Thesis--Lausanne. / At head of title: Université de Lausanne, École des sciences sociales et politiques. Includes bibliographical references (p. 8-17).

Thesis--Lausanne. / At head of title: Université de Lausanne, École des sciences sociales et politiques. Includes bibliographical references (p. 8-17).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-219).

Achaemenid Persian art is an area of ancient Near Eastern art that has received little art historical attention in recent years. In earlier scholarship dating from before the 1979 Iranian revolution, an overwhelming scholarly interest had focused on identifying ethnic origins and foreign influences behind its formation. These studies depended on an implicit assumption that the arts of the Achaemenid Empire may be understood as indices for human agents and imperial power, without giving much thought to those objects per se. Considering issues of style, historiography, and art historical categorization, this dissertation examines how scholars have “invented” a history of Achaemenid art, and proposes new methods for interpreting that corpus, looking beyond anthropocentric theories of empire still dominant in the field. Taking into account more recent theoretical approaches, such as object biographies, the ontology of images, and issues of space and place, my study reexamines these ancient works, looking into the ways that monuments were made and functioned in the ancient Neat East. I focus especially on site-specific “official” monuments including architectural sculpture and rock relief, and temporally limit my study to early monuments produced under Cyrus and Darius before Persepolis, to question an assumed teleology of Achaemenid style.

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Essa tese tem por objetivo analisar as percepções gregas do Império Persa Aquemênida e outros impérios orientais enquanto entidades políticas, com ênfase sobre o olhar remoto de Heródoto. Em primeiro lugar, o autor resume o estado da pesquisa acadêmica sobre as Histórias de Heródoto e sobre as atitudes gregas em relação à Pérsia, num esforço de esclarecer a complexidade das relações greco-persas, que, de acordo com a pesquisa mais recente, não eram apenas hostis, mas repletas de receptividade. A seguir, o autor examina as ideias persa e assíria de império, bem como suas organizações imperiais concretas. Analisa-se demoradamente a iconografia real persa e conceitos políticos tais quais bumi- e xaça-, concluindo-se que estes poderiam veicular uma ideia inovadora de império, embora profundamente enraizada em tradições mesopotâmicas anteriores. Descreve-se a maneira como as fontes clássicas nomearam o império ao longo do tempo, com atenção particular à formulação de autores mais antigos como Heródoto, Ésquilo e Tucídides. O autor se esforça para explicar em cada caso o uso de hgemonía, arch e até mesmo pólis para designar o Império Persa. Por fim, o autor examina a terminologia de Heródoto usada para designar o Império Aquemênida e como ela demonstra uma estratégia de alusões e ressonâncias com implicações críticas quanto à política expansionista de Atenas. Propõe-se que Atenas incorporou as ideias persas de império, enquanto, paradoxalmente, denunciava sua violência e tirania internacional. Essa postura contraditória teve seus impactos sobre historiadores como Heródoto e Tucídides e é uma chave interpretativa instrutiva para as Histórias. / This thesis aims to analyze Greek perceptions of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and other Near Eastern empires taken as political entities, emphasizing the early look of Herodotus. The author first summarizes the state of scholarly research on Herodotus Histories and Greek attitudes towards Persia in an effort to clarify the complexity of Greco-Persian relations, which, according to the most recent research, were not only hostile, but also full of receptivity. The author examines next Assyrian and Persian ideas of empire and their concrete imperial organizations. One analyzes at length Persian royal iconography and political concepts such as bumi- and xaça-, concluding that these could convey an innovative idea of empire, albeit deeply rooted in older Mesopotamian traditions. One describes the way classical sources named the empire over time, with particular attention to the wording of early authors such as Herodotus, Aeschylus, and Thucydides. The author strives to explain in each case the use of hgemonía, arch, and even pólis to designate the Persian Empire. Finally, the author examines Herodotus terminology to name the Achaemenid Empire and how it conveys a strategy of allusions and resonances with critical overtones towards Athenian expansive policy. One proposes that Athens paradoxically incorporated Persian ideas of empire, while publicly denouncing Persian violence and international tyranny. This contradictory stance had its impacts over historians such as Herodotus and Thucydides and it is an instructive interpretative key to the Histories.

