A sweeping look at the big picture development of the Persian Empire (circa 550-330 B.C.E.), this was the first study in English to examine the Persian Empire from the perspective of the Persians, rather than the Greeks. The scope is wide-ranging, including military history and expansion, legal history, religion, social history, and the big personalities of the Empire.

"The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of Asia and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. From the palace-city of Persepolis, Cyrus the Great, Darius, Xerxes, and their heirs reigned supreme for centuries until the conquests of Alexander of Macedon brought the empire to a swift and unexpected end in the late 330s BCE. In Persians, historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells the epic story of...

This new translation of the ancient classic, which is one of the greatest true-life adventure stories ever recorded, a fascinating tale of fraught and dangerous journey. The narrative tells of ten thousand Greek soldiers stranded deep in hostile Persia, their commander dead. Xenophon was appointed as one of their leaders, and he chronicled the harrowing journey as he led the marching republic north to the Black Sea. Supplements the text with detailed...