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The Rise and Organisation of the Achaemenid Empire: The Eastern Iranian Evidence

TLDR
A study of the eastern part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, which was founded around the middle of the sixth century BC by Cyrus the Great, is presented in this article, which draws attention to the nomads from the Central Asia steppes and deserts who throughout history have played a major role in the developments that took place on the Iranian plateau and beyond.
Abstract
A study of the eastern part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, which was founded around the middle of the sixth century BC by Cyrus the Great. Within 20 years the empire stretched from the Aegean coast in the west, to the Kabul valley in the east. How did the Persians manage to conquer such a vast area within such a short time? And how did they manage to preserve their empire for 200 years before being defeated by the military genius of Alexander of Macedon? The answer to these questions is sought in the chaotic years that preceded the rise of the Achaemenids. On the basis of geographical and general historical information, the Persian Achaemenid texts and reliefs, classical sources and archaeological material, this study draws attention to the nomads from the Central Asia steppes and deserts who throughout history have played a major role in the developments that took place on the Iranian Plateau and beyond.

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Silk Roads or Steppe Roads? The Silk Roads in World History

TL;DR: The role played by the Silk Roads in exchanging goods, tech nologies, and ideas between regions of agrarian civilization is well understood as mentioned in this paper, but the fact that they also exchanged goods and ideas among the pastoralist and agrary worlds is less well understood.
Journal ArticleDOI

A theory for formation of large empires

TL;DR: This article proposed a mirror-empire model to explain the emergence of mega-empires in the steppe region of eastern Asia, and found that over 90% of the world's megaregions arose within or next to the arid belt running from the Sahara to the Gobi.
Book

Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia

TL;DR: The authors examines catalysts for Buddhist formation in ancient South Asia and expansion throughout and beyond the northwestern Indian subcontinent to Central Asia by investigating symbiotic relationships between networks of religious mobility and trade.
Book

The Archaeology of the Hellenistic Far East: A Survey

Rachel Mairs
TL;DR: The Far East of the Hellenistic world is best known from the archaeological remains of sites such as Ai Khanoum, which attest the endurance of Greek cultural and political presence in the region in the three centuries following the conquests of Alexander the Great as discussed by the authors.
Book

The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE-200 CE

TL;DR: The Indus Valley Tradition c.6500-1900 BCE: 4. Food producers: multiple Neolithics (c.5000-2600 BCE) 5. An era of integration: the Indus civilisation and the Asokan ideal as mentioned in this paper.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Silk Roads or Steppe Roads? The Silk Roads in World History

TL;DR: The role played by the Silk Roads in exchanging goods, tech nologies, and ideas between regions of agrarian civilization is well understood as mentioned in this paper, but the fact that they also exchanged goods and ideas among the pastoralist and agrary worlds is less well understood.
Journal ArticleDOI

A theory for formation of large empires

TL;DR: This article proposed a mirror-empire model to explain the emergence of mega-empires in the steppe region of eastern Asia, and found that over 90% of the world's megaregions arose within or next to the arid belt running from the Sahara to the Gobi.
Book

Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia

TL;DR: The authors examines catalysts for Buddhist formation in ancient South Asia and expansion throughout and beyond the northwestern Indian subcontinent to Central Asia by investigating symbiotic relationships between networks of religious mobility and trade.
Book

The Archaeology of the Hellenistic Far East: A Survey

Rachel Mairs
TL;DR: The Far East of the Hellenistic world is best known from the archaeological remains of sites such as Ai Khanoum, which attest the endurance of Greek cultural and political presence in the region in the three centuries following the conquests of Alexander the Great as discussed by the authors.
Book

The Huns, Rome and the Birth of Europe

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the inner Asian enemies before the Huns, the later Huns and the birth of Europe, and the end of the Hunnic Empire in the West.