the past. These were characterized by many different ethnicities living within within those empires. That past is reflected in the diverse and welcoming character of Iranian society in the present day [Ancient History Encyclopedia]. The Achaemenid Empire of Persia: East of the Zagros Mountains a high plateau stretches off towards India. While Egypt was rising up against the Hyksos, a wave of pastoral tribes from north of the Caspian Sea was drifting down into this area and across into India. By the time the Assyrians had built their new empire, a second wave had covered the whole stretch between the Zagros and the Hindu Kush. Some tribes settled, others retained their semi-nomadic lifestyle. These were the Iranian peoples. Like all nomadic peoples lacking police and law courts, a code of honor was central to the Iranian tribes. Their religious beliefs differed from those of farming people. Whereas the farmers of Egypt and Mesopotamia had converted nature gods into city guardians, the Iranians had begun distilling them into a few universal principles. Zoroaster who lived sometime around 1000 BC drove this process. For Zoroaster the only god was the creator, Ahura Mazda, bringer of asha. Asha was light, order, truth. Asha was the law or logic by which the world was structured. Even those who were not practicing Zoroastrians grew up shaped by a culture that valued simple ethical ideas such as telling the truth. In some areas, one tribe would manage to gather a collection of other tribes under its leadership. The Medes were one such. They built a capital at Ecbatana (literally translated as ‘meeting place’). Ecbatana was situated in the eastern Zagros, from where the Medes extended their power. In 612 BC Cyaxares, King of the Medes, stormed Nineveh with the Chaldeans. Thereafter Cyaxares pushed into the north-west. In 585 BC the Medes were fighting the Lydians on the Halys river when a solar eclipse frightened both sides into making peace. Soon thereafter Cyaxares died leaving an empire of sorts to his son Astyages, who ruled from 585 to 550 BC. One of the regions whose tribes paid tribute to the Medes was Persia. Persia was situated south-east of Ecbatana, beyond Elam. There were around 10 or 15 tribes in Persia, of which one was the Pasargadae. The leader of the Pasargadae always came from the Achaemenid clan. In 559 BCE a new leader was chosen, Cyrus II, who became known as “Cyrus the Great’.Some historical accounts record that Cyrus was the grandson of Astyages on his mother’s side. However his biological descendance from the Mede ruler did not preclude Cyrus from wanting to shake off the Median yoke. By 552 BC Cyrus had formed the Persian tribes into a federation and begun a series of uprisings. When the inevitable showdown with his grandfather Astyages came in 550 BC history records that the Medes mutinied and joined Cyrus to march on Ecbatana. Cyrus took the title ‘Shah (or King) of Persia’ and built a capital on the site of his victory. Cyrus named his city “Pasargadae”, after his tribe. Winning the Medes over had landed Cyrus with a vague, sprawling empire of countless different peoples. This presented Cyrus with challenges arising from cultural diversity, suspicion, and outright hostility. Lydia and Chaldean Babylon had agreements with the Medes. Neither felt comfortable about a Persian takeover led by Cyrus. Lydia was won because Cyrus did not play by the rules. After an indecisive battle near the Halys river one autumn, King Croesus (who ruled from about 560 to 546 BC) returned to Sardis. King Croesus did so with the customary expectation that fighting would resume in the spring. But Cyrus followed him home and captured Sardis itself, Lydia’s capital and richest of the Ionian cities. A century earlier, Lydia had minted the ancient world’s first coins, making Ionia a hub of commerce. Now all this fell to Cyrus. As for Croesus himself it seems against all precedent Cyrus may have spared his life. Cyrus developed a reputation for sparing conquered rulers enabling him to seek their advice on how best to govern their lands. How much of this reputation was warranted is hard to know. However it is known that prior to Cyrus no one would have followed such a route with respect to the leader of a vanquished foe. In the ancient world this would have been construed as a sign of weakness. Cyrus by contrast saw cooperation as a strength. This was particularly so when it came to securing his main goal, the conquest of Babylon. Rather than trying to take the world’s greatest city by force, Cyrus fought a propaganda campaign to exploit the unpopularity of its king, Nabonidus. Babylon’s traditions would be safer with Cyrus was the message propagandized. The gates of Babylon were opened and palm fronds were laid before him as he entered the city. Once in Babylon, Cyrus performed the religious ceremonies Nabonidus had neglected. Cyrus returned confiscated icons to their temples around the country. These acts enabled Cyrus to legitimize his rule over in Babylon. Religious leaders proclaimed that Cyrus’s rule was clearly sanctioned by the Babylonian gods. Cyrus established that his empire would be based, in effect, on a kind of contract between himself and the various peoples in his care. They would pay their tribute. In return Cyrus would ensure all were free to worship their own gods and live according to their customs. The exiled Jews were allowed to go home and given money towards the building of a new temple in Jerusalem. This earned Cyrus a glowing write-up in the Old Testament as well as providing him