Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War

by Kaveh Farrokh

Book Overview

The ruins of Persepolis evoke the best-known events of ancient Persia's history: Alexander the Great's defeat of Darius III, his conquest of the Achaemenid empire, and the burning of the great palace... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1846034736
• ISBN13: 9781846034732
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (UK)
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 2.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War (General Military)

I enjoyed reading the book and thank you for carring such these valuable historic books.

Excellent - but some issues

Outstanding book. Satisfying and informative read. Very well researched. Long overdue. Beautiful artifact pictures and nice maps. Fills a major gap in our knowledge of classical Iranian military and cultural history. This book will captivate anyone interested in strategic studies (as I am). Read it over two days (couldn't put it down). I look forward to the author's next book. Not to detract from what is an outstanding study by a conscientious scholar, here are some general and specific issues: 1). The book is occasionally written dramatically rather than clinically, which can confuse some of the narrative (what is the difference between "completely" and "totally" crushed)? 2). There is an obsession with addressing the most ignorant of Western scholarship, when the average self-selected reader will have already accepted the author's (true) assertion that ancient Iran was VERY culturally and militarily influential. 3). The author is not without some bias: he over-associates the Iranians of Persia with the Iranians of Central Asia, and is constantly reporting the contributions of these pastoralists to the rest of the world. While they were important intermediaries (transmitting knowledge of the chariot from China to Greece), they are not Persian, even if they share common ancestry/culture (155). He also spends a whole paragraph seemingly to justify the legitimacy of the incorporation of Iranian Azerbaijan (122). 4). The allusions to 19th and 20th Century events don't often work. The Maginot line, like the Wall of Babylon was for deterrence, not defence (42). Mazdak is more like an Epicurean than a Marxist (with his monistic atheist eschatological historiography - 221). 5). Occasional Herodotean moralistic overtones - specifically decline is associated with corruption (56, 74). Corruption is often associated with high economic growth rates. 6). Plates needed artifact dates; needed more maps showing all the place names. Where is Dhu Qar (255)? 7). Many stretched claims needing more evidence/discussion: the ancient Suez Canal (67), ancient batteries (175), and Iranian influences on Japanese literature and social organization (156/180). 8). A valiant and mostly convincing effort is made to use technology, training, tactics, and logistics to explain to constantly shifting military balance (73, 84, 133, 136), but there are constant gaps that would have been more easily solved if the author simply conceded that the Greeks were right and the majority of Persian/Sassanid infantry were ineffective (Dailamites excepted). The second point, which should have been raised in the technology discussion (175), is that while Persia had excellent armor, it could probably not produce it on the same scale as the Romans under the Sassanids. 9). Need population estimated, however unreliable to make sense of army sizes and losses (229). Colin McEvedy estimates 4 million (400 BC) to 5 million (AD 600), excluding Herat and Mesopotamia (1.25 million in 20 BC). 10). Need t

Pre-Islamic Persian military in a nutshell

This was a long overdue book on a subject of the preIslamic Persia (or should we say Greater Persia for today's Persia or Iran are just sad remnants of the great culture and great peoples) told in the context of her military history, military achievements .. and downfalls. Although published by Osprey Military Press, thus implying military orientation of the text, this book is much more than an overview of the martial cultures (battles, campaigns, warriors, weapons, tactics) that sprung from the Persian/Iranian soil. It is a story of the Iranian peoples who came to dominate the Western and Central Asia for over 1000 years while influencing the cultures of Europe (Greece and Rome), Africa (Egypt, Ethiopia) and and distant China - influences in religion while giving us the most romantic notion of a martial personage - a fully armoured knight with a long lance in this hand, long sword and mace at this side while astride his fiery and faithful stallion - as personified by the Persian kings and lords from Darius (Achaemenid Persia), Surrenas(Parthians) to Chosroes and Rostam Farrokhzad (Sassanian Iran) or immortalized by the legendary Persian warrior of Shahnameh - Rostam on his Raksh. Author who already has successfully given the readers the story of the Sassanian(the last preIslamic culture of Persia) cavalry elite aka as asavaran (also published by Osprey), here undertook the Herculean task of condensing the millennia of Persian history into 300 pages. In result he quite skillfully weaves the narrative of the more than a thousand years long story of the Persian empires without tiring the reader with his descriptions or concussions. His keen eye for linguistic nuances and other cultural aspects and links makes this a delightful reading for many a student of the subject, because it solidly puts the Persian warriors in the context of the cultures that created them. This book is definitely a must for those want to have and use a single, encyclopedia like, volume on the subject as well as this is a must for those who already are students of Greek and Roman history and should learn more about the most dangerous and powerful enemy of the Greco-Roman world. Many a student will be surprised to learn that very large chunks of Asia (Pakistan, Arabia, India, former Soviet Republics) were part of the Persian world for more than a thousand years while Greeks, Persians and other Iranians created cultures that gave rise to wonderful cultures in today's Pakistan and Northern India - Greco-Bactria, Ghandara and Kushan empires It is also important to mention great quality and quantity of pictures and photographs that appear in this very nicely printed book of some 300 pages. My only wish would have been to have much more descriptive accounts of the last two great battles, Qadisiyah and Nehawand, fought between the invading Moslem Arabs and Sassanians. Those battles that decided the fates both of preIslamic Persia and Moslem world. Perhaps had the P

A 'must' for any serious college-level collection.

Dr. Kaveh Farrokh's SHADOWS IN THE DESERT: ANCIENT PERSIA AT WAR will please specialty collections strong in early Persian history or military history. It is unique in that it comes not from a Western perspective but from an academic of Iranian descent who has produced a nonpolitical, complete history of pre-Islamic Iran. Photos display artifacts, weapons and sites while military reconstructions blend in Islamic history and cultural heritage to make for one of the most authoritative histories of the Persian empires to see recent print: a 'must' for any serious college-level collection.

Must Read for all History Lovers

Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War is a must read for anyone who wants to understand Iran's ancient history and to go beyond the usual Western point of view. It is very refreshing to learn the story from the other perspective and is really mind opening. The book is very detailed, very well written, and includes amazing photographs. It covers Iran's Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sassanid periods and is an amazing source for information. It will be a great addition to any history collection, and will be a great read for anyone interested in history, especially Near Eastern and European history. Professor Farrokh has done an amazing job. Without exaggeration, this book is probably one of the best books published on ancient Iranian history available to the public today.