Maria Brosius

Dr Maria Brosius, Reader in Ancient History at Newcastle University, holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford for her study on “Women in Ancient Persia” (Oxford OUP 1996, repr.1998, 2002).

Her research focuses on political and cultural links between the classical and Near Eastern worlds, with special emphasis on how documents are constructed to facilitate the transmission and exchange of information and knowledge. Over the past ten years she concentrated her research on ancient archives, resulting in the publication in 2003 of "Archives and Archival Traditions. Concepts of Record-keeping in the Ancient World" (Oxford OUP).

Between 2005 and 2007 she held a prestigious Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship to investigate the development of archival practices and the transmission of knowledge through a professional scribal class.

Publications

Authored Books

[2013] “A History of the Achaemenid Empire, Boston”, Oxford (Wiley-Blackwell)

[2012] “Archives in the Ancient World. Continuity and Change in Record-Keeping from the Ancient Near East to Late Antiquity”

2006 “The Persians. An Introduction”, London (Routledge)

2000 “The Persian Empire from Cyrus II to Artaxerxes I”, London (LACTOR 16)

1996 “Women in Ancient Persia (559-331 B.C.)”, Oxford (Oxford Series of Classical Monographs, OUP) (paperback reissue 1998, 2002) (transl. in modern Persian 2002)

Articles

2011 "From Fact to Fiction: Persian History and the Book of Esther", in: D. Edelmann (ed.), Assessing Biblical and Classical Sources for the Reconstruction of Persian Influence, History and Culture, Weingreen Museum, Trinity College, Dublin, 24- 26 June 2010, (forthcoming)

2011 "Persian Diplomacy between ‘Pax Persica’ and ‘Zero Tolerance’", in: J. Wilker (ed.), Maintaining Peace and Stability in the Greek World, Workshop held at the Humanities Center at Harvard 9 May 2009, Cambridge, Mass., (forthcoming)

2010 "Some Remarks on the Channels of the Transmission of Knowledge in the Ancient Mediterranean World', in: R. Rollinger (ed.), Die komplexe Welt der Kulturkontakte. Kolloquium aus Anlass des 60. Geburtstages von Univ.- Prof.Mag.Dr. Christoph Ulf, Innsbruck, 26-30.1.2009, (in press)

2010 ‘The Royal Audience Scene Reconsidered’, in: The World of Achaemenid Persia, ed., by J. Curtis, St. J. Simpson, London: 141-152.

2010 ‘Keeping up with the Persians: between cultural identity and Persianization in the Achaemenid Period’, in: E. Gruen (ed.), Cultural Identity and the Peoples of the Mediterranean. Conference held in the Getty Villa. Malibu, June 2008, 143- 4

2010 ‘Pax Persica and the peoples of the Black Sea region: Extent and limits of Achaemenid imperial ideology’, in: Achaemenid Impact in the Black Sea region. Conference held in Sandbjerg, Denmark, 10-12 January 2008, ed, by E. Rehm, J.Nieling, Aarhus: 29-40.

2010 ‘Greeks and the Persian court’, in: Ctesias and the Orient. Papers of a Colloquium held in Kiel, May 2005, ed. by R. Rollinger, J. Wiesehöfer, G. Lanfranchi, 68-78.

2010 ‘Das Hofzeremoniell’, in: Griechische Geschichtsschreibung und Altvorderasien. Der Achämenidenhof’, ed. by B. Jacobs, R. Rollinger, Basle: 1-12.

2009 ‘Tempelprostitution im antiken Persien?’, in: Tempelprostitution zwischen griechischer Kultur und Vorderem Orient, ed. by T. Scheer, Berlin: 126-153.

2009 ‘The Near East’, in: A Companion to Ancient History, ed. by A. Erskine, Oxford: 177-186.

2007 ‘New out of Old: Court and Court Ceremony in Achaemenid Persia’, in: A.J.S. Spawforth (ed.), The court and court society in ancient monarchies, Cambridge: 17-57.

2006 ‘Frauen am Hof der Achämeniden’, in: Pracht und Prunk der Grosskönige. Das persische Weltreich, ed. by E. Rehm, H. Externbrink, Stuttgart: 88-97.

