Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Persia

WEB Encyclopedia Iranica
Very detailed entries, but only D and E are online. [At Internet Archive]
WEB Parthia.com
Focused on a later period of Persian history than covered in this class, but still a good entrance to all things Persian.

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The Persian State: Acheamenids (560-330 BCE)

Herodotus (c.490-c.425 BCE): On the Customs of the Persians [This Site]
Cyrus (b.580-r.560/59-529 BCE, ): Cylinder Recording Conquest of Babylon (mid 6th Cent. BCE) [At British Museum]
WEB Cyrus the Great (r.560/59-529 BCE) [Website]
Illustrations of the great Persian King.
Xenophon: When Cyrus the Great was a Boy [At this Site]
Kurash (Cyrus) the Great: The Decree of Return for the Jews, 539 BCE [At this Site]
From Persian and Biblical sources.
Greek Reports of Babylonia, Chaldea, and Assyria [At this Site]
From Herodotus. Includes accounts of the Persian conquest.
Herodotus (c.490-c.425 BCE): Queen Tomyris of the Massagetai and the Defeat of the Persians under Cyrus [At this Site]
Herodotus (c.490-c.425 BCE): The Persians Reject Democracy/Darius' State Organization [At this Site]
Seal of Darius (r. 521-486 B.C.) [At Livius.org]
Plutarch (c.46-c.120 CE): Life of Artaxerxes (r. 465-424)[At MIT]
Accounts of Persian "Despotism" and Law, c. 430-300 BCE [At this Site]
WEB Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions [At U Chicago]

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The Persian State: Parthia and Arcsacids (247 BCE-226 CE)

WEB Parthia.com
Persia and its Religious Mix to 300 AD [Modern Account at Internet Archive]

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The Persian State: Sassanids (224-636 CE)

The Karnamik-I-Ardashir, or The Records of Ardashir, [At this Site]
The records of Ardashir, Founder of the Sassanian Kingdom
The Story of King Vahahran & his Queen, c. 300 CE [At this Site]

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Persian Religions

WEB Avesta Page [Website]
A significant collection of Zoroastrian texts.
The Selections of Zadspram [At EAWC]
Zoraster Repulsed By Everybody Gatha: Yasna 46 [At enteract.com]
Gatha of the Choice Zaraththustra reveals the exemplary choice which took place at the beginning of the world. Gatha: Yasna 30 [At enteract.com]
Second Gatha of the Choice Gatha: Yasna 31 [At enteract.com]
Zoroastrian Dualist Cosmogony: Ohrmazd and Ahriman Greater Bundahishn 1:18-26 [At enteract.com]
Ahura Mazda Teaches Yima How to Save all the Best and Fairest in the World Vivavdat,' Fargard II [At enteract.com]
A Mazdean (Zoroastrian) Sacrifice to the Sun Khorshed Yasht 1-5 [At enteract.com]
The Crossing of the Cinvat Bridge and the Roads to Heaven and Hell Menok I Khrat' I, 71-122 [At enteract.com]
The Yatkar-I-Zariran, or Memoirs of Zarir [At this Site]
This is supposed to be a "history" of the early struggle of the Zarathustrians around the time of Zarathustra.
Sir Monier Monier-Williams: The Towers of Silence, 1870
The Parsees (modern Zoroastrians) in Bombay in the 19th century.

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Art and Architecture

WEB Persopolis [At Stanford]
Short account and many images of the city.
WEB Iran Photo Album [At OZnet]

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NOTES:

Dates of accession of material added since July 1998 can be seen in the New Additions page.. The date of inception was 4/8/1998.

Links to files at other site are indicated by [At some indication of the site name or location]. Locally available texts are marked by [At this Site].

WEB indicates a link to one of small number of high quality web sites which provide either more texts or an especially valuable overview.

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created 1998: last revised 2/21/2007