with a useful buffer state against Egypt. Cyrus’s multiculturalism made an enduring imperial peace a real possibility at last and defined the way later empires sought to achieve stable rule. It was obvious to Cyrus that this was the only way he could hope to hold on to his conquests. But his was a vision only someone from outside the civilizations of the river valleys, with their intense attachments to local gods, could have conceived. Cyrus’s son and successor Cambyses II ruled from 529 through 522 BC. Cambyses added Egypt to the Persian Empire. However a revolt broke out at home. It was apparently led by a Median priest posing as Cambyses’s brother, whom Cambyses had secretly murdered. Cambyses hurried back home but died on the way. He left one of his generals, a distant relative, to step in. His name was Darius. Darius I eventually became known in history as “Darius the Great”. His first act of of business was to kill the Median priest pretending to the throne. However even with that accomplished Darius was faced with uprisings were by then breaking out all over. Darius thus found himself having to re-establish Cyrus’s conquests. The army and the noble clans of Persia had grown rich from imperial rule. With their support Darius regained control of the Empire and extended it into the Indus Valley. The Indus proved to be a prize worth several times more in tribute than had been Babylon. Darius realized that if the empire were to work, it needed efficient organization. He divided the empire into 20 satrapies, or provinces. Each satrapy paid a fixed rate of tribute to Persia. Each satrapy was run by a centrally appointed satrap, or governor, often related to Darius. To prevent a satrap from building an independent power base, Darius appointed a separate military commander answerable only to him. Imperial spies known as the ‘king’s ears’ kept tabs on both the military commanders and the satraps. They reported back to Darius through the postal service. The postal service connected the empire with a network of roads along. Couriers could change horses at stations spaced a day’s travel apart. Darius took much of this structure from the Assyrians, simply applying it on a larger scale. However Darius’s system of tribute was something new. Previously tribute had been essentially protection money paid to avoid trouble. However Darius treated it instead as a tax. He used the tribute income to build a navy. He embarked on massive public-spending programs, pumping money into irrigation works, mineral exploration, roads, and a canal between the Nile and the Red Sea. Darius also established a common currency. This made working far from home much easier. Darius also brought together teams of craftsmen from all over the Empire to build, an imperial capital at Persepolis. This was done under the direction of Persian architects. Here Darius could keep his gold and silver in a giant vault, which soon proved to be too small to hold all of Darius’s wealth. Persepolis also showed off the multi-ethnic scope of his empire. Persepolis became a display case for the artistic styles of just about every culture within the empire, held in an overarching frame of Persian design. The city was a visualization of Cyrus’s idea of empire. However Darius never acknowledged the preceding achievements of Cyrus which provided a foundation for Darius. Darius seems to have had “a chip on his shoulder” about not belonging to Cyrus’s branch of the Achaemenid clan. As he outstripped Cyrus’s achievements, Darius began to present himself in an ever more exalted manner. Darius dropped the title Shah in favor of the grander title Shahanshah (‘King of Kings’). Like Persepolis, however, all of Darius’s achievements followed directly from Cyrus’s vision. Cyrus had played the part of Babylon’s king when he entered the city. However Darius’s concept of empire demanded a ruler who stood above all kings linked to the interests of any one community. It required a “king of kings”. Darius’s later rule saw trouble in the Mediterranean. In 499 BC there was a Greek revolt in Ionia. After eventually quashing it, Darius’s fleet sailed to punish Athens for backing the rebels. However Darius’s naval forces encountered a surprise defeat. If the Persian empire was not to appear dangerously weak militarily, the Greeks would have to be taught a lesson. But when Darius raised taxes to fund a military rearmament drive, he provoked unrest in more important areas such as Egypt. It fell to Darius’s son Xerxes Ito restore order in Egypt and take up the Greek issue. Xerxes ruled from 486 through 465 BC. Xerxes carried himself even more loftily still than Darius. With both Darius and Cyrus as precedents, Xerxes had had even more to prove. But Xerxes lacked the cultural sensitivity both Darius and Cyrus had displayed. When tax increases produced riots in Babylon in 482 BC, Xerxes sacked the city, destroyed the temple, and melted down the solid gold statue of Marduk. The statue was reportedly solid gold, three times the size of a man. With the melting of Marduk, so vanished Babylon’s greatness. Marduk’s gold funded Xerxes efforts to begin the process of assembling forces to crush the Greeks. However in 480 BC Xerxes was prematurely forced into battle. Xerxes suffered a worse military humiliation than his father. Thereafter history suggests that Xerxes largely withdrew into the cocoon embodied by the luxury of his court and harem. When Cyrus entered Babylon he had mimicked the behavior of a Mesopotamian king for public consumption. But by the time of Zerxes the private lives