2005 ‘Pax Persica: Königliche Ideologie und Kriegführung im Achämenidenreich, in: B.Meissner, O.Schmitt, (eds.), Krieg – Gesellschaft – Institutionen, HalleWittenberg: 135-161.

2003 ‘Ancient Archives. An introduction’, in: Ancient Archives and Archival Traditions. Concepts of Record-Keeping in the Ancient World, ed. by M. Brosius, Oxford: 1- 16.

2003 ‘Reconstructing an Archive. Account and Journal Texts from the Persepolis Fortification Texts’, in: Ancient Archives and Archival Traditions. Concepts of Record-Keeping in the Ancient World, ed. by M. Brosius, Oxford: 264-286.

2003 ‘Alexander and the Persians’, in: Alexander the Great, ed. by J. Roisman, Leiden:169-193. (The Classical Tradition. Brill)

2003 ‘Why Persia became the enemy of Macedon’, in: A. Kuhrt, W. Henkelman (eds.), in: Memorial Volume for Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg, Leiden: 227-238. (Achaemenid History XIII)

2003 ‘Persians at Work’, Ad Familiares 25: 15-16.

1998 ‘Artemis Persike and Artemis Anaitis’, in: Studies in Persian History. Essays in Memory of Professor David M Lewis, ed. by M. Brosius, A. Kuhrt, Leiden [Achaemenid History XI] 127-138.

1990 ‘Two Views on Persian History in Eighteenth Century England’, in: Achaemenid History V, Leiden: 79-89.

Other Publications

A. Edited books

2003 “Ancient Archives and Archival Traditions. Concepts of Record-Keeping in the Ancient World”, ed. by M. Brosius, Oxford (OUP)

1998 “Studies in Persian History. Essays in Memory of Professor David M. Lewis”, ed. by M. Brosius, A. Kuhrt, Leiden [Achaemenid History XI]

B. Encyclopaedia Articles

[2012] ‘Greek sources on Achaemenid Iran’, in: “Oxford Handbook of Iranian Archaeology”, ed by D. Potts, Oxford. (OUP)

[2011] ‘Rise of Achaemenid Persia’ (1,500 words), ‘Ionian Revolt’ (1,500words), ‘Persians Wars’ (30,000 words), in: “The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Ancient Battles”, ed by M Whitby, H. Sidebottom, Oxford. (Blackwell)

2010 ‘Archiv (Antike)’, in: “Handbuch Medien der Literatur”, ed by J. Schäfer, N. Birczek, T. Dembeck, Berlin (De Gruyter) ( in press)

2009 ‘Women in pre-islamic Iran’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, ed. by E. Yarshater

2005 ‘Afghanistan’, ‘Ahura Mazda’, ‘Artaxerxes I, II, III’, ‘Babylon’, ‘Cuneiform’, ‘Cyrus II’, ‘Darius’, ‘Elam’, ‘Persepolis’, ‘Persian empire’, entries for The Cambridge Guide to Classical Civilization’, ed. by G Shipley, L. Foxhall, D. Mattingly, J.Vanderspoel, Cambridge (CUP).

2004 ‘Royal Investiture in Achaemenid times’, Encyclopaedia Iranica XIII, ed. by E. Yarshater: 180-182

2003 ‘Scythians’, entry for Encarta Encyclopaedia

2002 ‘Achaemenid Empire’, ‘Persian Wars’, ‘Parthians’, ‘Sasanians’, entries for Encarta Encyclopaedia

2000 ‘Bactria’; ‘Parthia’; ‘Persians’; ‘Persian War’; ‘Sasanians’, entries for the Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition, ed. by G. Speake

1998 ‘Frau. Iran (vorsasanidische Zeit)’, Neuer Pauly 4: 632-3.

C. Reviews

2011 Review of S.Dalley, “Esther’s Revenge at Susa: From Sennacherib to Ahasuerus Oxford”, New York, 2007, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures

2010 K.Mosig-Walburg, 2009, “Römer und Perser vom 3. Jahrhundert bis zum Jahr 363 n.Chr.”, Gutenberg

2007 Review of A. Zournatzi, “Persian rule in Cyprus. Sources, Problems, Perspectives, in The Classical Review” 57/2: 562.

