The Sasanian empire was one of the great powers of Late Antiquity, and for four centuries ruled the vast region stretching from Syria and the Caucasus to Central Asia. Classical, Armenian, Jewish and Arab written sources throw light on its history, and studies of its rock reliefs, stuccoes, silver, silks, coins and glyptic have created a picture of a rich courtly culture with a strong Iranian character. However, the everyday material culture is much less understood, as is the economy which sustained and supported the Sasanian empire and underpinned its consistent military superiority over its western rivals. This collection of essays looks at these aspects and offers an approach based almost entirely on archaeological and scientific research, much presented here for the first time. This book is divided into three parts which in turn examine evidence for Sasanian sites, settlements and landscapes, their complex agricultural resources, and their crafts and industries. Each section is preceded by an essay setting out the wider research questions and current state of knowledge. The book begins and ends with a general introduction and conclusion setting out why this new approach is necessary, and how it helps change our perceptions of the complexity and power of the Sasanian empire.

About the Author
St John Simpson is a senior curator and archaeologist in the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum. He specialises in the archaeological evidence and material culture of the Sasanian empire, has published extensively on this subject, excavated Sasanian sites in Iraq and Central Asia, and analysed Sasanian finds from the Persian Gulf to Iran and the Caucasus. At the Museum he has curated three major special exhibitions: Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia (2017/18), Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World (2011), and Queen of Sheba: Treasures from Ancient Yemen (2002), as well as three successive galleries for ancient Iran, the most recent being the Rahim Irvani Gallery which opened in 2007. His previous books with Archaeopress include Masters of the Steppe (2020), In Context. The Reade Festschrift (2020), Softstone (2018), and Looted, Recovered, Returned: Antiquities from Afghanistan (2014).


Book Information
ISBN 9781803274188
Author St John Simpson
Format Paperback
Page Count 538
Imprint Archaeopress Archaeology
Publisher Archaeopress
Weight(grams) 1882g