King of the World

The Life of Cyrus the Great

De: Matt Waters

Narrado por: Michael Page

The Persian Empire was the world's first hyperpower, with territory stretching from Central Asia to Northeastern Africa and from Southeastern Europe to the Indus Valley. It was the dominant geopolitical force from the later sixth century to its conquest by Alexander in the 330s BCE. Much of the empire's territory was conquered by its founder, Cyrus the Great, who reigned from 559-530 BCE. Cyrus became a legend in his own lifetime, and his career inspired keen interest from Persia's unruly neighbors to the west, the ancient Greeks. The idealized portrait of Cyrus by the Greek Xenophon had a profound impact on ancient, medieval, and early modern debates about rulership.

King of the World provides an authoritative and accessible account of Cyrus the Great's life, career, and legacy. While Greek sources remain central to any narrative about Cyrus, a wealth of primary evidence is found in the ancient Near East, including documentary, archaeological, art historical, and biblical material. Matt Waters draws from all of these sources while consistently contextualizing them in order to provide a cohesive understanding of Cyrus the Great. This overview addresses issues of interpretation and reconciles limited material, while the narrative keeps Cyrus the Great's compelling career at the forefront.

©2022 Oxford University Press (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Accessibile and informative

The author does a great job outlining the historical narrative of Cyrus while interspersing commentary about what we do and do not know based on available evidence. As a non-historian interested in Achaemenid/Iranian history, I found this to be very informative and exciting as it allowed me to reconsider/contextualize things I had already read elsewhere.

Scholarly Analysis and Research that is Insightful and Engaging.

Like other Iranians, I sift through everything I can get my hands on to piece together the past of our homeland. It shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone that in the department of History, far more liberties can be taken when stating facts as in the sciences. This makes the writing of history vulnerable to the petty squabbles or whims of the author. There is also a tendency to not stress or even state our collective understanding is incomplete and to often built and forced into theories that are not necessarily accurate or reliable. It doesn’t not help that Western scholars treat Eastern researchers as being inferior and not worth consulting.

there is also the element that humans tend to become hostile, upset and dismissive if the narrative is different than what they hoped for or expected. Conversely they will usually believe anything if it fits their account, even if it poorly researched and /or willfully misleading because of another objective .

I was satisfied with this work and felt I gained insight into the life and times of Cyrus and the dense fog which surrounds his mystical existence during this period. He seems to understand some of the issues I have stated and displayed genuine passion about Cyrus and the events that occurred. I would recommend this book and hope to read more of his work in the future.

The narrator was great and had a unique cadence with an elegant voice that fit the story very well.

the reader is good

Alot of unnecessary information. The writer doesn't get to the point. He should quit writing