Synopses & Reviews
Xerxes, Great King of the Persian Empire from 486andndash;465 B.C., has gone down in history as an angry tyrant full of insane ambition. The stand of Leonidas and the 300 against his army at Thermopylae is a byword for courage, while the failure of Xerxesandrsquo; expedition has overshadowed all the other achievements of his twenty-two-year reign.
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In this lively and comprehensive new biography, Richard Stoneman shows how Xerxes, despite sympathetic treatment by the contemporary Greek writers Aeschylus and Herodotus, had his reputation destroyed by later Greek writers and by the propaganda of Alexander the Great. Stoneman draws on the latest research in Achaemenid studies and archaeology to present the ruler from the Persian perspective. This illuminating volume does not whitewash Xerxesandrsquo; failings but sets against them such triumphs as the architectural splendor of Persepolis and a consideration of Xerxesandrsquo; religious commitments. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of a man who ruled a vast and multicultural empire which the Greek communities of the West saw as the antithesis of their own values.
Review
and#39;Recent scholarly approaches to the lives of ancient Iranian monarchs have opted for the Reception Studies approach, filtering the rulers through the long-lens of ancient and modern historiography. Not so Richard Stoneman. He boldly bucks the trend and in his Xerxes: A Persian Life proves that it is possible to write a very good biography of a long-dead Persian. He takes a cradle-to-grave (or harem-to-ossuary) approach in doing so and tackles the complex, conflicting, multi-layered sources with gusto.and#39;andmdash;Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, THE
Review
andldquo;A biography that awakens curiosity and whets the appetite for more information.andrdquo;andmdash;Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
A prince is born under a star of good fortune. Alexander grows up to fulfil this destiny - powerful as a lion, skilled in the art of war and leader of a vast army. His fame sweeps the world, and he conquers all who stand in his way. But this is not enough for Alexander. He will not rest until he has defeated his mortal enemy, the King of Persia.
Synopsis
The first full-scale account of a Persian king vilified by history
About the Author
Richard Stoneman is Honorary Visiting Professor, University of Exeter, and the author of numerous books. He lives in Devon, UK.