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This pioneering study examines a pivotal period in the history of Europe and the Near East. Spanning the ancient and medieval worlds, it investigates the shared ideal of sacred kingship that emerged in the late Roman and Persian empires. Bridging the traditional divide between classical and Iranian history, this book brings to life the dazzling courts of two global powers that deeply affected the cultures of medieval Europe, Byzantium, Islam, South Asia, and China.
List of contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Sources and Abbreviations
1. Introduction
2. The Art and Ritual of Kingship Within and Between Rome and Sasanian Iran
3. The Lure of the Other and the Limits of the Past
4. Sapur I, King of Kings of Iran and Non-Iran
5. Rome’s Troubled Third Century and the Emergence of a New Equilibrium
6. Contested Images of Sacral Kingship and New Expressions of Triumph
7. Unceasing Embassies
8. City as Stage and Art as Statecraft
9. The Late Antique Kosmos of Power
Epilogue: The Legacy of the Two Eyes of the Earth
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Matthew P. Canepa holds the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Presidential Chair in Art History and Archaeology of Ancient Iran at the University of California, Irvine. Author of the award winning book, The Two Eyes of the Earth: Art and Ritual of Kingship between Rome and Sasanian Iran, he is an Elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Summary
Examines a pivotal period in the history of Europe and the Near East. Spanning the ancient and medieval worlds, This title investigates the shared ideal of sacred kingship that emerged in the late Roman and Persian empires.
Additional text
“This very good book is a welcome contribution . . . and is worthy of the prestigious series in which it appears.”
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"The Two Eyes of the Earth is a masterly synthesis of a theme of the utmost importance for the political culture of the late antique world."-Peter Brown, author of Power and Persuasion