Essa tese tem por objetivo analisar as percepções gregas do Império Persa Aquemênida e outros impérios orientais enquanto entidades políticas, com ênfase sobre o olhar remoto de Heródoto. Em primeiro lugar, o autor resume o estado da pesquisa acadêmica sobre as Histórias de Heródoto e sobre as atitudes gregas em relação à Pérsia, num esforço de esclarecer a complexidade das relações greco-persas, que, de acordo com a pesquisa mais recente, não eram apenas hostis, mas repletas de receptividade. A seguir, o autor examina as ideias persa e assíria de império, bem como suas organizações imperiais concretas. Analisa-se demoradamente a iconografia real persa e conceitos políticos tais quais bumi- e xaça-, concluindo-se que estes poderiam veicular uma ideia inovadora de império, embora profundamente enraizada em tradições mesopotâmicas anteriores. Descreve-se a maneira como as fontes clássicas nomearam o império ao longo do tempo, com atenção particular à formulação de autores mais antigos como Heródoto, Ésquilo e Tucídides. O autor se esforça para explicar em cada caso o uso de hgemonía, arch e até mesmo pólis para designar o Império Persa. Por fim, o autor examina a terminologia de Heródoto usada para designar o Império Aquemênida e como ela demonstra uma estratégia de alusões e ressonâncias com implicações críticas quanto à política expansionista de Atenas. Propõe-se que Atenas incorporou as ideias persas de império, enquanto, paradoxalmente, denunciava sua violência e tirania internacional. Essa postura contraditória teve seus impactos sobre historiadores como Heródoto e Tucídides e é uma chave interpretativa instrutiva para as Histórias. / This thesis aims to analyze Greek perceptions of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and other Near Eastern empires taken as political entities, emphasizing the early look of Herodotus. The author first summarizes the state of scholarly research on Herodotus Histories and Greek attitudes towards Persia in an effort to clarify the complexity of Greco-Persian relations, which, according to the most recent research, were not only hostile, but also full of receptivity. The author examines next Assyrian and Persian ideas of empire and their concrete imperial organizations. One analyzes at length Persian royal iconography and political concepts such as bumi- and xaça-, concluding that these could convey an innovative idea of empire, albeit deeply rooted in older Mesopotamian traditions. One describes the way classical sources named the empire over time, with particular attention to the wording of early authors such as Herodotus, Aeschylus, and Thucydides. The author strives to explain in each case the use of hgemonía, arch, and even pólis to designate the Persian Empire. Finally, the author examines Herodotus terminology to name the Achaemenid Empire and how it conveys a strategy of allusions and resonances with critical overtones towards Athenian expansive policy. One proposes that Athens paradoxically incorporated Persian ideas of empire, while publicly denouncing Persian violence and international tyranny. This contradictory stance had its impacts over historians such as Herodotus and Thucydides and it is an instructive interpretative key to the Histories.

Xenophon of Athens probably did not write his Anabasis until thirty years or more after the events which it describes. This remarkable gap, taken together with the absence of a prologue, the presence of a number of prominent themes and authorial concerns, and the complex literary construction of the work, has made the task of explaining it problematic. Situating the text in the context of Xenophon's later life and wide-ranging literary output, in this dissertation I argue that apologia is the defining element in the work. Through his elaborate narrative structure and representation of his own character, Xenophon is defending himself, his social class, and his teacher, Socrates. In Books 5 and 7 (of 7) he is occupied with a rigorous defence of his conduct on the retreat, answering charges of deceiving the soldiers, hubris, corruption, and mercenary service, while in Books 3 through to 7, he is defending the memory of Socrates. For from the point of his introduction into the text at the opening of Book 3, following the decapitation of the Greek High Command at the Greater Zab River, Xenophon the character is acting as a pupil of Socrates would have done had he found himself in similarly dire circumstances. His actions, counsel, and moral bearing during the course of the retreat are a testimony to the value of his teacher's training, and powerfully undermine the charges of impiety and corrupting the youth levelled against Socrates in 399. At the same time, the outstanding leadership performance on the retreat of Xenophon's character reflects on himself as the historical figure behind the exemplar. By highlighting its different forms and bringing out its pervasiveness, the dissertation demonstrates that apologia is the major factor in the formation of the text.