2005 Review of M. Schuol, Hartmann, U., Luther, A., (eds.), “Grenzüberschreitungen. Formen des Kontakts zwischen Orient und Okzident im Altertum”. Stuttgart 2002 (Orients et Occidens 3), in “The Classical Review” 55/1: 232-235.

2005 Review of P. Briant, Darius III, Paris 2003, in “The International Journal of Ancient Iranian Studies” 4/2 (2004/5) 104-105; and a review in Gnomon 78: 426-430.

2004 Review of P. Briant, (ed.), “Irrigation et drainage dans l’Antiquité, qanāts et canalisations souterraines en Iran, en Égypte et en Grèce, séminaire tenu au Collège de France sous la direction de Pierre Briant”, Paris

2001 (Persika 2, Thotm éditions)’, in “Iranian Studies” 37/4: 724-726.

2003 Review of P.Briant, “Bulletin d’histoire achéménide II”, 1997-2000, Paris 2001 (Persika 1, Thotm éditions), in “Iranian Studies”: 352-355.

2003 Review of M. Waters, A survey of Neo-Elamite History, in Journal of Semitic Studies 48: 357-9.

2002 Review of J. Curtis (ed.), “Mesopotamia and Iran in the Persian period: Conquest and imperialism” 539-331 BC, London 1998, in: “The International Journal of Ancient Iranian Studies” 2:43-47.

1999 Review of Briant P.(ed.), “Dans les pas des dix-mille”, Toulouse 1995, CR 50: 281- 282.

1999 Review of C. Tanck, “Arche - Ethnos - Polis”, Frankfurt a. M. 1997, CR 49: 482-483.

(iii) Particular achievements

Teaching contributions

2010 “Women in the Ancient World”: module leader (50% teaching) of a teamtaught module for Stage 2 students in Ancient History/ AH and Archaeology Joint Honours/ Classics/ Classical Studies/ History

2009- Teaching contribution to the M.A. in Ancient History and in Classical Studies

2004 - “Issues in Ancient History”: participation in team-taught module with six lectures on Greeks and non-Greeks (Module Leader from 2009/10)

2003 -09 ”Women in History and Culture”: Introduction of a new team-taught module for Stage 2 &3 students in Ancient History/ AH and Archaeology Joint Honours/ Classics/ Classical Studies/ History

2000 - “The Persian empire 600-300 BC”: Introduction of a new module for Stage 3 students in Ancient History/ AH and Archaeology Joint Honours/ Classics/ Classical Studies

2000- “Greek History 800- 400 BC”: Module for Stage 1 students in Ancient History/ Ancient History and Archaeology/ Classics/ Classical Studies

Administrative contributions:

2009-10 Degree Programme Director for the M.A. in Ancient History in Semester 2

2004- Degree Programme Director for the Joint Honours Degree in Archaeology & Ancient History (except during research leave from October2005 to January 2008)

2004-05 Chair of the Staff/Student Committee

2002- Member of the Staff/Student Committee

2002-05 Safety Officer for the School of Historical Studies

2001-02 Secretary of the Board of Joint Honours Ancient History/ Archaeology

2001-02 Secretary of the Board of Studies, Classics

2001- Tutor for Undergraduates 2000- Librarian for the Classics Library

2000-02 Classics Liaison Officer for Robinson Library

2000-02 Safety Officer for the Department of Classics

2000-02 Secretary of the Staff/Student Committee in the Department of Classics

(iv) National and International Recognition

Invited books and papers:

A. National

2010 Invitation to give the Inaugural Lecture for the Durham Centre for the Ancient Near East, 30 x.2010)

2010 Invitation to present a paper at the Newcastle Research Seminar (13.x.2010)

2010 Invitation to deliver the David Lewis Memorial Lecture, University of Oxford (May 2010)

2009 Invitation from Wiley-Blackwell to write a monograph on A History of the Achaemenid Empire (Blackwell History of the Ancient World)

