Myth and History in Ancient Persia

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 reconstructio