ReOrienting the Sasanians : : East Iran in Late Antiquity / / Khodadad Rezakhani.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Edinburgh University Press Complete eBook-Package 2017
• VerfasserIn: Rezakhani, Khodadad,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2022]; ©2017
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Series: Edinburgh Studies in Ancient Persia : ESAP
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (256 p.) :; 30 B/W illustrations

A narrative history of Central Asia after the Greek dynasties and before IslamCentral Asia is commonly imagined as the marginal land on the periphery of Chinese and Middle Eastern civilisations. At best, it is understood as a series of disconnected areas that served as stop-overs along the Silk Road. However, in the mediaeval period, this region rose to prominence and importance as one of the centres of Persian-Islamic culture, from the Seljuks to the Mongols and Timur. Khodadad Rezakhani tells the back story of this rise to prominence, the story of the famed Kushans and mysterious ‘Asian Huns’, and their role in shaping both the Sasanian Empire and the rest of the Middle East.Contextualises Persian history in relation to the history of Central Asia Extends the concept of late antiquity further east than is usually done Surveys the history of Iran and Central Asia between 200 and 800 bc and contextualises the rise of Islam in both regions "

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- Series Editor’s Preface -- Maps -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1 The Sasanians and the Sistanis -- 2 The Kushans and the Sasanians -- 3 The Kushano-Sasanians in East Iran -- 4 The Iranian Huns and the Kidarites -- 5 The Alkhans in the Southern Hindu Kush -- 6 The Hephthalite ‘Empire’ and its Successors -- 7 Sogdiana in the Kidarite and Hephthalite Periods -- 8 The Nēzak and Turk Periods -- 9 Tokharistan and Sogdiana in the Late Sasanian Period -- 10 General Conclusions and Postscript -- 11 Epilogue and Excursus on the Shahnameh -- Bibliography -- Index