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Re-establishment of Achaemenid History and its Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Mohammad-Taqi Imanpour*
Affiliation:
Ancient History of Iran at Ferdowsi University of Masshad, Iran

Abstract

Iranians were aware of Sasanian history through traditional historical writings, but they knew nothing about Achaemenid history. Following European travelers to Persia from the fifteenth century, who were well prepared by reading the classical and biblical texts, Persepolis and Pasargadae were rediscovered and Achaemenid history re-established in the nineteenth century. The rise of Reza Khan to power and his grand emphasis on nationalism and ancient Iran that characterized his reign also left a deeper impact on Achaemenid studies in this period. In this paper the re-establishment of Achaemenid history and its development in nineteenth and twentieth centuries are discussed and reviewed.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 The International Society for Iranian Studies

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Footnotes

He would like to thank Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis in British Museum and Stuart Campbell in the University of Manchester for editing and their constructive comments on an earlier draft of this article.

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