Ancient Persia

Relief of Gobryas, Head and Inscription -Darius Tomb

IRAN: Naqsh-i-Rustam - Tomb of Darius I. Relief of Gobryas, Close-up of Head and Inscription Above, Top Register....

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History of Iran: Parthian Army

The Greco-Persian wars and Alexander's victories proved that light-armed troops could not stop heavy, well-trained, and brilliantly led infantry of the type of hoplites or phalanx. These could only be encountered with heavily armed and highly professional cavalry causing disorder in the massed ranks and then attacking them on vulnerable points with...

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The Battle of Marathon, 490 B.C.

The battle of Marathon is one of history's most famous military engagements. It is also one of the earliest recorded battles. Their victory over the Persian invaders gave the fledgling Greek city states confidence in their ability to defend themselves and belief in their continued existence. The battle is therefore considered a defining moment in t...

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The Battle of Carrhae

It was probably on the third or fourth day after he had quitted the Euphrates that Crassus found himself approaching his enemy. After a hasty and hot march he had approached the banks of the Belik, when his scouts brought him word that they had fallen in with the Parthian army, which was advancing in force and seemingly full of confidence. Abgarus ...

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Ancient Iranian Mythology - CAIS

Contains several articles of Ancient Iranian Mythology...

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Iran Double Bull Capital

Double bull capital from Persepolis, as restored by sculptor Donato Bastiani. This column capital once supported a roof beam in the Apadana of Darius I (521-486 B.C.)....

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DISC-HEADED PIN

Large numbers of decorated disc-headed pins were found in the sanctuary at Surkh Dum-i-Luri. They may have been votive offerings to a fertility goddess or, on analogy with a modern ethnographic parallel, deposits verifying wedding contracts among nomadic peoples moving through the area. The decoration of this example, with an eight-petaled central ...

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View of the Tomb of Darius the Great.

IRAN: Naqsh-i-Rustam - View of the Tomb of Darius the Great....

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Ancient Persian Inscription

IRAN: Naqsh-i-Rustam Close-up of an ancient Persian Inscription on the Rock Panel between the Tombs of Darius I and Xerxes...

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Achaemenid Imperial Army

The Achaemenian/Achaemenid army is well known through descriptions by Herodotus, Xenophon, and Arrian as well as by illustrations on Persepolitan and Greco-Persian monuments. Of particular importance for the topic are the Greek representations of Persian warriors and the evidence of the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus from Sidon The Persians whom C...

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