THE SASANIAN EMPIRE AT WAR: Persia, Rome, and the Rise of Islam, 224-651

2-230660

Examines war and society in the 224-651 AD Persian Empire ruled by the Sasanian clan. The Sasanians were able to maintain their empire for hundreds of years through nearly constant warfare, but when their expansion was checked in the north by the Byzantines at Constantinople in 626, and with the Muslim invasions to their south and west beginning in the 630s, the empire could no longer be sustained. Analyzes military capabilities, major confrontations, organization, and weapons of the Persian army. Offers a new image of a sophisticated, confident culture astride the heart of Eurasia at the end of the ancient world and birth of the Silk Road. Contains 18 illustrations.