The Persian Empire | East of Persepolis (Lecture 9)

Lecture 9: People often think of the Persian Empire in terms of its western frontier, but as we’ll see in this lecture, Persian power extended east, all the way to central Asia and India. These eastern regions were wealthy and populous and important to the empire’s military and economy. One challenge we have as we journey eastward is evidence. We don’t get local perspectives on Persian power, as we do with the Greeks or Jews, which means we have to depend on Persian records. We receive some help from the many archaeological discoveries that have been made in this area, although modern politics often makes this type of research difficult. We will begin our journey again in Persepolis. From there, our route will take us through eastern Iran to central Asia and on to India.

Suggested Reading:
Errington, ed., From Persepolis to the Punjab.
Frye, The Heritage of Central Asia.

Lecture 10: https://www.bitchute.com/video/jI9PACYnpEZO/