In meeting the long-standing need for a new and authoritative history of the Persian Empire, Professor Cook takes account of the most recent discoveries, including the clay tablets from Persepolis, and he attempts a modern critical approach to the historical issues.

After discussing the origins of the Medes and Persians and surveying the sources of Persian history from 550 to 330 B.C., Professor Cook describes the reigns of Cyrus the Great, Darius I and Xerxes I down to 480 B.C. The narrative of the last 150 years, culminating in the conquests of Alexander the Great, is taken up later in the book.

Intervening chapters provide background to the political events. Topics discussed are the armed forces and communications, the king and court, Persian religion, architecture and art, together with a long chapter covering conditions in the different parts of an empire that stretched from Turkestan and the Hindukush to Nubia. Special attention is paid to imperial organization and the infrastructure of rule within the provinces, and comparisons are frequently made with other oriental empire from Assyrian times to the present.

A valuable book for students, The Persian Empire is also intended for the general reader interested in the history and civilization of the ancient world.