Middle Persian

A stunning portrait of the magnificent splendor of ancient Persia and its enduring legacies for today's Iran. “A brilliant feat of resurrection.” -Tom Holland, author of Dominion The Achaemenid Persian kings ruled over the largest empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the steppes of...

Kamran Esfahani, a dentist living out a dreary existence in Stockholm, agrees to spy for the Mossad after he’s recruited by Arik Glitzman, the chief of a clandestine unit tasked with running targeted assassinations and sabotage inside Iran. At Glitzman’s direction, Kam returns to his native Tehran and opens a dental practice there, using it as a cover for the Israeli intelligence agency. Kam proves to be a skillful asset, quietly earning money helping Glitzman smuggle weapons, run surveillance, and conduct kidnappings.

From an award-winning historian, the definitive history of classical Greece and the rivalry between its two greatest cities. No period has more profoundly influenced the Western world than classical Greece, and at its center stood two cities: Athens and Sparta. Side by side, they beat the...

Today, Persia is known as the country of Iran, but long ago, Persia was once home to various nomadic tribes. It saw the rise of many empires and dynasties. The Assyrians fell to the Medians, who paved the way for the emergence of the Achaemenid Empire, one of the greatest empires in ancient history.

When Jamie Maslin decides to hitchhike the entire length of the Silk Road, he decides to travel first and plan later. Then, unexpectedly stranded in Iran - a country he's only read about in newspapers - he wonders whether he'll make it out alive. After crossing the border on foot from Turkey, Maslin finds himself suddenly plunged into the subversive, contradictory world of Iranian subculture, where he is embraced by locals who are happy to show him the true Iran as they see it....

Witness the dramatic rise and fall of a forgotten superpower in this epic journey through ancient history. Transform your daily commute into a cinematic exploration of the Achaemenid Empire, stretching from the Aegean to the Indus. Experience the thrill of monumental empire-building and the...

This masterful translation brings legendary heroes, tragic destinies, sweeping romances, colossal monsters, and fearless warriors vividly to life, unfolding a mythic saga that spans thousands of years. Originally composed as an 11th-century epic poem, Shahnameh endures as one of the world’s greatest masterpieces of mythology and storytelling. Performed by award-winning voice actor Marc Thompson and enriched with evocative sound design by Hamid Rahmanian, creator of the Shahnameh Project, this theatrical audiobook is truly cinema for the ear.

Twenty-four miles wide. Twenty percent of the world's oil. No real alternative. And right now — closed. The Strait of Hormuz is the most important body of water on earth that most people couldn't find on a map. Every day in normal conditions, approximately twenty million barrels of oil and a fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas transit this single narrow passage between Iran and Oman. When it is disrupted — as it is now, in the most severe closure since the 1970s energy crisis — oil prices surge, food prices rise, airlines ground flights, hospitals ration medical gases, and ...

Bloomsbury presents The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan, read by Mike Grady. The No. 1 Sunday Times and international bestseller – a major reassessment of world history in light of the economic and political renaissance in the re-emerging east For centuries, fame and fortune was to be found in...

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is “an alluring feminist fairy tale” (Kirkus Reviews) about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch and who discovers what power might lie in such a curse. There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for...

"Nomvete gives a passionate performance, establishing a unique voice for each character. Listeners and environmentalists alike will be intrigued by this fantastical world and the characters Nomvete brings to life in this grand adventure" —AudioFile on Greenwild: The World Behind the Door Daisy...

You may have studied the ancient Persian Empire in school, but have you ever wondered what kinds of stories the ancient Persians told to themselves and their children? The roots of Persian myth extend back more than five thousand years to the culture of the Aryan people who migrated into Iran from India. Ideas from this ancient culture have enjoyed amazing longevity and are alive even today as part of the Zoroastrian faith, which is still practiced in Iran, India, and several other places around the world.

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi wrote that eight hundred years ago. People still whisper it to themselves in hospital waiting rooms, on park benches after arguments, at 2am when sleep won't come. His words keep finding the people who need them, the way a song finds you when you need it. If a line of his has ever stopped you mid-breath, then Rumi has already begun his work in you. This collection is where you go to hear the rest. Twenty hours. His complete major works.

For more than four centuries, one Persian empire stood against Rome—and refused to be overshadowed. The Sassanian Empire was the last great Persian dynasty before the rise of Islam, a formidable power whose kings commanded elite cavalry, built magnificent cities, defended ancient religious traditions, and repeatedly challenged the Roman and Byzantine empires for control of the Middle East. Yet despite its extraordinary importance, the Sassanian Empire remains unfamiliar to many readers. The Sassanian Empire for Beginners changes that. Written for curious readers with no previous ...

The thrilling first book in the most extraordinary new fantasy series from debut author Pari Thomson. Open the door to a spellbinding world where the wilderness is alive and a deep magic rises from the earth itself . . . Eleven-year-old Daisy Thistledown is on the run. Her mother has been...

They stole a nation. For fifty years, they silenced it. On March 1, 2026, the silence ended. Before 1979, Iran was a jewel. Tehran's streets held women in miniskirts and men debating philosophy in candlelit cafes. Persian poets, architects, and visionaries were shaping one of the world's great civilizations. Then a cleric landed at an airport and burned it all down. What followed was not a revolution. It was a half-century hostage crisis. Executions at dawn. Prison rape sanctioned by religious decree. Teenage girls murdered for removing a headscarf. An internet cut dark while soldiers fired...

Today, it is known by many names, like the First Iraq War, Kuwait War, and, most commonly, the Gulf War or the First Gulf War. It was a rather short conflict, lasting just shy of seven months between late 1990 and early 1991. Yet, it was still rather impactful because it showcased several essential innovations and changes in political and technological aspects of warfare, some of which are still part of modern conflicts.

If you want to discover the captivating history of Iran, then listen to these five captivating manuscripts in one audiobook: Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, Sasanian Empire, The Safavid Empire, and The Afsharid and Qajar Dynasty, will help you learn more about the history of Iran.

Before the Strait of Hormuz became the world’s most watched energy chokepoint, it was a drowned plain, a migration corridor, a Bronze Age trade route, a medieval island kingdom, and the gate through which empires tried to command the seas. Hurmuz tells that full story in one sweeping narrative. Beginning with geology, post-glacial flooding, and the first human movements out of Africa, this book follows the making of the Persian Gulf world through ancient trade, Persian and Islamic empires, the rise of medieval Hormuz, Portuguese and British power, the pearl age, oil, tanker wars, and the ...

The History of Iran: From Ancient Persia to the Modern Era Iran, a land of emperors and poets, conquerors and revolutionaries, has played a defining role in shaping world history for over 3,000 years. From the grandeur of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great to the intellectual brilliance of the Persian Golden Age, from the invasions of Alexander and the Mongols to the rise of the Islamic Republic, Iran’s story is one of resilience, transformation, and cultural endurance. The History of Iran offers a compelling and in-depth journey through the country’s past, exploring its ...