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"Nabel’s The Arsacids of Rome represents a significant advance in both Roman and ancient Iranian history. A tour de force of source criticism, this work shrewdly reevaluates the classical literary sources, skillfully putting them into dialogue with the Iranian evidence to create a masterful work of political, diplomatic, and cultural history."—Matthew P. Canepa, author of The Iranian Expanse: Transforming Royal Identity through Landscape, Architecture, and the Built Environment
"This absorbing analysis of power and kinship emancipates misunderstanding as a vital conceptual tool for ancient historians. With theoretical ambition, Nabel leads the way towards a truly inclusive study of the ancient world. A transformative work."—Albert de Jong, Professor of Religion, Leiden University
"Nabel presents a bold new vision of Parthian and Roman relations at the dawn of the first millennium, contending that creative misunderstanding lay at the heart of the international détente between the two superpowers of Europe and Western Asia. In a world in which human proxies continue to play an outsized role in international relations, The Arsacids of Rome offers lessons of value still for today."—John Bodel, W. Duncan MacMillan II Professor of Classics and Professor of History, Brown University
"Nabel's thesis of 'pragmatic misunderstanding,' confirmed by historical comparison and stupendous criticism of the sources, places research on the political settlements of Roman-Parthian relations on an entirely new footing."—Josef Wiesehöfer, author of Ancient Persia
"Jake Nabel’s book is innovative, timely, and impressive—a welcome addition to the burgeoning field of Parthian studies. It will be invaluable in shedding much-needed light on the agency of the Arsacids in their interactions with Rome."—Nikolaus Overtoom, author of Reign of Arrows: The Rise of the Parthian Empire in the Hellenistic Middle East
About the author
Jake Nabel is the Tombros Early Career Professor of Classical Studies and Assistant Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Pennsylvania State University.
