EUR  â¬192.00EUR  â¬160.00 excl. VAT
District Twelve
Northeastern Central Asia From Cyrus to Antiochos: Local Histories of a World Empire
Series: - Ancient Iran Series, Volume: 19
Author:
This book offers, at the same time, an imperial history of a region (Northeastern Central Asia under the Achaemenids) and the regional history of an Empire (how the Persians adapted their strategies of governmentality to a geographically challenging, ethnically diverse, and politically impervious space). Bringing together evidence from literary texts, archaeology, and ethnohistory, it crafts a new narrative of Central Asian history in which local actors in and outside the imperial territory are given as much, if not (at times) more agency than the King of Kings and his satraps in heralding Central Asia's first Age of Empires.
Marco Ferrario (Ph.D. 2023) is an ancient historian focusing on the history of pre-Islamic Central Asia and the Eastern ĪrÄnicate world. He published articles and book chapters on the socioeconomic history of Baktria-Sogdiana, Herodotus and his work, and the anthropology of kingship.
Foreword and Acknowledgements
List of Maps
Abbreviations
Note on Style and Spelling
1 Introduction
Shadows Gathering from the West
â1âProlegomenon. Strange Parallels: Of Peripheries and Empires
â2âThundering Zeus. Alexander in Baktria. Anew, Again, Why?
â3âDead Men Tell Tales. Discours de la méthode
â4âOutlook of a (Hi)Story: Empires and Central Asia; Central Asia and Empires
â5âConclusions. A Place (Not) Far Away. Reimagining Baktria
2 Scalping Elephants
Sources, Where to Find, and How (Not) to Handle Them
â1âHow Many, How Good, If at All? Writing Central Asia
â2âDigging Othersâ Pasts. Archaeology of Knowledge
â3âVispazanÄnÄm. Imperial Ethnographies, Ethnographies of Empire
â4âConclusions. Wonderland to Borderland
3 The Road to Oxiana: Before the Greek Came
â1âIntroduction. Land Behind Balḫ: Cyrus in the East
â2âStranger To Us People Here. Imperial Stories Of (Not So) Long Ago
â3âBuilding Empire. Teispids and their âIndiansâ
â4âConclusions. (Re)Discovering Cyrus. Borderland Dreams of Imperial Power
4 AhuramazdÄmai̯ UpastÄm Abara
The Land and Its People: Sorting Things Out
â1âIntroduction. What I Have Done in Baktria
â2âThe Few, the Proud. A Kingâs Loyal (?) Subjects
â3âBanishment from PairidaÄza. Paradoxes of Imperial Power
â4âTextures and Scents of Empire. Borderland Economics
â5âThey Called Him DÄdêá¹Å¡iÅ¡
â6âNo Rabbits in That Big Hat: Skunḫa
â7âConclusions. Avam Ubá¹tam Abaram. Mapping the Imperial Camp(s)
5 Uno Fumavit Tota Rogo?
â1âTrouble in the East?
â2âEn attendant HaxÄmazdÄ. A Long(er) Fifth Century
â3âAfter Masistes. Navigating the Imperial Middle Ground
â4âThe Wealth of Nations. Political Ecologies in Achaemenid Baktria
â5â(Mir)Shades of Empire. The World of (and Beyond) Kyzyltëpe
â6âConclusions. âThat My Body (Politic) is Strongâ. Time and Empire in Achaemenid Central Asia
6 Camels (Not Only) of the King
Universal Rule Embedded. Sociopolitics of Achaemenid Baktria
â1âParchments and Wood. Letting Locals Speak: the ADAB
â2âTales Tallies Tale. Exploring Imperial Selectorates in Baktria
â3âConclusions. A Kingdom for a Camel
7 Lords of the Marches
Borderscapes of Ambition
â1âUnnerving the Satrap
â2âResist and Accommodate: Satrapal Discontents
â3âEvery Friend a Slanderer. Edges of Imperial Might
â4âZero-Sum-Games? Localities of (and in) Power: A Long-Term Approach
â5âUnrequested Gifts and Demanding Friendships
â6âConclusions. Thanks for the Memories
8 Naked Years
How Empires (Do Not) End
â1âAnything New on the Eastern Front? In the 7th Year of Alexander, the King
â2âThe Viceroys. Allies, Enemies, and the Quest for the Empire
â3âThou Shall Not Covet Thy Neighborâs Wife
â4âWorthy of a King?
