The genesis and scope of this book owe a great debt to Lee Brice, who first proposed the idea of an overarching companion volume on ancient Iranian warfare. The initial charge was equally exciting and intimidating, but the formation of a collaborative partnership between an Achaemenid and a Sasanian scholar made it possible to realise a project that would contribute to the many sub-fields of ancient Iranian studies, while generating conversation across disparate chronological and departmental boundaries. Khodadad Rezakhani has helped to shape the volume and added his wisdom and insights through many stimulating editorial conversations; in addition, I have to thank him for the kind invitation to participate in a Sasanian Zoom reading group, which greatly enriched my knowledge of Iranian Late Antiquity and helped to enlighten the darkest days of the pandemic. We found common ground not only in thematic comparisons between different periods and dynasties, but in a mutual commitment to the study of war and empire in the broadest sense, encompassing military operations and organisations but also extending to the realms of imperial worldviews, ideology, and diplomacy.
We have also been fortunate in the assembly of numerous contributors who shared this vision and added a wide variety of perspectives and methodological approaches. Of course, we had no idea in 2019 of what lay in store when we asked them to submit their chapters in the following summer. The chaos of the pandemic naturally disrupted our timeline, and prevented the completion of chapters by some of the original authors, whose insights are sadly missed. A silver lining was the opportunity to bring in additional scholars whose papers enhanced the collection. We are deeply grateful to all of the authors for their shared wisdom and perseverance through revisions, edits, and delays, and hope that they will share our satisfaction in seeing the completed volume in print.
Lee Brice has been an exemplary editor and mentor, offering generous encouragement, support, and advice throughout the project. We are very grateful to the publishing staff at Brill, and to the anonymous referees for thoughtful comments on the finished chapters. My colleagues in History and Classics in Christopher Newport University have provided moral support and encouragement as I worked to balance the edited volume with a parallel monograph project, teaching, and university service. I could not have completed the editorial work, to say nothing of my own writing, without the support of Trible Libraryâs exceptional staff, especially our university librarian Mary Sellen for her enthusiastic support and expansion of our ancient history collection, and Jesse Spencer, our interlibrary loan librarian, who has worked tirelessly to acquire the outside resources needed for research in ancient Iranian studies. Above all, my heartfelt thanks go out to Sharon, Liam, and Patrick, who have given their unconditional love and support throughout all the hard-working ups and downs of this hectic half-decade.
John Hyland
Newport News, VA
I would like to first and foremost thank my colleague John Hyland for his collegiality, patience, and mentorship during this process. It was only with his diligence, organisation, and vast intellectual capabilities that this volume now sees the light of the day. On my own contributions to the volume, various friends and colleagues, only a few of whom are mentioned here, have helped me in thinking through questions, answering queries, and ploughing through my own chapter. These include my intellectual and life partner, Sara Mashayekh, who always patiently listens to my ramblings, as well as Michael Alram, Touraj Daryaee, Shervin Farridnejad, Simcha Gross, Rob Haug, Robert Hoyland, Ab de Jong, Michael Morony, Ekaterina Nechaeava, Yusef Saadat, Petra Sijpesteijn Alison Vacca, Peter Webb, and Arash Zeini. I want to dedicate this book to the memory of my dearly missed late father, the first person who encouraged me to follow my passion, Javanshir Bonyab (1949â2022).
Khodadad Rezakhani
Leiden, Netherlands