01 Nov Empire, Authority, and Autonomy in the Achaemenid Persian Empire
Elspeth Dusinberre (Classics, University of Colorado – Boulder)
Friday, November 1 / 6:00 PM
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
2559 Puesta del Sol
The Achaemenid Persian Empire (ca. 550-330 BCE) stretched over thousands of miles and encompassed many different cultures. Thanks to textual, visual, and archaeological materials, we can reconstruct some of the intricate and sophisticated ways this empire governed its diverse population and the ways those individuals and cultures responded to imperial presence. This talk examines government archives, palaces adorned with relief sculptures, eating and drinking practices, gender relations, mortuary remains, and communication systems — including the original “Pony Express” — to illuminate the complexity and vibrancy of Achaemenid Persia.
Sponsored by the IHC’s Ancient Borderlands RFG, the Ancient Mediterranean Studies Program, the Dept. of History, the Dept. of Anthropology, and the Archaeological Institute of America.
For more information, please visit: https://www.ihc.ucsb.edu/ancientborderlands/