The Two Eyes of the Earth: Art and Ritual of Kingship between Rome and Sasanian Iran

Matthew P. Canepa

Published by University of California Press 2010

The Two Eyes of the Earth

Art and Ritual of Kingship between Rome and Sasanian Iran

Matthew P. Canepa

Volume 45 in the series Transformation of the Classical Heritage

https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520944572

Overview
Contents

About this book

This pioneering study examines a pivotal period in the history of Europe and the Near East. Spanning the ancient and medieval worlds, it investigates the shared ideal of sacred kingship that emerged in the late Roman and Persian empires. This shared ideal, while often generating conflict during the four centuries of the empires' coexistence (224-642), also drove exchange, especially the means and methods Roman and Persian sovereigns used to project their notions of universal rule: elaborate systems of ritual and their cultures' visual, architectural, and urban environments. Matthew Canepa explores the artistic, ritual, and ideological interactions between Rome and the Iranian world under the Sasanian dynasty, the last great Persian dynasty before Islam. He analyzes how these two hostile systems of sacred universal sovereignty not only coexisted, but fostered cross-cultural exchange and communication despite their undying rivalry. Bridging the traditional divide between classical and Iranian history, this book brings to life the dazzling courts of two global powers that deeply affected the cultures of medieval Europe, Byzantium, Islam, South Asia, and China.

Author / Editor information

Canepa Matthew P. :

Matthew P. Canepa is Assistant Professor of Art History at the College of Charleston where he is a faculty member in the interdisciplinary programs in Archaeology and Asian Studies.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	X
Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	XV
Sources and Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	XVII
1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. The Art and Ritual of Kingship within and between Rome and Sasanian Iran Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
3. The Lure of the Other and the Limits of the Past Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	34
4. Šāpūr I, King of Kings of Iran and Non-Iran Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
5. Rome’s Troubled Third Century and the Emergence of a New Equilibrium Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	79
6. Contested Images of Sacral Kingship and New Expressions of Triumph Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	100
7. Unceasing Embassies Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	122
8. City as Stage and Art as Statecraft Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	154
9. The Late Antique Kosmos of Power Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	188
Epilogue. The Legacy of the Two Eyes of the Earth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	224
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	337
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	401
Plates Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	428

Language: English
Publisher: University of California Press
Pages
- Main content: 456

eBook

Published: February 2, 2010
ISBN: 9780520944572