Persia The Immortal Kingdom

Fülszöveg

This unusual volume commemorates an occasion of singular importance in the history of man—the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great. It is at once a tribute to a mighty nation—to her leadership, peoples, and accomplishments—and a chronicle with a mighty theme : the endeavour of man to achieve and maintain order and excellence in a calamitous world. From the vantage points of their special interests and disciplines, the authors narrate and assess the quality and character of twenty-five centuries of Iranian civilization, of the genius, continuity and self-renewing vitality of the Iranian peoples and of their contributions to world civilization. The work falls naturally into three sections :
By way of a fascinating archeological survey. Professor Ghirshman gives form and meaning to Iran's fabulous pre-history. He then introduces the reader to the ancient historical period, dating from the foundation of the Median Kingdom and the establishment... Tovább

Fülszöveg

This unusual volume commemorates an occasion of singular importance in the history of man—the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great. It is at once a tribute to a mighty nation—to her leadership, peoples, and accomplishments—and a chronicle with a mighty theme : the endeavour of man to achieve and maintain order and excellence in a calamitous world. From the vantage points of their special interests and disciplines, the authors narrate and assess the quality and character of twenty-five centuries of Iranian civilization, of the genius, continuity and self-renewing vitality of the Iranian peoples and of their contributions to world civilization. The work falls naturally into three sections :
By way of a fascinating archeological survey. Professor Ghirshman gives form and meaning to Iran's fabulous pre-history. He then introduces the reader to the ancient historical period, dating from the foundation of the Median Kingdom and the establishment of the first Persian world empire by the Achaemenians in the middle of the 5th century B.C., to the end of the Sassanian empire in the middle of the 7th century.
Here the narrative is taken up by Vladimir Minorsky, who describes the Medieval period from the beginning of Islamic times when Persia became the heart of a more universal empire, and then through its struggles and rebirth as a national Persian empire once again, renowned for its magnificent opulence, its shining classical poetry, its science, literature, and its fine arts.
Ramesh Sanghvi then brings the chronicle forward through the vibrant and often tragic period of the 1 9th century and the early decades of the 20th. He then describes the quickening events which begin with the making of Modern Iran under Reza Shah the Great and the commencement of the Pahlavi dynasty, and which climax in the epoch-making White Revolution of the present Shahanshah. Working in the visual medium William MacQuitty has achieved a remarkable organic rapport with the text Vissza