Great courses

Directed by The Great Courses

John W. I. Lee

Explore the secrets of one of the greatest empires in the ancient world from a fresh perspective: its own. Over the span of 24 lectures, Professor John W. I. Lee examines Persian sources to reveal what we know about this grand civilization

Mode of access: World Wide Web

Episode 1

Rethinking the Persian Empire

Episode 2

Questioning the Sources

Episode 3

The World before Cyrus

Episode 4

Cyrus and Cambyses - Founders of the Empire

Episode 5

Darius I - Creator of the Imperial System

Episode 6

Persian Capitals and Royal Palaces

Episode 7

The Great King - Images and Realities

Episode 8

Royal Roads and Provinces

Episode 9

East of Persepolis

Episode 10

Challenges in the West, 513 - 494 B.C.

Episode 11

Across the Bitter Sea, 493 - 490 B.C.

Episode 12

Xerxes Becomes King

Episode 13

Xerxes's War, 480 - 479 B.C.

Episode 14

Cultures in Contact

Episode 15

Achaemenid Religion

Episode 16

From Expansion to Stability, 479 - 405 B.C.

Episode 17

The War of the Two Brothers

Episode 18

Persian Gold

Episode 19

City and Countryside

Episode 20

Women in the Persian Empire

Episode 21

Artaxerxes II - The Longest-Ruling King

Episode 22

Persia and Macedon, 359 - 333 B.C.

Episode 23

The End of an Empire, 333 - 323 B.C.

Episode 24

Legacies of the Persian Empire