14 Cultures in Contact

T his lecture explores cultural contact and exchange within the Persian Empirethe sharing of artifacts, ways of doing things, and ideas. Recent research is changing old stereotypes of Persian culture as weak or derivative. These days, its apparent that the Achaemenid Empire was a crucial time in the development of global history. Never before had such a large area of the globe come under the control of a single power, and never before had people come together to the degree they did under the Persian Empire. Just as in todays globalized world, cultural interaction during ancient times was a complex process. Territorial expansion brought the Persians into contact with diverse peoples, each of whom responded differently.