Rome and Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry

by Adrian Goldsworthy

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Perfect for fans of ancient history, particularly Roman, this is the in-depth exploration of the complicated relationship between Rome and Persia, from the wars to the treaties, to the people who populated the tumultuous shared stage. This is a comprehensive look at one of the biggest rivalries of all time.

A “magnificent” (Spectator) history of the epic rivalry between the ancient world’s two great superpowers 

The Roman empire was like no other. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity on an unprecedented scale. 

Its only true rival lay in the east, where the Parthian and then Persian empires ruled over great cities and the trade routes to mysterious lands beyond. This was the region Alexander the Great had swept through, creating a dream of glory and conquest that tantalized Greeks and Romans alike. Tracing seven centuries of conflict between Rome and Persia, historian Adrian Goldsworthy shows how these two great powers evolved together. Despite their endless clashes, trade between the empires enriched them both, and a mutual respect prevented both Rome and Persia from permanently destroying the other. 

Epic in scope, Rome and Persia completely reshapes our understanding of one of the greatest rivalries of world history. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541619968
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	09/05/2023
Pages:	592
Sales rank:	28,511
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.90(d)

About the Author

Adrian Goldsworthy received his DPhil in ancient history from Oxford and has taught at Cardiff University, King’s College, and the University of Notre Dame in London. The author of numerous books, including Philip and Alexander, Pax Romana, How Rome Fell, and Caesar, he lives in South Wales, UK. 

Editorial Reviews

06/26/2023

In this innovative study, historian and novelist Goldsworthy (Philip and Alexander) examines how the ancient world was shaped by Cold War-like tensions between two superpowers: the Roman Empire and the Parthian and Sasanian Persian empires (which Goldsworthy treats as one continuous political entity—it included at its core modern-day Iran, Iraq, and most of Syria, and encompassed neighboring regions at various points throughout its history). In the first century CE, conflicts between the two empires were often resolved by military actions within frontier kingdoms, which would typically shift allegiances depending on the current strength of their imperial neighbors. During times of direct confrontation, victories and defeats accrued to both sides equally, resulting in an equilibrium of power. By the eighth century, both empires were coping with internal strife and beset by invasions of Goths, Huns, and Turks, who would often ally themselves with one of the superpowers to the detriment of the other. Rome’s relationship with the Parthian and Sasanian Persian empires was the longest and most influential of its existence, Goldsworthy convincingly demonstrates, far outweighing Carthage (a mere 100-year rivalry) in importance. Meticulous yet sweeping in scope, this is a major contribution to the understanding of a significant period in world history. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Goldsworthy [wears his] deep knowledge of the Roman world lightly and [knows] how to tell a good story. [His history] also might strike a very contemporary note of interest for many people — men and women alike." —New York Times

"Parts of Rome and Persia read like the script of a Latin American telenovela, with labyrinthine twists and turns to match. It’s a complicated story with proxy wars and peace treaties galore, pendular swings between victory and defeat and a pirouetting cast of characters thrown up by assassinations. It is to Goldsworthy’s credit that he relates it with clarity and panache without insulting the intelligence of the reader…You will be hard-pressed to find a better history of [the rivalry of Rome and Persia] in a single volume.”—The Times (UK)

"Magnificent."—The Spectator (UK)

“Goldsworthy fills a little-known but important gap in the history of the Western World with a history of the lands of Armenia, Iraq, and Syria that, as part of the Parthian Empire, became contentious ground between two empires... . Rome and Persia is annotated, includes a detailed chronology, and has a bibliography. It has lists of rulers to help the reader sort through this history of empires."—New York Journal Review of Books

"Meticulous yet sweeping in scope, this is a major contribution to the understanding of a significant period in world history."—Publishers Weekly

“An expert account of a historical rivalry long neglected by popular historians.”—Kirkus

“Epic history as it's means to be written! A splendid book that tells the story of the great imperial rivalry of the ancient world with narrative elan, scholarly authority, and a cast of extraordinary characters.”—Simon Sebag-Montefiore, author of The World: A Family History of Humanity

“Rome and Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry, is a wise and wonderful book, on a historical topic that still speaks to us today. Goldsworthy is a brilliant scholar and an excellent narrator, and here he is at the height of his powers. This book is not to be missed.”—Barry Strauss, author of The War that Made the Roman Empire

“A sweeping and panoramic account of the first great superpower rivalry - a definitive account.”—Tom Holland, author of Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World

“Renowned for his brilliant evocations of the Roman past, here Adrian Goldsworthy turns his focus towards the mighty Sasanians and explores how this long-lived Iranian dynasty challenged Rome for the title of world’s Superpower. Written with his customary flair and brio, Goldsworthy sheds much-needed light on this crucial period in east-west relations and thrillingly demonstrates what happens when two worlds collide.”—Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, author of Persians: the Age of the Great Kings

From the Publisher

2023-05-27
An expert account of a historical rivalry long neglected by popular historians.

In his latest lucid work of ancient history, veteran British historian Goldsworthy, author of Pax Romana, How Rome Fell, and other notable books, tells “the story of ancient Rome and its rivalry with the Parthian and Sasanian Persian dynasties that presided over an empire with its heartland in modern Iran. Nowhere else did the Romans share a border with a state anywhere near as large and sophisticated for such a long period of time.” Although larger and stronger, Rome never conquered its eastern rival as it had Carthage, and alongside many victories were humiliating defeats. Mostly, however, there was peaceful coexistence. Of course, peaceful coexistence interested ancient scholars far less than war and politics. Goldsworthy works hard to describe the culture, religion, and economic life of ancient Persia, but readers will encounter a steady stream of military campaigns and bloody battles, and many will struggle to remember the names of innumerable kings, would-be kings, and details of dynastic quarrels. A war in the early seventh century ended with Persia’s king ruling over more territory than any of his predecessors, but around the year 630, armies of the Prophet Muhammad emerged from Arabia and conquered it in little more than a decade. Readers will appreciate Goldsworthy’s accessible prose and critical eye but quickly realize that almost everything is told from Rome’s point of view. The author rightly explains that this is unavoidable because Romans (Plutarch, Suetonius, Livy, and others) produced almost all the surviving histories. They were not impartial, but “the peoples who fought against the Romans left no accounts at all.” Scattered cuneiform tablets, pottery, rock inscriptions, and coins provide most of the contemporary evidence, with most histories from the Persian perspective written much later during the Muslim dynasties. Nonetheless, Goldsworthy produces yet another illuminating study.

A fine historian fills in a major historical blank space.

Kirkus Reviews

Classical history, that most venerable of subjects, is most effectively narrated by British voices, the more cultivated the better. Mark Elstob fills that requirement with grace and precision, and with a composure that keeps the bloodier elements of ancient geopolitics at a comfortable distance. In historian and novelist Goldsworthy's history of the ancient West's most powerful rivals, he finds his thread in the expanse of time and geography covered, rather than in any strict timeline or chain of events. Ancient Persia is lesser known to most listeners, which gives this title a special interest, along with the excellent narration. Unmistakable, too, and profoundly moving, is the frequency with which so many of these ancient points of conflict reappear on the map of today's outbreaks. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2023 - AudioFile