The World of Achaemenid Persia

Click on title to see abstract, click on name to see biographical notes

Provisional Programme

- Parallel sessions on Thursday and Friday, venue for each session shown below session title
- For presentations with multiple authors, the author making the presentation is marked with '*'
- Presentations are limited to 20 minutes, each presentation is followed by 5 minutes discussion

THURSDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2005

9.00-9.30 Registration

9.30-9.45 Welcome
BP Auditorium
John Curtis, The British Museum
Farhad Hakimzadeh, Iran Heritage Foundation

9.45-11.00 Session 1: Achaemenid History and Historiography
BP Auditorium
Chair: John Curtis, The British Museum
9.45-10.10 Pierre Briant, Collège de France
Ancient Persia as Viewed through the Modern Historiography of Alexander the Great
10.10-10.35 Tom Harrison, University of Liverpool
Re-discovering Achaemenid Persia: The 'Achaemenid History Workshop' Revisited
10.35-11.00 Christopher Tuplin, University of Liverpool
All the King's Men: Vassal Relations within the Persian Elite?

11.00-11.30 Tea/Coffee

11.30-13.10 Session 2: Centre and Periphery - Views on the Persian Empire
BP Auditorium
Chair: A D H Bivar, SOAS, University of London
11.30-11.55 Richard Nelson Frye, formerly Harvard University
Cyrus the Mede and Darius the Achaemenid?
11.55-12.20 Peter Magee, Bryn Mawr College
On the Edge of the Achaemenid Empire: Recent Research in North-west Pakistan
12.20-12.45 Bahram Adjerloo, Nazar Institute - Tehran
Cultural Transition in Iranian Azerbaijan through Iron Age II - Achaemenid Period: The Evidence of Recent Archaeological Surveys and Excavations
12.45-13.10 Wu Xin, University of Pennsylvania
Persians and Central Asians: A Historical Reconstruction of Their Relationship Within the Context of the Achaemenid Empire

13.10-14.30 Lunch plus Film Screening
BP Auditorium (film)
13.25-14.25 Persepolis - A Reconstruction (Goetz Balonier, director, 2005, 60 min.). Click here to view a short film clip from this extraordinary documentary. This is a large file and could take up to 3 minutes to download with a Broadband connection (depending on connection speed).

14.30-15.45 Session 3: The Oxus Treasure and Other Achaemenid Sumptuary Arts
BP Auditorium
Chair: Andrew Meadows, The British Museum
14.30-14.55 Mehdi Daryaie, National Museum of Iran
An Analytical Investigation on the Coin Hoard of the Oxus Treasure
14.55-15.20 Barbara R Armbruster, University of Toulouse Le Mirail
Technological Aspects of Gold Work from the Oxus Treasure
15.20-15.45 St John Simpson* & Michael R Cowell, The British Museum
An Achaemenid Silver Bowl from Mazanderan

14.30-16.10 Session 4: Babylonia in the Persian Period
Stevenson Auditorium
Chair: Christopher Walker, The British Museum
14.30-14.55 Shalom E Holtz, University of Pennsylvania
Royal Judges in Achaemenid Mesopotamia
14.55-15.20 John MacGinnis, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research - Cambridge
The Role of Babylonian Temples in Contributing to the Army in the Early Achaemenid Empire
15.20-15.45 Heather D Baker, Institut fuer Orientalistik, Universitaet Wien
The Social Dimensions of Babylonian Domestic Architecture in the Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid Periods
15.45-16.10 Sima Yadollahi* & Abbas Yalvaee, University of Tehran
The Origins of the Achaemenids

16.10-16.40 Tea/Coffee

16.40-17.55 Session 5: Achaemenid Sumptuary Arts (continued)
BP Auditorium
Chair: Sir John Boardman, Ashmolean Museum - Oxford
16.40-17.05 Susanne Ebbinghaus, Harvard University
Prestige Drinking: Rhyta with Animal Foreparts from Persia to Greece
17.05-17.30 Despina Ignatiadou, Archaeological Museum - Thessaloniki
Achaemenid and Greek Colourless Glass
17.30-17.55 Annie Caubet, Musée du Louvre
From Susa to Egypt: Glazed and Vitreous Objects from the Persian Era in Relation to an Exhibition at the Louvre Museum (June-September 2005)

