This study by Chiara Matarese investigates the phenomenon of deportations in Persia in the period before Alexander the Great. This challenging topic has long escaped scholarly scrutiny. On the one hand, the source situation is problematic: while indigenous documents are lacking, the available Graeco-Roman sources are characterised by numerous clichés that must first be dispelled. On the other hand, the phenomenon of deportation must be theoretically grasped and distinguished from other migration processes.

Through a detailed and critical analysis of the sources, Chiara Matarese succeeds in clarifying the triggers and the goals of the Persian deportations and in presenting the complexity of this multifaceted phenomenon. The author also answers crucial questions, e.g. about whether the deportees were enslaved or on their understanding of identity after resettlement. Thanks to this study, it becomes clear that in practice and in their conception of rule, the Persians proved in many respects to be learned successors of the rulers of the New Assyrian and New Babylonian Empires. The practice of deportation was no exception.

Chiara Matarese completed her PhD thesis in the framework of the Graduate School ‘Human Development in Landscapes’ (GSC 208).

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Matarese, Chiara, 2021. Deportationen im Perserreich in teispidisch-achaimenidischer Zeit. Classica et Orientalia 27, XII. Wiesbaden: Harassowitz, 318 pages.

For more information about the book here (Harassowitz)