Greeks and Parthians in Mesopotamia and beyond

Greeks and Parthians is an innovative, archaeologically based investigation into urban life in Mesopotamia and the northern part of what is now the Persian Gulf, from the arrival of Alexander the Great (331 BC) to the end of the Parthian Empire (224 AD). With detailed coverage of the cities of Seleucia-Ktesiphon, Babylon, Uruk, Susa, Spasinou Charax, Ikaros (Failaka) and Tylos (Bahrein), Wolfram Grajetzki shows that for most people in the region, life and material culture were not, as is commonly stated, transformed by the coming of the Greeks. However, the hellenized changes in all parts of the region appear during the Parthian period after the Seleucid reign ended. The Parthians have tended to receive a negative press from historians, but their supremacy lasted some 350 years and the archaeology of their cities reveals innovations in architecture and decorative arts, with lavishly equipped houses showing a high standard of living.