Author: Yazdan Safaee

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Brill’s Companion to the Campaigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great

Anson, Edward M. (ed.). Brill’s Companion to the Campaigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great (Brill’s Companions to Classical Studies, 10). Leiden: Brill.

This Companion whose contributions come from an outstanding array of experts deals exclusively with the military campaigns of Philip II and his son Alexander the Great and the forces that fought in them. In addition to discussions of the strategy and tactics of the two commanders, the Companion examines those elements that went into the determination of these strategies and tactics. Chapters will be devoted to the logistics of these campaigns, military recruitment and training, the care of diseased and injured soldiers, military organization and equipment, and much more. While no study can ever be truly complete, this Companion comes far closer that any such previous attempt.

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Xerxes against Hellas

Funke, Peter, György Németh, András Patay-Horváth & Josef Wiesehöfer (eds.). Xerxes against Hellas: An Iconic Conflict from Different Perspectives (Oriens et Occidens 44). Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.

It is almost exactly 2500 years ago that the decisive clashes of the Persian Wars at Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataia took place. These battles were attributed world-historical significance in antiquity and, even more so, in the centuries that followed. Yet, the details of what happened, as well as their military-political and cultural impact and detailed evaluation, have been the subject of much controversial research, not least because of the difficult nature of the sources. The present volume is the outcome of a conference held in Budapest which celebrated the anniversary of Xerxes’ expedition against Hellas by discussing old and new questions related to the war and the history of its reception. It was jointly organised by the editors of the volume and attracted speakers from around the globe.

The volume brings together scholars of all branches of classical studies and related disciplines and is organised in two sections: (i) Graeco-Persian Wars, Diplomacy and Acculturation, (ii) Commemorating and remembering the war from antiquity to the present. 19 contributors from 10 different countries provide a good overview of ongoing studies in the field.

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Journal

Ash-Sharq

The two issues of volume 8 of Ash-Sharq are published and contain several interesting contributions. Below are listed the articles that deal with Iranian studies:

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Iran and the Caucasus 28 (4-5)

The issues 4-5 of volume 28 of Iran and the Caucasus are published and contain several interesting contributions. Below are listed the articles that deal with Iranian studies:

  • Marco Ferrario: Restricted Access Expanders of the Realm. Sacred Kingship and Empire in Early Achaemenid Central Asia
  • Matthias Weinreich: Restricted Access Out of the Mouth of Babes … (Ps. 8:2). Children as Mediums in Pahlavi Literature
  • Mariam Gvelesiani: Georgia and Sasanian Iran. Some Aspects of Royal Imagery in Early Christian Georgian Art and Literary Tradition
  • Saloumeh Gholami and Mehraban Pouladi: Linguistic Insights from a Bilingual Letter: The Malati Dialect of Zoroastrian Dari in Yazd Part I. Transcription, Translation, and Linguistic Structure

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Parthica (vol. 25)

Volume 25 of the journal Parthica (2023) contains several contributions of relevance to Iranian Studies.

  • Ronald Wallenfels: On the reuse of personal seals in the Hellenistic Near East
  • Robert S. Wójcikowski, Daniele Morandi Bonacossi, Michał Marciak, Bartłomiej Szypuła: Memorials of the battle of Gaugamela in the Navkur Plain
  • Roberto Dan: Hellenistic/Artaxiad remains in the Van fortress? Some thoughts on trench A6 excavated by the American expedition (1938-1939)
  • Francesca Michetti: Antroponimi battriani sulla monetazione pre-kušānide: tre proposte di etimologia
  • Edward Dąbrowa: Arsacid crudelitas: some observations
  • Enrico Foietta: A new altar with an enthroned goddess from Hatra (Iraq)
  • Valentina Gallerani: Parthian and sasanian settlement patterns in the Qadis survey area (Qadisiyah, Iraq)
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Social Biographies of the Ancient World

The latest issue of Journal of Ancient History (volume 12, issue 2) is a special issue: Social Biographies of the Ancient World with Jason M. Silverman as guest editor. Below is the list of articles:

