The Ancients

Persia's Hidden History

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Episode notes

The Persepolis fortification tablets are the who’s who of the Ancient Achaemenid Empire, a unique insight into the administrative workings of this jurisdiction emerging from present day Iran. 30,000 of these clay tablets, inscribed in cuneiform, have so far been identified. Each forms a new piece of evidence for who the people of the Achaemenid Empire under Darius I were, where they were, what they did, and even what they ate. Tristan was joined by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones from Cardiff University to discuss how these texts have completely reshaped our understanding of this civilisation, and how the Ancient Persian perspective has demonstrated its remarkable networks, trade, administration and international travel.  

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