Niknami, Kamal-Aldin & Ali Hojabri (eds.). 2020. Archaeology of Iran in the historical period. Springer.
This collection of twenty-eight essays presents an up-to-date survey of pre-Islamic Iran, from the earliest dynasty of Elam to the end of Sasanian empire, encompassing a rich diversity of peoples and cultures. Historically, Iran served as a bridge between the earlier Near Eastern cultures and the later classical world of the Mediterranean, and had a profound influence on political, military, economic, and cultural aspects of the ancient world. Written by international scholars and drawing mainly on the field of practical archaeology, which traditionally has shared little in the way of theories and methods, the book provides crucial pieces to the puzzle of the national identity of Iranian cultures from a historical perspective.
Revealing the wealth and splendor of ancient Iranian society – its rich archaeological data and sophisticated artistic craftsmanship – most of which has never before been presented outside of Iran, this beautifully illustrated book presents a range of studies addressing specific aspects of Iranian archaeology to show why the artistic masterpieces of ancient Iranians rank among the finest ever produced. Together, the authors analyze how archaeology can inform us about our cultural past, and what remains to still be discovered in this important region.
Table of Contents:
- Morteza Hessari: How to Develop and Use of Proto-writing in Ancient Iran
- Ernst Stephan Kroll: The Kingdom of Urartu in North-Western Iran (Ninth – Seventh Century BCE)
- Behrouz Khanmohammadi (et al.): Kazim Khan: A Fortress on the Western Side of the Lake Orumiyeh Basin, Iran
- John MacGinnis: Assyrian Exploitation of Iranian Territories
- DT Potts: On Cultural Boundaries and Languages in Western Iran: The Case of the Zagros Gates
- Yazdan Safaee: Scythian and Zoroastrian Earth Goddesses: A Comparative Study on Api and Ārmaiti
- Maryam Dara: Elamites’ Fear of the Underworld Judgment According to Elamite Texts
- Mousa Sabzi: Introduction and Analysis of Luristan Bronze Pins in the National Museum of Iran
- Kazem Mollazadeh: A Decorative Column Base from Bukan Region (NW-Iran) and Some Remarks on Its Dating’s and Artistic Tradition
- Ali Binandeh: The Evidence of Mannaean in Western Hasanlu
- Géza Szabó: The European Connections of the Median Period
- Rémy Boucharlat: The Citadel of Ulug Depe and the “Median Forts” in Western Iran
- Matteo Compareti: Contributions for the Identification of the Human Bust on a Winged Disc in Iranian Arts
- Alexander Tourovets: Some Reflections About Possible Urartean Influences in the Development of the Iranian Architecture Until the Very Beginnings of the Achaemenid Period
- Judith A. Lerner: The Achaemenid Parasol: Symbol of Authority and Feature of Court Protocol
- Leila Makvandi: Glimpse of Highways Network of Achaemenid Empire: Construction, Maintenance and Service
- Sajjad Alibaigi (et al.): A New Ionic Type Capital from the Shiyan Plain: Tracing an Important Monument of the Seleucid / Parthian Periods Near the Khorasan High Road, Kermanshah, Western Iran
- Philipp Schwinghammer: Some Notes on the Numismatic Evidence for Imitations in Iran from Third to First Century BC
- Marek Jan Olbrycht: Daggers in Parthian Iran
- Alessandro Luciano: From Paganism to Christianity: The Cults of Mithras and Persian Martyrs in Imperial Rome
- Taher Ghasimi: Archaeological Study of Khorbas Cave on Qeshm Island
- Sirvan Mohammadi Ghasrian: Brief Note on the Archaeological Investigation of Parthian Remains of Khorbas Site, Qeshm Island
- Amir Saed Mucheshi: Identifying the Pirdooshan Site Boundaries Through Test Excavation, from Kurdistan Province, Iran
- Adam Lech Kubik: A New View on the Possible Reconstruction of the “Famous Clibanarius” Graffito from Dura Europos
- Houshang Rostami (et al.): Investigation on Symbolic Badges in Sasanian Rock Reliefs and Stuccoes