Art and Archaeology of Persia

Persia has one of the world’s longest and most fascinating histories.

Too often overlooked in the West, Persia’s rich and complex culture was admired by the ancient Greeks and later by the Byzantines.

Its monumental sites include Achaemenid Persepolis, Safavid Isfahan, and the garden city of Shiraz.

In this course, we examine millennia of Persian art and archaeology, from rich textiles and gemstone seals to metalworking and engineering marvels such as desert qanat aqueducts.

Each week, we encounter treasures familiar to archaeologists and art historians but less known to Western audiences.

Highlights include the famed Oxus Treasure hoard discovered in the 19th century, with its gold griffins and silver simurghs, and some of the world’s earliest metallurgical objects from Proto-Elamite culture, dating to 3100 BCE.

We also explore Sasanian silk, Persian rugs, and the deciphering of cuneiform at Behistun Rock.

Readings include Herodotus on Cyrus the Great and selections from the medieval epic Shahnameh , illustrated with Safavid miniature paintings.