2006 Paper for Ancient History Research Seminar, University of Edinburgh (22.iii.2006)

2005 Paper for the Diletanti Lecture Series (1.xi.2006) 2005 Paper for the British Museum conference on Ancient Persia (30.x.2005)

2004 Invitation from Routledge to write The Persians. An Introduction (published London 2006)

2004 Invitation to present a paper to SOAS, London on ‘The Achaemenid Court’, 25.x.04

2004 Invitation to address the Annual Meeting of the Ancient Historians in the UK, Bristol 15-16 May.

2001 Invitation to present a paper on the history of ancient Persia to a conference on Iranian Studies in the UK, Durham (December)

2001 Invitation to present a paper on ‘Persia and Macedonia’ to the Classics Seminar, University of Durham (May)

1999 ‘Persian History and the Classical Tradition’, paper presented to the Classical Association Conference, Liverpool (9.iv.1999)

1997 ‘The Importance of the Persepolis Fortification Tablets for Ancient History’, UCL, London, 24.xi.1997

1997 ‘The pax persica of Darius I’, Liverpool Research Seminar, Liverpool, 28.x.1997

1997 ‘Kingship and Empire in Ancient Iran’, The Royal Asiatic Society, London, 27.v.1997

1997 ‘The Parthians and their Western Neighbours’, Ancient and Modern History Seminar, Oxford, 6.ii.1996

1996 ‘The Account Texts from Persepolis’, CSAD, Oxford, 16.x.1996

1996 ‘Persepolis Fortification Texts’, UCL, London, 4.xi.1996

1996 ‘Artemis Persike: Greek Adaptation of a Persian Cult?’, Ancient History Seminar, Oxford, 12.xi.1996

1996 ‘The Greeks and Persian Religion’, UCL, London, 22. i.1996

1996 ‘Accounting in the Persepolis Fortification Tablets’, Institute for Archaeology, Cambridge, 29.i.1996

1994 ‘The Persepolis Fortification Tablets as a Historical Source’, The British Academy, London, 9.x.1994

1994 ‘The Iranian Goddess Anahita’, Oriental Institute, Oxford, 17.xi.1994

1994 ‘Women in Persian History’, Summer School, University College, London, 22.vii.1994

1990 ‘Fear of the Second Sex: Greek Attitudes towards Women in Persia’, Institute of Classical Studies, London, 25.x.1990

1990 ‘Queens, Women, Concubines - Who is Who in Achaemenid Persia?’, Women in Antiquity Seminar, Oxford, 13.ii.1990

1989 ‘Women in Persia: An Investigation According to the Greek Literature and the Elamite Cuneiform Tablets’, The Oriental Institute, Oxford, 15.ii.1989

B. International

2011 Invitation to attend a conference and present a lecture at the conference on 'Iran and the classical world: political, cultural and economic contacts of two civilizations', in Kazan Federal University, Russia, 14-16 September 2011

2010 Invitation to deliver a lecture at the Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens, 17.xii.2010

2010 Invitation from the ICHO to deliver a lecture in Tehran, Iran, December 2010

2010 Invitation to deliver a lecture at a conference on ‘Assessing Biblical and Classical Sources for the Reconstruction of Persian Influence, History and Culture’, Weingreen Museum, Trinity College, Dublin, 24-26 June 2010

2009 Invitation to deliver a paper at the Colloquium in honour of Prof. Ch. Ulf, Innsbruck, January 2009

2008 Invitation to present a paper at the Research Colloquium for Ancient History, FU Berlin, July 2008

2008 Invitation to present a paper at the conference on Cultural Identity and the peoples of the Mediterranean, held at the Getty Villa, Malibu, June 2008

2008 Invitation to present a paper at the conference on ‘The Persians in the Black Sea region’, held at the Danish National Research Foundation Centre, Sandbjerg, January 2008

2007 Invitation to present a paper for the conference on ‘Tempelprostitution zwischen griechischer Kultur und Vorderem Orient’ held at the University of Oldenburg (20-22.vii.)

2007 Invitation to present a paper on ‘Das Hofzeremoniell’ for the colloquium on Griechische Geschichtsschreibung und Altvorderasien. Der Achämenidenhof’, Castelen, Basel (22-25.v.)