of Persian rulers had actually taken Mesopotamian form. Shut up in opulent isolation, the later Achaemenid rulers played out an increasingly gaudy pantomime of harem intrigue and palace assassination. Ancient Iranian Cities: Even local archaeologists with the benefit of air-conditioned cars and paved roads think twice about crossing eastern Iran’s rugged terrain. “It’s a tough place,” says Mehdi Mortazavi from the University of Sistan-Baluchistan in the far eastern end of Iran, near the Afghan border. At the center of this region is the Dasht-e Lut, Persian for the “Empty Desert.” This treacherous landscape, 300 miles long and 200 miles wide, is covered with sinkholes, steep ravines, and sand dunes. Some of the sand dunes top 1,000 feet (300 meters) in height. It also has the hottest average surface temperature of any place on Earth. The forbidding territory in and around this desert seems like the last place to seek clues to the emergence of the first cities and states 5,000 years ago. Yet archaeologists are finding an impressive array of ancient settlements on the edges of the Dasht-e Lut. These ancient settlements date back to the period when urban civilization was emerging in Egypt, Iraq, and the Indus River Valley in Pakistan and India. In the 1960s and 1970s archaeologists found the great centers of Shahr-i-Sokhta and Shahdad on the desert’s fringes and another, Tepe Yahya, far to the south. More recent surveys, excavations, and remote sensing work reveal that all of eastern Iran, from near the Persian Gulf in the south to the northern edge of the Iranian plateau, was peppered with hundreds and possibly thousands of small to large settlements. Detailed laboratory analyses of artifacts and human remains from these sites are providing an intimate look at the lives of an enterprising people who helped create the world’s first global trade network. Far from living in a cultural backwater, eastern Iranians from this period built large cities with palaces, used one of the first writing systems, and created sophisticated metal, pottery, and textile industries. They also appear to have shared both administrative and religious ideas as they did business with distant lands. “They connected the great corridors between Mesopotamia and the east,” says Maurizio Tosi, a University of Bologna archaeologist who did pioneering work at Shahr-i-Sokhta. “They were the world in between.” By 2000 B.C. these settlements were abandoned. The reasons for this remain unclear and are the source of much scholarly controversy. However history is clear, urban life didn’t return to eastern Iran for more than 1,500 years. The very existence of this civilization was long forgotten. Recovering its past has not been easy. Parts of the area are close to the Afghan border, long rife with armed smugglers. Revolution and politics have frequently interrupted excavations. And the immensity of the region and its harsh climate make it one of the most challenging places in the world to conduct archaeology. The enigmatic explorer Sir Aurel Stein was famous for his archaeological work surveying large swaths of Central Asia and the Middle East. Stein slipped into Persia at the end of 1915 and found the first hints of eastern Iran’s lost cities. Stein traversed what he described as “a big stretch of gravel and sandy desert” and encountered “the usual…robber bands from across the Afghan border, without any exciting incident.” What did excite Stein was the discovery of what he called “the most surprising prehistoric site” on the eastern edge of the Dasht-e Lut. Locals called it Shahr-i-Sokhta (“Burnt City”) because of signs of ancient destruction. It wasn’t until a half-century later that Tosi and his team hacked their way through the thick salt crust and discovered a metropolis rivaling those of the first great urban centers in Mesopotamia and the Indus. Radiocarbon data showed that about the time the first substantial cities in Mesopotamia were being built around 3200 BC the site of Dasht-e Lut was founded, It flourished for more than a thousand years. During its heyday in the middle of the third millennium BC the city covered more than 150 hectares. It may have been home to more than 20,000 people. It’s population was likely equivalent to the large cities of Umma in Mesopotamia and Mohenjo-Daro on the Indus River. A vast shallow lake and wells likely provided the necessary water, allowing for cultivated fields and grazing for animals. Built of mudbrick the city boasted a large palace. There were separate neighborhoods for pottery-making, metalworking, and other industrial activities. There were also distinct areas for the production of local goods. Most residents lived in modest one-room houses. However there were some were larger compounds with six to eight rooms. Bags of goods and storerooms were often “locked” with stamp seals, a procedure also common in Mesopotamia in the era. Shahr-i-Sokhta boomed as the demand for precious goods among elites in the region and elsewhere grew. Though situated in inhospitable terrain, the city was close to tin, copper, and turquoise mines. It also laid on the route bringing lapis lazuli from Afghanistan to the west. Craftsmen worked shells from the Persian Gulf, carnelian from India, and local metals such as tin and copper. Some they made into finished products, and others were exported in unfinished form. Lapis blocks brought from the Hindu Kush mountains, for example, were cut into smaller chunks and sent on to Mesopotamia and as far west as Syria. Unworked blocks of lapis weighing more than 100 pounds