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King of the World
- The Life of Cyrus the Great
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
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King of the World
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Summary
The Persian Empire was the world's first hyperpower, with territory stretching from Central Asia to Northeastern Africa and from Southeastern Europe to the Indus Valley. It was the dominant geopolitical force from the later sixth century to its conquest by Alexander in the 330s BCE. Much of the empire's territory was conquered by its founder, Cyrus the Great, who reigned from 559-530 BCE. Cyrus became a legend in his own lifetime, and his career inspired keen interest from Persia's unruly neighbors to the west, the ancient Greeks. The idealized portrait of Cyrus by the Greek Xenophon had a profound impact on ancient, medieval, and early modern debates about rulership.
King of the World provides an authoritative and accessible account of Cyrus the Great's life, career, and legacy. While Greek sources remain central to any narrative about Cyrus, a wealth of primary evidence is found in the ancient Near East, including documentary, archaeological, art historical, and biblical material. Matt Waters draws from all of these sources while consistently contextualizing them in order to provide a cohesive understanding of Cyrus the Great. This overview addresses issues of interpretation and reconciles limited material, while the narrative keeps Cyrus the Great's compelling career at the forefront.
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- Yorkshire Reader
- 11-12-22
The Best Cyrus the Great Biography for the General
This is a wonderfully concise book from OUP USA (Oxford University Press) written by Matt Waters, one of a very few preeminent expert historians of Ancient Persia, a polyglot with command of several of the dead languages that were written in Cuneiform script, including Akkadian, Elamite and Old Persian, as well as Latin and Attic Greek. Despite Professor Waters awesome level of scholastic knowledge he has managed to create a very concise and accessible biography that is a genuine pleasure to read or hear. At only around 260 pages (185 pages and then appendices, index, notes and bibliography) it still seems to achieve a comprehensive examination of Cyrus' reign and his personality, all anchored within a very well explained description of his society and time to contextualize events.
Professor Waters 260 page volume cannot be expected to offer a similar wealth of detail as that created by Reza Zarghamee in his 784 page epic Discovering Cyrus, But for the general reader, wanting entertainment as much as information, Waters has perfectly hit the sweet spot between reliable, well sourced history and the page turning pleasure of a well articulated story. Waters book is also only about 40% of the cost of Zarghamee's, and it's available as a 7 hrs 12 minutes long audiobook narrated by Michael Page (my favourite narrator to not have a British accent). Zarghamee's work isn't available as an audiobook and I'd be surprised if it ever was. It would need to be at least 35 hours long with over 15 hours devoted to appendices, endnotes, etc.
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