Sean Manning, Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire: Past Approaches, Future Prospects, (Oriens et Occidens –32), Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2021, pp. 437; ISBN 978-3-515-12775-2

Abstract

The image of the Achaemenid army that survives to this day has been shaped by testimo - nies of Greek authors writing on the Greco-Persian wars of the 5 th and 4 th c. BCE. From the 19 th c. onwards, the said testimonies and data found within capture the attention of scholars, constantly stir up major controversies and remain open to reinterpretation. New research methods in philology, history and archaeology challenge the scholarly consensus on the Achaemenid military history, open new research avenues and produce newer, exacter data. Although the voluminous research on the Persian army comprises scores of articles, treatises and monographs, the scholars continue to discuss its makeup, organisational structure and operation. One scholar who reinterprets the available evidence and questions commonly held beliefs is Sean Manning, whose monograph, Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire: Past Approaches, Future Prospects (an expanded version of his doctoral dissertation at the University of Innsbruck, 2018)