2007 Invited lecture on ‘Sprachen, Schreiber und Wissensvermittlung in antiken Vorderen Orient’, Seminar für Alte Geschichte, FU Berlin, (7. ii.)

2006 Invitation to present a paper on ‘Aramaic in context. The state of current research’ at the Table Ronde on the Persepolis Fortification Texts, Paris (3-4.xi.)

2006 Invitation to present a paper on ‘Ctesias and the Orient’ at an international conference held at the University of Kiel, Germany (17-20.v.)

2006 Invitation to present a lecture on ‘Scribes, Languages, and the Transmission of Knowledge’ at the Institute of Near Eastern Studies, University of Leiden, The Netherlands (10.v)

2003 Interview for the Chair in Ancient History & the History of the Ancient Near East at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, 30.vi.-1.vii (placed as one of three candidates)

2003 Invitation to present a paper on Achaemenid warfare at the international conference on ‘Krieg – Gesellschaft – Institutionen’ in Halle, Germany (1-4.v. 2003)

2002 Invitation to become a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Iranica

1999 ‘Archaeological and Documentary Evidence for the History of Ancient Persia’, Ancient History Seminar, Udine, Italy, 5.ii.1999

1998 Invitation to chair a section of a conference on ‘die Parther und ihre Zeugnisse’, Eutin, Germany, 26-30 June1998

1998 ‘Aspects of Achaemenid History’, Bastan Museum, Tehran, Iran, 30.iv.1998

1997 ‘In Search of Iberia’, Centre for Archaeological Studies, Tiblisi, Georgia, 21.ix.- 4.x.1997

1996 ‘Persians and Persian Religion in Greek Epigraphy and Historiography’, Krakow, Poland, 3.vii.1996

1995 ‘The Image and Reality of Women in Ancient Near Eastern Societies’, 1-Week Lecture series held at the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute, Brown University, Rhode Island, U.S.A.

1989 ‘Some Notes on Trade and Economy in Persia as Observed in the 17th and 18th Century’, 9th Achaemenid History Workshop, Groningen, The Netherlands, May 1989

Editorial Board

2006 Dictionário de Mulheres do Mundo Antigo, University of Lisbon

2004 Ancient Iranian Study Series

2002 The International Journal of Ancient Iranian Studies

Further evidence of esteem

2010 Referee for an article for Helios

2010 Evaluator for a Tenure Professorship at ULCA, USA

2009-11External Examiner for Ancient History at Durham University

2009 Evaluator for an Individual Research Project for NFN Austria

2008 Evaluator of a Major Research Project for NFN Austria

2007 Member of the Centre for the Study of the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East, University of Durham

2006 Evaluator for the AHRC 2006 Referee for JHS

2005 External examiner for a M.Phil. thesis, UCL, London, October 2005

2004 Internal examiner for a D.Phil. thesis, Newcastle University

Further evidence for international recognition

2005 Contributor to the catalogue for the exhibition on Achaemenid Persia in Speyer, Germany, [July – October 2006]

2002 Expert consultant on ancient Persia for the Channel 4 Production “Lost Worlds” on ‘Persepolis’ (screened on 4 December 2002)

2002 Expert consultant for a BBC documentary on Sparta and the Persian Wars (screened 13.3.04)

2002 Organization and management of a twenty-day study tour of Iran on ‘Late Roman and early Islamic remains in north and northwest Iran’ in collaboration with Dr James Howard-Johnston, Corpus-Christi College, Oxford, 26 March-16 April

2001 Consultant for the “New York Times” (13.11.2001) for article on Persian canals

2000 Organization and management of a twenty-day study tour of Iran on ‘Medes, Elamites and Persians’ for ancient historians, classicists, and archaeologists from British Universities, 26 March -14 April

1998 Organization of an international conference on “Archives and Archival Traditions. Concepts of Record-keeping in the Ancient World”, CSAD, Oxford, 17.-19. September

1998 Organization and management of a twenty-two day study tour of Iran for ancient historians, classicists and archaeologists from Oxford, 1-22 April

Invitations to review publications

On eight occasions I have acted as an assessor for monographs and on one occasion acted as referee for a contribution for an academic journal