16.40-18.20 Session 6: New Sources and Insights
Stevenson Auditorium
Chair: Irving Finkel, The British Museum
16.40-17.05 Anke Joisten-Prushke, Georg-August Universitaet - Goettingen
Light from Aramaic Documents
17.05-17.30 Lisbeth S Fried, University of Michigan
Because of the Dread Upon Them
17.30-17.55 Melanie Wasmuth, Institut fuer Vorderasiatische Archaeologie, Universitaet Muenchen
Integration of Foreigners: New Insights from the Stela Found in Saqqara in 1994
17.55-18.20 Abolala Soudavar, Houston
The Formation of Achaemenid Imperial Ideology and its Impact on the Avesta

18.30-21.00 Reception

FRIDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2005

9.30-10.45 Session 7: Iran and Arabia
BP Auditorium
Chair: Robert Knox, The British Museum
9.30-9.55 Bjoern Anderson, University of Michigan
Achaemenid Arabia: New Perspectives
9.55-10.20 Daniel Thomas Potts, University of Sydney
Achaemenid Interests in the Persian Gulf
10.20-10.45 Cameron Petrie*, Sommerville College, University of Oxford; Alireza Asgari-Chaverdi, ICHTO - Shiraz; Bernadette McCall, University of Sydney & Mojgan Seyedin, Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research
Archaeological Evidence for Achaemenid Settlement Patterns Within the Mamasani Valleys, Western Fars (Iran)

9.30-10.30 Session 8: Persepolis Reconstruction Discussion Group
Studio
Chair: Farhad Hakimzadeh, Iran Heritage Foundation
Kourosh Afhami*, Sheda Vasseghi* & Wolfang Gambke, Persepolis3D
- Film clips from Persepolis - A Reconstruction (Goetz Balonier, director, 2005)
- Presentation regarding roots of Achaemenid architecture
- Presentation regarding reconstruction
- Discussion

10.45-11.15 Tea/Coffee

11.15-12.55 Session 9: Political Continuity and Change
BP Auditorium
Chair: Nicholas Sims-Williams, SOAS, University of London
11.15-11.40 Andrew R George, SOAS, University of London
Xerxes and the Tower of Babel
11:40-12.05 Amelie Kuhrt, University College London
A Reassessment of Xerxes and the Babylonian Temples in the Light of Some Recent Evidence
12:05-12.30 Matt Waters, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
Cyrus, the Medes, and the Persians
12:30-12.55 Bruno Jacobs, Seminar fuer Klassische Archaeologie, Universitaet Basel
Circumstances Surrounding the Passing from the Sepulchre of Cyrus to the Rock-cut Tomb of Darius: Expressions of a Cultural and Religious Break?

11.15-12.15 Session 10: Persepolis Reconstruction Discussion Group
Studio
Chair: Nigel Tallis, The British Museum
Kourosh Afhami*, Sheda Vasseghi* & Wolfang Gambke, Persepolis3D
- Film clips from Persepolis - A Reconstruction (Goetz Balonier, director, 2005)
- Presentation regarding roots of Achaemenid Architecture
- Presentation regarding reconstruction
- Discussion

12.55-14.00 Lunch

14.20-16.00 Session 11: Dress, Gender and Appearance
BP Auditorium
Chair: St John Simpson, The British Museum
14.00-14.25 Nicolas Sekunda, Nicolaus Copernicus University - Torun
The Periodicity of Achaemenid Royal Dress
14.25-14.50 Maria Brosius, University of Newcastle
The Royal Audience Scene Revisited: Women at the Achaemenid Court
14.50-15.15 Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, University of Edinburgh
The Big and Beautiful Women of Asia: Picturing Female Sexuality in Greco-Persian Seals
15.15-15.40 Judith Lerner, New York
Equal in Status: An Achaemenid Seal of a Woman Enthroned

