Friday, January 06, 2006

Forgotten Empire

A comprehensive overview of Forgotten Empire, an exhibition currently at the British Museum in London (UK) focusing on the Ancient Persian Empire. There is mention in the article of Persia's role in ancient Egypt: "A major exhibition at the British Museum is drawing attention to the Achaemenid kings of Ancient Persia, rulers of Egypt before the arrival of Alexander the Great in 332 BC . . . . Though the empire's heartland in Iran now contains the most spectacular Achaemenid sites, there are also important remains elsewhere, including in Anatolia, now part of Turkey but once made up of Persian provinces, and in Egypt, part of Achaemenid territory from its conquest by the Persian king Cambyses in 525 BC to the arrival of Alexander the Great in 332. One of the themes of Ancient Persian history is the challenge of administering so vast a territory, itself made up of many different cultures and of areas possessing their own distinctive histories and civilisations. This was obviously true of Egypt, which many times revolted against Persian rule, breaking free altogether between 405 and 343 BC."
For the full article, which is excellent, see the above URL on the Al Ahram Weekly website.

The exhibition Forgotten Empire: the World of Ancient Persia, is only open from until the end of this week, 8 January 2006, at the British Museum, London, UK.

1 comment:

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Ancient History of Mesopotamia