In this attractive and well-written volume Matt Waters offers an excellent and accessible introduction to the Achaemenid Empire from its inception under Cyrus the Great to its overthrow at the hands of Alexander. This is no small accomplishment. The geographical spread of the Achaemenid Empire was staggering and the secondary literature is widely scattered and vast. To bring these together in such a compact and intelligible form is a real achievement. As will be expected, Waters devotes a good part of the introduction to the sources. This is, on the whole, evenly balanced, though perhaps a bit more could be made of the results of archaeology – the summary of archaeological approaches on pp 9–10 is, for example, if not wrong, at least somewhat eclectic. With regard to the north of Iraq, there are some finds – the fortified mansion at Gird-i Daim comes to mind – which attest to the Achaemenid presence there; it is also worth stating that a programme of archaeological exploration has now recently been inaugurated in Erbil, although it may be a while before this reaches Achaemenid levels. With regard to the ‘Median Wall’ (p 29), this has in fact been identified, with excavations producing bricks of Nebuchadnezzar ii as expected. Some languages could be added to the list of those attested (p 11) – Lydian, Lycian and Carian most notably – and it is also worth mentioning that there will be additional languages, such as Hurrian and Luwian, which we can assume were still spoken, if no longer directly attested, as well as yet others of which we have no knowledge at all. Nevertheless the overview of written sources is very good. Waters takes us through the types of evidence available from the epigraphic finds from Elam, Assyria, Babylonia, Phrygia, Lydia and Ionia, as well as through the key figures from the classical tradition – Herodotus, Xenophon, Diodorus, Ctesias, Plutarch and the Alexander historians; the limitations, as well as the strengths, of these sources are discussed.

The work then turns to giving an outline history of the empire. This is very well done. As is generally recognised, many of the practices of the empire drew upon Assyrian models. The documentation of this is certainly not complete. In this context one can remark that the punishment exacted on those Ionian cities that revolted is directly in line with the treatment meted out to rebel cities and states under the Assyrian empire. Attention can also be drawn to how the way in which Xerxes is portrayed standing behind Darius in the Persepolis Treasury relief (pp 116–17) is clearly reminiscent of the way in which Sennacherib and his son Esarhaddon are portrayed in the reliefs at Maltai, Khinis and elsewhere. On another note, it is striking how the tradition of Croesus living on in exile after his defeat at the hands of Cyrus is mirrored by the tradition that Nabonidus had a similar retirement after his defeat at the hands of the same king.

Moving on from narrative history, a very interesting chapter deals with the ‘mechanics of empire’ – the court, administration, tribute system and the military. Of course, in this, as in all spheres, the literature never stops growing and there are one or two works which would not have been available to the author but to which readers may like to be alerted. With regard to the army, the latest presentation of the evidence from Babylonia can now be consulted in MacGinnis Reference MacGinnis2012; while concerning the state communications, very interesting information on both the Persian royal road and the networks of other empires can be found in Radner Reference Radner2014. A further noteworthy chapter entitled ‘Anatomy of Empire’ covers the royal capitals, ideology and religion. This is central to the understanding of how the empire functioned. On one point, I would not be quite so disbelieving about the role played by eunuchs (pp 95–6) – we know that in the Assyrian empire they were at the very heart of power. With regard to tribute and gifts (p 99), it may be that the difference reflects a distinction between provinces administered by a governor and polities under less direct rule. With regard to the reports of burial in oil, this is in fact a known Mesopotamian custom: cf MacGinnis 1986 (p 77). Many specific episodes – Xerxes’ invasion of Greece, Ezra and Nehemiah, the events leading up to and during the Peloponnesian War, the hostilities of 404 bc – are covered very effectively and intelligently. There are just one or two editorial aspects which could be addressed in a second edition. It may be politically correct to use ce rather than ad, but is it really necessary to take this to the point of referring to excavations which took place in the ‘1930s ce’? Does Baghdad need to appear on numerous of the maps of the empire? These points can easily be taken care of if the editors choose to do so. They do not detract from the great service which the author has performed for both scholars and the interested public in producing a first-rate handling of an immense field in a highly readable and enlightening form. The work will surely be widely read and regularly consulted. Waters deserves the praise and gratitude of us all.