Why this book?
- For a systematic introduction to one of the most important periods in Iranian history.
- For understanding the connection between politics, religion, and society in Sasanian civilization.
- For seeing Sasanian history in a perspective beyond purely political narratives.
- For readers interested in ancient Iranian history and Iranian identity.
About the book
"The Sasanian Empire" by Touraj Daryaee is an effort to comprehensively introduce the history and civilization of the Sasanians to an audience that wants to understand this period in its entirety. The book starts from the premise that the history of a people cannot be understood solely through the sequence of wars and kings; one must also see its language, religion, society, economy, urban planning, and cultural relations.
Daryaee originally wrote this book for an English-speaking audience; an audience that had abundant resources about ancient Rome but faced a shortage of a concise and reliable source for understanding Sasanian civilization. Therefore, the book serves both as an introduction and an attempt to provide a general picture of the Sasanians' place in the history of Iran and the ancient world.
In this work, the Sasanians are examined as a government that played an important role in constructing the concept of Iran, political organization, urban planning, official religion, and relations with Rome. Attention to cities, population displacements, the presence of religious minorities, and the economic and cultural effects of wars shows that Sasanian civilization was a multi-layered and dynamic phenomenon.
This book is suitable for students and enthusiasts of Iranian history, ancient Iran, Iranian religions, and the history of civilization; especially for those who want to read the Sasanian period not in the form of scattered narratives, but within a coherent, civilizational framework.