Ancient Persia and the Book of Esther. Achaemenid court culture in the Hebrew Bible

Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8174-1964 2023. Ancient Persia and the Book of Esther. Achaemenid court culture in the Hebrew Bible. I B Tauris.

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Esther is the most visual book of the Hebrew Bible and was largely crafted in the Fourth Century BCE by an author who was clearly au fait with the rarefied world of the Achaemenid court. It therefore provides an unusual melange of information which can enlighten scholars of Ancient Iranian Studies whilst offering Biblical scholars access into the Persian world from which the text emerged. In this book, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones unlocks the text of Esther by reading it against the rich iconographic world of ancient Persia and of the Near East. Ancient Persia and the Book of Esther is a cultural and iconographic exploration of an important, but often undervalued, biblical book, and Llewellyn-Jones presents the book of Esther as a rich source for the study of life and thought in the Persian Empire. The author reveals answers to important questions, such as the role of the King's courtiers in influencing policy, the way concubines at court were recruited, the structure of the harem in shifting the power of royal women, the function of feasting and drinking in the articulation of courtly power, and the meaning of gift-giving and patronage at the Achaemenid court.

Item Type:	Book
Book Type:	Authored Book
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	In Press
Schools:	History, Archaeology and Religion
Publisher:	I B Tauris
ISBN:	9780755603022
Last Modified:	20 Mar 2023 12:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/157797

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item