La présence iranienne dans les régions pontiques, bien qu’apparaissent de manière incidente dans de nombreuses études, n’a jamais fait l’objet d’une thèse de doctorat. Ce travail de thèse se propose de retracer l’histoire de la présence des Iraniens dans les régions pontiques des origines à la chute de l’Empire achéménide. Dans la première partie de notre thèse, nous passons en revue les discussions les plus récentes sur l’origine, les stades de la formation et la répartition des populations nomades iranophones dans les steppes eurasiatiques. Nous nous penchons notamment sur les rasions du passage au grand nomadisme pastoral monté de ses tribus à l’aube du Ier millénaire avant J.-C. Dans la deuxième partie de notre thèse, nous retraçons d’abord l’histoire du peuple cimmérien, puis nous traitons in extenso du problème de leur appartenance linguistique et anthropologique. Dans cette partie sont également examiné l’origine de la culture de la Scythie du Pont, l’établissement des Scythes en Asie antérieures et leur retour aux steppes nord-pontiques. A la fin de cette partie, nous reprenons l’analyse de la première légende d’origine des Scythes rapportée par Hérodote et nous tentons, en utilisant la méthode comparative dumézilienne, de démontrer que les éléments constitutifs de cette légende sont la résurgence et l’assemblage de schémas narratifs des mythes fondateurs des peuples iraniens. La troisième partie de notre thèse est consacrée à l’étude de la présence iranienne dans les régions pontiques à l’époque achéménide. Nous nous appliquons à dresser le portrait historique de ces espaces géographiques sous la domination achéménide et nous tentons d’identifier les traces de l’occupation achéménide ainsi que les « marqueurs » de la présence iranienne dans ces régions. Les documents de natures diverses et complémentaires permettent de confirmer non seulement la présence iranienne, mais aussi la profondeur des contacts inter-culturels entre les Iraniens de la diaspora impériale, les Grecs et les populations locales de ces régions. / The thesis studies the presence and influence of the Iranian peoples and tribes in the Pontus region from the origins to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire. While the sedentary Iranian people have been the center of attention, this work focuses firstly on the nomadic Iranian peoples originally living in western Siberia and who moved later in the north-Pontic region. In the absence of Cimmerian and Scythian written documents, the first part of thesis attempts to reconstruct a historical narrative of the migration and invasion of these people through the references made to them in ancient Greek and Assyrian texts, as well as by archaeological evidence. Modern debate about the Cimmerians’ linguistic and ethnic affiliation continues at a lively pace, for the existing documentation is both sparse and full of contradictions. Nonetheless, the inclination today is to consider them as an Iranian people. The second part of thesis traces the history of Scythian tribes in the North Pontic region. The first Scythian legend of origin, as related by Herodotus is studied and it is suggested that this legend incorporates typical features of Iranian legends of origin. The third part of the thesis studies the history of Pontus regions in the Achaemenid period and attempts to evaluate the impact of Persian and Iranian presence there. This part discusses the political status of the Pontus regions within the Achaemenid empire and attempts to determine the nature and the level of political incorporation of these regions into Achaemenid administrative organization. The work concludes by reviewing the written, archeological, artistic and various other sorts of evidence which suggests that there was not only a permanent presence of Persians and Iranians of the imperial diaspora, but also a considerable impact by the Achaemenid political and cultural influence in the Pontus region. This was due to the intense intercultural exchange between these Iranians and local populations.

The aim of this study is to determine and define the Persian Achaemenid style produced in the North-Western satrapies (imperial provinces) of Anatolia (modern Turkey) in the period of the Persian dominion of the area, roughly 550 - 300 BCE. The North-Western Anatolian satrapies are the II. nomos of Herodotus - Sardes, and Hellespontine Phrygia (the III. nomos). The roots of the Achaemenid style emerge from the rich artistic traditions of the cultures in the area of modern Iran influenced by Mesopotamian sources as well as nomadic handicrafts. The expansion of the Empire towards the Aegean resulted in extensive contacts with the creative expression of the Anatolian kingdoms and especially the Greek sphere. A unique style of luxurious ware, designated for customers of the local elite and Persian immigrants, is created. The depiction of the Persian court iconography is modified according to the local art-school customs. The clearest representation of the Achaemenid style is observed in the metalware production. The forms and designs of golden and silver vessels are specific. Despite their wide geographic distribution, the majority of the workshops were supposedly located in the area of modern Turkey. The production of jewelry and gems was most likely concentrated in the same workshops. The creative...