New Generation Thinkers: Alexander and the Persians
The Sh膩n膩meh or 鈥楤ook of Kings鈥� by Ferdowsi includes King Alexander - what does this tell us about Persian attitudes towards the man the West celebrates as a military conqueror?
What made him great? Celebrated as a military leader, Alexander took over an empire created by the Persians. Julia Hartley's essay looks at two examples of myth-making about Alexander: The Persian Boy, a 1972 historical novel by the English writer Mary Renault and the Sh膩n膩meh or 鈥楤ook of Kings鈥�, an epic written by the medieval Persian poet Abdolghassem Ferdowsi.
Julia Hartley lectures at King's College London. She was selected in 2021 as a New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by 麻豆社 Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council which turns research into radio. You can hear her in this Free Thinking discussion Dante's Visions /programmes/m000zm9b and in another episode about Epic Iran, Lost Cities and Proust /programmes/m000xlzh
Producer: Torquil MacLeod
