Through western eyes : Greek and Latin sources for Byzantine-Iranian relations

Abstract

It is scarcely possible to condense several centuries of history into a few minutes of hurried exposition. Yet, the attempt to do just that must somehow be made. Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. and the carving out between his generals, Ptolemy Soter and Seleucus Nicator, of the bulk of his empire, the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia were thrown into an unprecedented state of turmoil, from which their cultural continuity was to emerge disrupted and their traditional values, belief systems and institutions undermined and increasingly marginalized. Nevertheless, it proved expedient for the rulers of the successor states to pay lip service to the past history and achievements of those ancient civilizations whose territories they had annexed or usurped by right of conquest. [excerpt]