This book, intended to complement Erich Schmidt, Flights over Ancient Cities of Iran (Chicago, 1940), focuses on the landscapes and monuments of ancient Iran from prehistoric times to the Sasanians and later. The book is divided into six chapters, with comments on the 114 aerial photographs of Iranian archaeological sites taken by aerial photographer Georg Gerster between April 1976 and May 1978.
T.J. Wilkinson concerns himself with discussing the water supply in ancient Iran from the Teispids to the Sasanians (pp. 12–26). A. Mousavi and W.M. Sumner comment on the sites of prehistoric Iran (pp. 28–38). D. Stronach examines builders and their achievements from the Elamites to the Parthians (pp. 39–75): he argues against the view that the Medes were a loose confederacy of chiefdoms rather than the centralized empire that Greek historiography describes (G. Lanfranchi et al. (eds), Continuity of Empire (?) Assyria, Media, Persia. Padua, 2003, pp. 1–12, 289–319, 391–6). However, further investigation is needed to decide whether the discovery of a hoard of silver currency at Tepe Nush-e Jan points to a different situation (p. 52). Still a matter of debate is the suggestion that the stone lion at Hamadan was commissioned by Alexander in order to commemorate Hephaestion (p. 54). In addition, in the context of the discussion of the inscription of Cyrus II's tomb at Pasargadae, very probably created by Alexander's Macedonians, the author might have mentioned the reconstruction of the original epitaph, presumably by Darius I (J. Heinrichs, “Asiens König. Die Inschriften des Kyrosgrabs und das achaimenidische Reichsverständnis”, in W. Will and J. Heinrichs (eds), Zu Alexander d. Gr. FS G. Wirth, I. Amsterdam, 1987, pp. 487–540).
D. Huff's contribution is dedicated to the archaeological sites of the Sasanians and later times (pp. 76–109). A. Mousavi concerns himself with sites and monuments after 651 ad (pp. 110–55). M. Harverson and E. Beazley comment on Iran's working buildings constructed of mud-brick: ice houses, pigeon towers, wind-catchers and cisterns (pp. 156–82). The book also includes an afterword by the photographer (pp. 183–4), and a short bibliography (pp. 185–91).
Strangely, all Persian Great Kings from Cyrus II to Darius III are labelled “Achaemenids,” instead of Teispids for the family of Cyrus II and Cambyses II and Achaemenids for Darius I and his successors.
In summary, the book focuses on the rather artful photographs from the 1970s. In combination with the contributions adding information on current scholarly positions to the photographic artwork, the book is as aesthetically interesting as it is useful to every reader concerned with ancient Iran.