  • Jason M. Silverman, Alex Aissaoui, Rotem Avneri Meir, Jutta Jokiranta, Nina Nikki, Adrianne Spunaugle, Joanna Töyräänvuori, Caroline Wallis, Melanie Wasmuth: Social Biographies of the Ancient World. Studying Ahatabu, Jonathan, and Babatha through a Bourdieusian Approach: Towards a New Historiographical Habitus
  • Adrianne Spunaugle: Ancient Near Eastern Field Theory: Adapting Bourdieu for Social Biographies of the Ancient World
  • Jason M. Silverman, Joanna Töyräänvuori, Melanie Wasmuth: Ahatabu and her Stela (ÄM 7707): Funerary Habitus in Achaemenid Egypt
  • Rotem Avneri Meir, Jutta Jokiranta, Adrianne Spunaugle: Functional Differentiation in 1 Maccabees: Exploring Second Century BCE Judean Society Through the Character of Jonathan Apphus
  • Caroline Wallis, Alex Aissaoui, Nina Nikki: Falling Out with the In-Laws. Understanding the Babatha Archive with Pierre Bourdieu’s Field Theory and Theory of Practice.
  • Emanuel Pfoh: Ancient Individuals and Bourdieu in Context: A Historical Anthropological Response
  • Olga Zeveleva: A Sociological Response: Challenging the Modernity-centrism of Pierre Bourdieu’s Field Approach
  • Helen Dixon: A Levantine Archaeological Response: Thinking with Bourdieu though Limited Data and Explicit Assumptions
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The Medieval Persian Gulf

Ulrich, Brian. 2023. The Medieval Persian Gulf. Leeds: Arc-Humanities.

The Persian Gulf today is home to multiple cosmopolitan urban hubs of globalization. This did not start with the discovery of oil. This book tells of the Gulf from the rise of Islam until the coming of the Portuguese, when port cities such as Siraf, Sohar, and Hormuz were entrepots for trading pearls, horses, spices, and other products across much of Asia and eastern Africa. Indeed, products traded there became a key part of the material culture of medieval Islamic civilization, and the Gulf region itself was a crucial membrane between the Middle East and the world of the broader Indian Ocean. The book also highlights the long-term presence of communities of South Asian and African ancestry, as well as patterns of religious change among Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Muslims that belie the image of a region long polarized between Arabs and Persians and Sunnis and Shi’ites.

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Herodotus: Book III

Longley, Georgina. 2024. Herodotus: Book III. London: Bloomsbury.

This accessible edition for students presents Herodotus as one of the most fascinating and colourful authors from the ancient world. Book III of Herodotus’ nine-book work is one of the richest in its exploration of themes, such as the practices and customs of different peoples and the nature of political power, issues still much debated today.

This commentary illuminates the geographical and even anthropological scope of Herodotus’ history, and enables students to confidently tackle the text in the original Greek. Bringing together a full introduction, text, commentary and translation, Longley makes Herodotus accessible to students of ancient Greek. This guide shows us why Herodotus is still considered the ‘Father of History’.


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Mannea and beyond

Naseri, Reza, Mehrdad Malekzadeh, Andrea Cesaretti & Roberto Dan. 2024. Mannea and beyond: A study of Iron Age and later pottery from Zanjan in the National Museum of Iran. Antilia.

The volume Mannea and Beyond: A Study of Iron Age and Later Pottery from Zanjan in the National Museum of Iran presents a systematic analysis of a ceramic assemblage from Zanjan, stored in Iran’s National Museum. Due to the lack of archaeological context—these artefacts were retrieved through illegal excavations—the study focuses on typology, preservation, and precise comparisons with neighbouring sites. The assemblage is heterogeneous, largely from the Iron Age with some medieval pieces, with several items linked to the Mannaean culture, enriching our understanding of this relatively obscure cultural horizon. The excellent preservation suggests that the materials may originate from a necropolis with unknown position.

Source: Reza Naseri’s social media page.

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Indogermanische Forschungen

The recent issue of Indogermanische Forschungen (129/2024) contains several interesting papers.