This book argues that the kings of the Persian Empire, in contrast to their reputation as benevolent and tolerant rulers, exerted significant control over religious practices to the point of creating and regulating local religions. Recently published materials from different parts of the empire, along with well-known finds, show the Persian rulers and administrators as obsessive micro-managers in many areas: so why would religious and local cultural practices be any different? Drawing on case studies from different parts of the central and western empire—the areas with the most evidence—...

This book argues that we have been mistaken about the fundamental assumption that Christianity is the key to understanding the “Christian” martyr. Examining martyrdom in early Christian history, Matt Recla argues that the violent deaths of martyrs, real and imagined, were appropriated for Christian institutional life. Through deconstructing martyrdom and appreciating the complexity of the martyr, we recognize martyrdom not as a socio-historical phenomenon inherent to particular ideologies, and not as a religious “identity” but as the institutional co-optation of violence. The...