Читать книгу A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, 2 Volume Set - Группа авторов - Страница 153

Deniz Kaptan

Recent excavations, surveys, and publications have contributed substantially to the progress of the archeology of the Achaemenid Empire in Asia Minor, yet different perspectives associated with methodological variance in the interpretation of finds and their correlation within the imperial organization persist. The region's fragmented cultural landscape, and the effects of diverse physical geography on communities, need to be reckoned with. Rich archeological data can be found in the expansive literature about the classical sites on the coastal lines, e.g. major coastal Ionian and Karian cities, which have had a long period of excavation history, and likewise publications of sites located inland with Iron Age levels. It should be noted that the conventional terms of art history, the Greek Archaic and Classical periods, overlap the Achaemenid Empire period, and the problems of periodization partially stem from the geographic and sociocultural constructs, the Near East and the Classical world, the boundaries of which are difficult to define in Asia Minor. In the wide territorial span of the Achaemenids, the empire emerges as the connector of diverse communities across the region, notable in the archeological record.

This chapter, organized in geographic order, provides only a glimpse into select studies relevant to the Asian portion of Turkey, excluding the former land of Urartu (Figure 21.1). Illicit excavations and plunder of burials continue to be significant problems.

Figure 21.1 Map of northwestern Asia Minor (Deniz Kaptan).