Empire, Authority, and Autonomy in Achaemenid Anatolia

Dusinberre, Elspeth R. M. Empire, Authority, and Autonomy in Achaemenid Anatolia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013. First edition. Quarto (10-1/4″ x 7-1/4″). xxvi, 374pp. Index and 50 page bibliography. Pictorial dust jacket with black & brown spine lettered in white, over black boards lettered in gilt. Illustrated with 150 figures (maps, drawings, ground plans and numerous photos). A fine, as new copy.

“The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550-330 BCE) was a vast and complex sociopolitical structure that encompassed much of modern-day Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, and included two dozen distinct peoples who spoke different languages, worshiped different deities, lived in different environments, and had widely differing social customs. This book offers a radical new approach to understanding the Achaemenid Persian Empire and imperialism more generally. Through a wide array of textual, visual, and archaeological material, Elspeth R.M. Dusinberre shows how the rulers of the empire constructed a system flexible enough to provide for the needs of different peoples within the confines of a single imperial authority and highlights the variability in response. This book examines the dynamic tensions between authority and autonomy across the empire, providing a valuable new way of considering imperial structure and development.”–Publisher’s website.

Contents; Figures and tables; Preface; Abbreviations; One Introduction; Assessing Achaemenid Anatolia; Background: Core-Periphery and Tempered Sovereignty; Deriving a New Model; An “Authority-Autonomy” Framework of Interpretation; A Brief Overview of Achaemenid History; Anatolia; Urartu; Phrygia; Lydia; Southwestern and Southern Anatolia; Western Coast of Anatolia; Chapter-by-Chapter Overview; Divide and Conquer, or Conquer and Unify?; Two Governing Anatolia; Part I: Administering Anatolia.; Satraps and SatrapiesTaxes and Tribute; Lydia and Cilicia; Wealth and Disruption: Lydia and Interactions with Greeks; Wealth and Autonomy: The Case of Cilicia; Roads; Part II: Combining the Practical and Ideological; Assertions of Royal Power: The Progress of Xerxes; Paradeisoi as Power Statements; Assertions of Achaemenid Power: Dascylium; Assertions of Achaemenid Power: Altintepe; Assertions of Achaemenid Power: Nonsatrapal Sites; Governing Anatolia via Cultural Impositions? Religion and Language; Archives; Authority and Style among the Elite.; Messages of Authority and Style among Non-ElitesCoins; Co-opting the Local Elite; Royal Gifts; Summary; Three Controlling Anatolia, Guarding the Empire; The Military in Achaemenid Anatolia; Textual Resources; Visual Resources; Archaeological Evidence of Fortification Installations; Sardis; Dascylium; Meydancikkale; Şahankaya; The Cemetery at Deve Hüyük; Other Sites in Anatolia; Sites Elsewhere in the Achaemenid Empire; Summary; Catalogue of Achaemenid Military Presence in Anatolia; Four Eating and Drinking with Class and Style; Feasts Fit for a King; Dining and Status in Persia.; Feasting and Human SocietyEating Utensils and Dining Behaviors; Value-Laden Cups of Precious Metal; Value-Laden Cups of Clay; Five Dealing with the Dead; Lydia; Rock-Cut Tombs; Cists; Tumulus Tombs; Mortuary Inclusions from Sardis; Grave Markers; Unique Structures; Pyramid Tomb; Taş Kule; Temple Tomb; The Western Seaboard: Ionia and Mysia; Clazomenian Sarcophagi; Grave Stelae; Hellespontine Phrygia; Granicus Valley Tumuli; Grave Stelae; Pillar Tomb; Central Anatolia: Highland Phrygia, Cappadocia; Black Sea Coast; Armenia; Southeast; Cilicia; Pisidia; Lycia; Pillar Tombs; Sarcophagi.; Rock-Cut TombsTumulus Tombs; Temple Tombs; Caria; Summary; Six Worshiping the Divine; Continuity of Cults; Mother Goddess; Apollo; Anatolian Storm God; Malija; Hero Cults; Accretion of Cults; Artemis at Sardis and Ephesus; The Sanctuary of Zeus at Labraunda; Conversion of Cult? The Altar to Cybele at Sardis; Introduction of Non-Anatolian Cults; Royal Cult; Seven Educating the Young and Old; Educating the Persian Elite; Art and Education; Ideology; Religion; Language; Gender Matters; Accounting; Summary; Eight Empire and Identity in Achaemenid Anatolia; Identity and Status. Fine in fine dust jacket. Hardcover. (53407) $75