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Yaunā and Sakā

Identity Constructions at the Margins of the Achaemenid Empire

Bibliographic Data

ID9327972
AuthorsSilvia Balatti (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume9
Issue2
Pages140-153
Publication date2021-12-30
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudia Orientalia Electronica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2323-5209 • E-ISSN: 2323-5209
PublisherStudia Orientalia Electronica (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.23993/store.89975
OpenAlexW4206422366
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited8

The Achaemenid Empire can be reasonably considered an “empire of peoples” from both an ideological and structural perspective. It included all the lands of the peoples of the world and all people helped to maintain imperial order and prosperity. In reality, the empire had boundaries and there were peoples who lived near and beyond them. Under King Darius I, groups of people were annexed at the northeastern and northwestern margins of the imperial territory, thus entering the imperial space and consequently also the Achaemenid documents. The border peoples of the Yau̯nā and Sakā were the only peoples of the empire to be differentiated through epithets, which were added to their collective names in the texts. This shows a unique process of group identity constructions by the authorities on the edges of the imperial space. The analysis of the system of epithets used to indicate the Yau̯nā and Sakā conducted in this paper allows us to draw some conclusions on the mechanisms and reasons behind these specific forms of identity constructions at the margins. Moreover, it shows how this process reflected the main directions of imperial expansion under the first Achaemenids

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Art · Collective identity · Empire · Epithet · Genealogy · Identity (music · Ideology · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · Prosperity · Ancient Near East History · Classics · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy

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Citations per year1.33
Citation span2023 - 2025 (3)
Highly citedNo

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