15.40-16.10 Tea/Coffee

16.10-18.35 Session 12: Interpreting Iconography
BP Auditorium
Chair: Dominique Collon, formerly The British Museum
16.10-16.35 Elspeth R M Dusinberre, University of Colorado
Anatolian Crossroads: Achaemenid Seals from Sardis to Gordion
16.35-17.00 Deniz Kaptan, University of Nevada - Reno
Seal Impressions on Clay Tags from Phrygia
17.00-17.25 Yannick Lintz, Musée du Louvre
The Archer Coins: A Closer Examination of Achaemenid Art in Asia Minor
17.25-17.50 Mark B Garrison, Trinity University - San Antonio
Archers at Persepolis: The Emergence of Royal Ideology at the Heart of the Empire
17.50-18.15 Nigel Tallis, The British Museum
The Achaemenid Army in a Near Eastern Context

18.15-20.00 Exhibition Viewing

SATURDAY 1 OCTOBER 2005

9.30-10.45 Session 13: Persepolis - Architecture and Function
BP Auditorium
Chair: Georgina Herrmann, formerly Institute of Archaeology - UCL
9.30-9.55 Mohammad Hassan Talebian, Choga Zanbil & Persepolis Projects
A Review of Research and Restoration Activities at Parsa - Pasargadae: An Analysis, Evaluation and Future Prospects
9.55-10.20 Kamyar Abdi, Dartmouth College
Circumstances Surrounding the Passing of the Throne from Xerxes to Artaxerxes I or How an Archaeological Observation can Potentially Shed some Light on a Question in Achaemenid Historiography
10.20-10.45 Cindy Nimchuk, University of Illinois - Springfield
Empire Encapsulated: The Persepolis Apadana Foundation Deposits

10.45-11.15 Tea/Coffee

11.15-13.20 Session 14: Achaemenid Religion
BP Auditorium
Chair: Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, The British Museum
11.15-11.40 Philip G Kreyenbroek, Georg-August Universitaet - Goettingen
Religion Under the Achaemenids: Presuppositions, Questions, Facts
11.40-12.05 Albert De Jong, University of Leiden
Ahura Mazda is a 'Dieu Créateur'
12.05-12.30 Shahrokh Razmjou, National Museum of Iran
Persepolis: A Re-interpretation of the Palaces and their Function
12.30-12.55 Oric Basirov, formerly SOAS
Achaemenid Practice of Primary Burial: An Argument Against their Zoroastrianism? Or a Testimony to their Religious Tolerance?

12.55-14.00 Lunch

Session 15: Achaemenid Origins and Legacy
BP Auditorium
Chair: Nigel Tallis, The British Museum
14.00-14.25 Sabrina Maras, University of California - Berkeley
A Re-assessment of Motifs Found on Baked Bricks from Achaemenid Susa
14.25-14.50 Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, The British Museum
Coins of Persis: Bridging the Gap Between the Achaemenids and the Sasanians
14.50-15.15 Parvin Loloi, Swansea
Portraits of the Achaemenid Kings in English Drama: 16th - 18th Centuries

15.15-15.45 Tea/Coffee

15.45-17.00 Session 16: Architecture of the Medes and Achaemenids
BP Auditorium
Chair: Andrew Burnett, The British Museum
15.45-16.10 Hilary Gopnik, Franklin & Marshall University
Why Columned Halls?
16.10-16.35 Ehsan Yaghmaee, Tehran
Excavations in Dashtestan, Borazjan (Iran)
16.35-17.00 Michael Roaf, Institut fuer Vorderasiatische Archaeologie, Universitaet Muenchen
The Role of the Medes in the Architecture of the Achaemenids

17.00-17.30 Final and Closing Remarks
BP Auditorium
Neil MacGregor, The British Museum
John Curtis, The British Museum