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Author:   Reza Shaghaghi Zarghamee (Post-doctoral Fellow, University of St Andrews)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
ISBN:  

9781399530989

ISBN 10:   1399530984
Pages:   376
Publication Date:   30 June 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Abbreviations and Symbols Note on Terminology: ‘Myths and Legends’ Note on the Rendering of the Names Note on the Use of the Shahnameh Series Editor's Preface Introduction: An Unanswered Call Part I. Oral Traditions, Myths and Legends 1. Achaemenid Oral Traditions and Tales Told From ‘Heart-to-Heart’ 2. Myths and Legends of Ancient Iran 3. Median and Persian Familiarity with the Iranian Traditions Part II. Sources and Case Studies 4. An Approach to the Sources 5. Herodotus, Deioces and the Creation of Kingship 6. Dragon-slayers and Conquering Kings: The Iranian Background to the Cyrus Sagas 7. Myth as an Alternative to Epigraph: Darius the Dragon-Slayer and the Cycle of the Khwarenah Part III. The Missing Great Kings 8. Achaemenids and Kayanids Revisited 9. Whither the Medes and Early Achaemenids? Part IV. Conclusion Conclusion: History, Myth and Cultural Identity Appendices Appendix 1: Historical Enemies Believed to Have Been Identified with Azhi Dahaka Appendix 2: Summary Chart of Onomastic Correspondences Appendix 3: Myth-Inspired Names in the Memorial List of the Farvardin Yasht and Parthian and Sasanid Epigraphical Sources Appendix 4: Attestations of the Names of Mythical and Legendary Figures Mentioned or Alluded to in the Yashts in the Onomastics of Various Pre-Islamic Epochs Appendix 5: Sequences of Key Mythical and Legendary Figures in the Yashts Appendix 6: Recurrent Elements from the Cyrus Sagas in the Ardashir Cycle Appendix 7: Heroes with Humble Upbringings in Pre-Islamic Iranian Traditions Appendix 8: Parallels Between the Cyrus Sagas and Traditions Concerning Thraetona and Kavi Husravah Bibliography Index

Reviews

This book by Reza Zarghamee, Myth and History in Ancient Persia, is yet another radiant entry in Edinburgh Studies in Ancient Persia. What is particularly admirable about the book is its almost uncanny precision and clarity in dealing with the complex diversity of primary sources centering on the self-presentation of the imperial civilization of ancient Medes and Persians.--Olga M. Davidson, Boston University

Author Information

Dr Reza Shaghaghi Zarghamee is a Post-doctoral Fellow in Ancient History at the University of St. Andrews, where he received his PhD from the School of Classics in 2022. His area of specialisation is the history of pre-Islamic and, more specifically, Achaemenid Iran. He is the author of Discovering Cyrus: The Persian Conqueror Astride the Ancient World (Mage: 2013), a biographical account of Cyrus the Great, and various shorter publications on ancient Iranian history and myth, as well as Greek accounts of ancient Persia. In addition to his work as a historian, Mr. Zarghamee is a practising attorney.

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