in total were unearthed in the ruined palace of Ebla, close to the Mediterranean Sea. Archaeologist Massimo Vidale of the University of Padua says that the elites in eastern Iranian cities like Shahr-i-Sokhta were not simply slaves to Mesopotamian markets. They apparently kept the best-quality lapis for themselves, and sent west what they did not want. Lapis beads found in the royal tombs of Ur, for example, are intricately carved, but of generally low-quality stone compared to those of Shahr-i-Sokhta. Pottery was produced on a massive scale. Nearly 100 kilns were clustered in one part of town and the craftspeople also had a thriving textile industry. Hundreds of wooden spindle whorls and combs were uncovered, as were well-preserved textile fragments made of goat hair and wool that show a wide variation in their weave. According to Irene Good, a specialist in ancient textiles at Oxford University, this group of textile fragments constitutes one of the most important in the world. Their great antiquity provides unparalleled insight into an early stages of the evolution of wool production. Textiles were big business in the third millennium B.C., according to Mesopotamian texts. However heretofore actual textiles from this era had never before been found. A metal flag found was found at Shahdad. Shahdad was one of eastern Iran’s early urban sites and dates to around 2400 BC. The flag depicts a man and woman facing each other, one of the recurrent themes in the region’s art at this time. A plain ceramic jar also found at Shahdad, contains residue of a white cosmetic. The complex formula analyzed is evidence for an extensive knowledge of chemistry among the city’s ancient inhabitants. The artifacts also show the breadth of Shahr-i-Sokhta’s connections. Some excavated red-and-black ceramics share traits with those found in the hills and steppes of distant Turkmenistan to the north. Other ceramic wares are similar to pots made in Pakistan to the east, which at that time was home to the Indus civilization. Tosi’s team found a clay tablet written in a script called Proto-Elamite. The Proto-Elamite script emerged at the end of the fourth millennium BC. Its emergence was just after the advent of the first known writing system, cuneiform, which evolved in Mesopotamia. Other such tablets and sealings with Proto-Elamite signs have also been found in eastern Iran, such as at Tepe Yahya. This script was used for only a few centuries starting around 3200 BC. Indications are that it may have emerged in Susa, just east of Mesopotamia. However by the middle of the third millennium BC it was no longer in use. Most of the eastern Iranian tablets record simple transactions involving sheep, goats, and grain. It seems likely the records could have been used to keep track of goods in large households. While Tosi’s team was digging at Shahr-i-Sokhta, Iranian archaeologist Ali Hakemi was working at another site, Shahdad. Shahdad is on the western side of the Dasht-e Lut. This settlement emerged as early as the fifth millennium BC on a delta at the edge of the desert. By the early third millennium BC Shahdad began to grow quickly as international trade with Mesopotamia expanded. Tomb excavations revealed spectacular artifacts amid stone blocks once painted in vibrant colors. These include several extraordinary, nearly life-size clay statues placed with the dead. The city’s artisans worked lapis lazuli, silver, lead, turquoise, and other materials imported from as far away as eastern Afghanistan. They also worked shells from the distant Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Evidence shows that ancient Shahdad also possessed a large metalworking industry at this time. During a recent survey archaeologists found a vast hill covered with slag from smelting copper. The hill covered an area nearly 300 feet by 300 feet. Vidale says that analysis of the copper ore suggests that the smiths were savvy enough to add a small amount of arsenic in the later stages of the process to strengthen the final product – the first step to producing bronze. Shahdad’s metalworkers also created such remarkable artifacts as a metal flag dating to about 2400 BC. Mounted on a copper pole topped with a bird, perhaps an eagle, the squared flag depicts two figures facing one another on a rich background of animals, plants, and goddesses. The flag has no parallels and its use is unknown. Vidale also found evidence of a sweet-smelling nature. During a spring 2009 visit to Shahdad, he discovered a small stone container lying on the ground. The vessel appears to date to the late fourth millennium BC. It was fashioned from chlorite, a dark soft stone favored by ancient artisans in southeast Iran. Using X-ray diffraction at an Iranian lab it was discovered to possess lead carbonate sealed in the bottom of the jar. Lead carbonate was used as a white cosmetic. Analysis also identified fatty material that likely was added as a binder. Also present were traces of coumarin, a fragrant chemical compound found in plants and used in some perfumes. Further analysis showed small traces of copper, possibly the result of a user dipping a small metal applicator into the container. Other sites in eastern Iran are only now being investigated. Recently Iranian archaeologists Hassan Fazeli Nashli and Hassain Ali Kavosh from the University of Tehran have been digging in a small settlement a few miles east of Shahdad called Tepe Graziani. The site is named for the Italian archaeologist who first surveyed the sit

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