This interdisciplinary study offers a systematic approach to ancient archival documents from the Near East, the Mycenean world, and classical Greece. The contributions aim to achieve a richer understanding of archival documents--by addressing questions of formal aspects of creating, writing, and storing ancient documents--and to discover how concepts of record-keeping were adapted by different ancient societies in the ancient world.

The only book of its kind to cover both the Achaemenid period and the thousand years following Alexander's conquest, The Persians explores the period from the seventh century BC, to the seventh century AD, and presents a comprehensive introduction to ancient Persia.

Incorporating recent research, and translated sources from a wide range of corpus material, Maria Brosius explores the history of Persia, and brings a new understanding of Persian society and culture and the structures on which these empires were built: the king and his court; religion and culture; art...