Persians: The Age of the Great Kings

Author: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones Publisher: Basic Books Pages: 464 Publication date: Nov 07, 2023 ISBN: 978-1541604230 The Oil Kings by Andrew Scott Cooper reveals how oil reshaped U.S. foreign policy in the 1970s, shifting its alliance from Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi to the Saudi royal family. Drawing on newly declassified documents, the book uncovers how geopolitical strategy, economic crisis, and energy demands intertwined—destabilizing Iran, strengthening ties with Saudi Arabia, and leaving a legacy that still shapes global politics today.Persians: The Age of Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones offers a vivid and sweeping account of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the largest empire of the ancient world, ruled by figures such as Cyrus the Great, Darius I, and Xerxes I. Drawing on inscriptions, archaeology, and Persian sources, the book reconstructs a powerful yet sophisticated empire that stretched across three continents and governed through a remarkable system of tolerance and cooperation. It traces the rise of this imperial superpower from its ceremonial heart at Persepolis to its sudden fall following the conquests of Alexander the Great—while revealing how its political vision and cultural legacy continue to shape modern Iran and our understanding of empire today.