Greeks and Parthians in Mesopotamia and Beyond, 331 BC-AD 224

Greeks and Parthians is an innovative, archaeologically based investigation into urban life
in Mesopotamia and the northern part of what is now the Persian
Gulf, from the arrival of Alexander the Great to the end of the
Parthian Empire. With detailed coverage of the cities
of Seleucia-Ktesiphon, Babylon,
Uruk, Susa,
Spasinou Charax, Ikaros (Failaka) and Tylos (Bahrein), Wolfram Grajetzki shows that for most people in the region, life
and material culture were not, as is commonly stated, transformed by the coming
of the Greeks. The Parthians have tended to receive a negative press from
historians, but their supremacy lasted some 350 years and the archaeology of
their cities reveals innovations in architecture and decorative arts, with
lavishly equipped houses showing a high standard of living.