Imperial Matter: Ancient Persia and the Archaeology of Empires

by Lori Khatchadourian

Overview

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s new open access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.

What is the role of the material world in shaping the tensions and paradoxes of imperial sovereignty? Scholars have long shed light on the complex processes of conquest, extraction, and colonialism under imperial rule. But imperialism has usually been cast as an exclusively human drama, one in which the world of matter does not play an active role. Lori Khatchadourian argues instead that things—from everyday objects to monumental buildings—profoundly shape social and political life under empire. Out of the archaeology of ancient Persia and the South Caucasus, Imperial Matter advances powerful new analytical approaches to the study of imperialism writ large and should be read by scholars working on empire across the humanities and social sciences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520964952
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	03/18/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	330
Sales rank:	18,732
File size:	57 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Lori Khatchadourian is Associate Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Preface xiii

Introduction xix

Part 1

1 The Satrapal Condition 1

2 Where Things Stand 25

3 Imperial Matter 51

Part 2

4 From Captives to Delegates 81

5 Delegates and Proxies in the Dahyu of Armenia 118

6 Going Underground: Affiliates, Proxies, and Delegates at Tsaghkahovit 153

Conclusion 194

Notes 205

References Cited 231

Index 277

Editorial Reviews

"The whole book is deeply informed, showing mastery of all kinds of archaeological evidence, with richly informative endnotes. . . . Those of us interested in the archaeology of the region and Achaemenid studies more generally owe Khatchadourian . . . a deep debt of gratitude for so advancing our field."

Ancient West and East