Socioeconomic Transformation in the Sasanian Empire - (Edinburgh Studies in Ancient Persia) by Hossein Habibi

About the Book

Explores the cultural landscapes of the late antique Central Zagros and their long-term transformations

Book Synopsis

Recent studies have demonstrated the diverse character of the socioeconomic dynamics behind the socio-political transformations and infrastructural developments in different territories of the Sasanian and Roman Empires. Notwithstanding its distinct environmental and socio-cultural settings, the cultural landscapes in the Sasanian realm are much less studied than those of the neighbouring empire to the west. Based on an inter-disciplinary approach, this monograph bridges this gap and highlights such diversity on a regional scale in the Central Zagros. Socioeconomic Transformation in the Sasanian Empire provides for a deeper understanding of the actual historical events and long-term cultural processes in the Central Zagros by disclosing the roles of various inter-related cultural and natural factors and the demographic and economic transitions that caused them. Ultimately, this work contributes to debates about the reconstruction of sociopolitical transitions in the late antique world.

Review Quotes

To sum up, Hossein Habibi has presented us with an insightful, deeply researched study that is informative on a macro and micro level. The book contributes to an ever-increasing pool of data on the Sasanian period that is helping to add nuance to the larger and largely external historical narrative of the landscape and the humans who lived in it. For anyone who is interested in the study of Sasanian archaeology, the study provides a template for further and future analysis, and a local perspective of larger geo-political shifts in the late Sasanian Empire. The result is an important contribution to the knowledge and understanding of the Central Zagros itself and a methodological presentation of the ways in which we can approach the human geography of the Sasanian world.--Eve MacDonald, Cardiff University "BMCR"

Habibi's book is a most welcome and innovative regional study of the Central Zagros in Late Antiquity. The author's familiarity with the region, its material culture and its ancient socio-political milieu provides him with astute insights into the socio-economic transformation processes brought about by the Sasanian imperial planning framework and landscape investment.--Josef Wiesehöfer, Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel

The Sasanian Empire rivalled the Roman state in prosperity and military might. An impressively thorough survey of the Central Zagros in Western Iran allows Hossein Habibi to explain this success story. He demonstrates that investment in agricultural lands and population growth on a micro-level underpinned imperial power on a macro-level.--Eberhard Sauer, University of Edinburgh