In Search of a Cultural Identity: Monuments And Artifacts of the Sasanian Near East, 3rd to 7th Century A.d. (Biennial Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series)

Based on a series of lectures given at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in 1997, this book is a survey of the art and archaeology of the Sasanian Near East from the 3rd to the 7th century AD. Drawing upon the examination of a variety of artifacts and monuments from different perspectives, Dr. Harper presents the reader with an understanding of the rich and varied nature of Sasanian culture and society in the period immediately before the advent of Islam and the Arab conquests of Near Eastern lands.

Centered in Iran and Mesopotamia, the Sasanian Empire occupied the region between the Roman and Byzantine Mediterranean world to the west and the urban centers in Central Asia to the east. Sasanian concepts and beliefs as well as artifacts reached as far east as China along the active trade and travel routes, the so-called Silk Road. The prestige of the Sasanian kings in the centers of power in Constantinople, Central Asia, and China is reflected in the arts of these regions, where Sasanian symbols of power and luxury were widely imitated. With roots in millennia-old Near Eastern traditions, Sasanian culture was a complex amalgam that was also receptive to ideas and developments introduced by foreign elements, prisoners of war, and merchants and traders from neighbouring lands. In giving definition to a Sasanian cultural identity, Prudence Harper examines its artifacts and monuments for indications of continuity with the past, for illustrations of cultural and social diversity within Iran and Mesopotamia, and for evidence of the spread of Sasanian influence to both neighbouring and distant lands. This book is important for scholars interested in the art of the ancient Near East at a turning point in its history, and in cultural developments in Rome, Byzantium, Central Asia, and China.