â5âConclusions. Nothing, Everything: (Post)Imperial Legacies
9 Home of the Brave
Because Empire is a Commitment
â1âPrehistory of the Golden Kings
â2âSeleukosâ Apprenticeship
â3âThe Chosen One: Shaping Seleukid Central Asia
â4âConclusions. The Way It Was. Baktria in (and) the Empire: Lives and Afterlives
10 Epilogue: A Long Farewell
Legacies of Ancient Persia
Bibliography
Index of Sources
Index of Names and Places
List of Maps
Abbreviations
Note on Style and Spelling
1 Introduction
Shadows Gathering from the West
â1âProlegomenon. Strange Parallels: Of Peripheries and Empires
â2âThundering Zeus. Alexander in Baktria. Anew, Again, Why?
â3âDead Men Tell Tales. Discours de la méthode
â4âOutlook of a (Hi)Story: Empires and Central Asia; Central Asia and Empires
â5âConclusions. A Place (Not) Far Away. Reimagining Baktria
2 Scalping Elephants
Sources, Where to Find, and How (Not) to Handle Them
â1âHow Many, How Good, If at All? Writing Central Asia
â2âDigging Othersâ Pasts. Archaeology of Knowledge
â3âVispazanÄnÄm. Imperial Ethnographies, Ethnographies of Empire
â4âConclusions. Wonderland to Borderland
3 The Road to Oxiana: Before the Greek Came
â1âIntroduction. Land Behind Balḫ: Cyrus in the East
â2âStranger To Us People Here. Imperial Stories Of (Not So) Long Ago
â3âBuilding Empire. Teispids and their âIndiansâ
â4âConclusions. (Re)Discovering Cyrus. Borderland Dreams of Imperial Power
4 AhuramazdÄmai̯ UpastÄm Abara
The Land and Its People: Sorting Things Out
â1âIntroduction. What I Have Done in Baktria
â2âThe Few, the Proud. A Kingâs Loyal (?) Subjects
â3âBanishment from PairidaÄza. Paradoxes of Imperial Power
â4âTextures and Scents of Empire. Borderland Economics
â5âThey Called Him DÄdêá¹Å¡iÅ¡
â6âNo Rabbits in That Big Hat: Skunḫa
â7âConclusions. Avam Ubá¹tam Abaram. Mapping the Imperial Camp(s)
5 Uno Fumavit Tota Rogo?
â1âTrouble in the East?
â2âEn attendant HaxÄmazdÄ. A Long(er) Fifth Century
â3âAfter Masistes. Navigating the Imperial Middle Ground
â4âThe Wealth of Nations. Political Ecologies in Achaemenid Baktria
â5â(Mir)Shades of Empire. The World of (and Beyond) Kyzyltëpe
â6âConclusions. âThat My Body (Politic) is Strongâ. Time and Empire in Achaemenid Central Asia
6 Camels (Not Only) of the King
Universal Rule Embedded. Sociopolitics of Achaemenid Baktria
â1âParchments and Wood. Letting Locals Speak: the ADAB
â2âTales Tallies Tale. Exploring Imperial Selectorates in Baktria
â3âConclusions. A Kingdom for a Camel
7 Lords of the Marches
Borderscapes of Ambition
â1âUnnerving the Satrap
â2âResist and Accommodate: Satrapal Discontents
â3âEvery Friend a Slanderer. Edges of Imperial Might
â4âZero-Sum-Games? Localities of (and in) Power: A Long-Term Approach
â5âUnrequested Gifts and Demanding Friendships
â6âConclusions. Thanks for the Memories
8 Naked Years
How Empires (Do Not) End
â1âAnything New on the Eastern Front? In the 7th Year of Alexander, the King
â2âThe Viceroys. Allies, Enemies, and the Quest for the Empire
â3âThou Shall Not Covet Thy Neighborâs Wife
â4âWorthy of a King?
â5âConclusions. Nothing, Everything: (Post)Imperial Legacies
9 Home of the Brave
Because Empire is a Commitment
â1âPrehistory of the Golden Kings
â2âSeleukosâ Apprenticeship
â3âThe Chosen One: Shaping Seleukid Central Asia
â4âConclusions. The Way It Was. Baktria in (and) the Empire: Lives and Afterlives
10 Epilogue: A Long Farewell
Legacies of Ancient Persia
Bibliography
Index of Sources
Index of Names and Places
Scholars of pre-Islamic Central Asia, Achaemenid specialists, students of the Iranian world, global historians, scholars of Hellenism.