Coinages in the Achaemenid Empire - Edinburgh Studies in Ancient Persia by Keith Rutter Hardcover

About the Book

Brings together the evidence for coin production and use over the whole Achaemenid Empire.

Book Synopsis

The Achaemenid Empire was huge and the material available for studying it is disparate.
The coinages produced in the empire offer distinctive perspectives and provide insights into crucial questions about how the empire was organised and administered. The numismatic evidence is particularly important due to its first hand, contemporary nature: it speaks to us directly, not through the prism of later accounts.

Keith Rutter, an international specialist in numismatics, provides us with the first comprehensive account of the great variety of coinages produced in the Achaemenid Empire. He shows us how the iconography found on coins poses new questions on artistic influences, details of administration and religious beliefs. This highly illustrated book is the starting point for anyone who wants to understand the topic.

Review Quotes

Academic study of coinage in the Persian Empire has a long history, but Keith Rutter's book is without true precedent. Its comprehensive coverage, lucidity of exposition, consistency of vision and soundness of judgement will be of extraordinary value to anyone confronting the substantively and conceptually complicated world of Achaemenid numismatics.--Christopher Tuplin, University of Liverpool

Keith Rutter has left us a comprehensive and detailed account of the coinage produced within the Achaemenid Empire, not just the 'royal' coinage, but also the numerous and diverse issues by other authorities. Scholarly and measured, yet readable, his explorations into this complex project add a weighty addition to his legacy.--Ian Carradice, University of St Andrews