“Bruce Lincoln gives us not only what is specific to the Achaemenids, imperfectly grasped by their contemporaries and rarely recognized by moderns, but also what is common to many empires, including the hopeful illusions of benign purpose and the pitfalls of success in the historical world. Within this work of literary and historical analysis, made possible by erudite mastery of many streams of knowledge from the past, Lincoln sets a moral lesson made necessary by knowledge of the present.”

Matthew Stolper, The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago

"An absorbing interpretation of the Achaemenid ideology. The system of Persian beliefs and concepts, as presented by the author, constructs an incredibly coherent and clear vision. The book constitutes a revealing guide to understanding religious aspects of royal Achaemenid inscriptions. Thus it explores in a very erudite and thorough way an area rarely investigated . . . the relation between empire and religion.  . . . His book is not only a source of reliable knowledge and understanding of ancient culture, but also a stimulus for reflection."

Tytus K. Mikolajczak | Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Lincoln has written a compelling and readable account of Achaemenid imperial ideology and a book that can be profitably read by historians, classicists, and Iranists alike."

Prods Oktor Skjærvø | American Historical Review

"Lincoln has done a masterful job of reconstructing the religious and political ideology of the Achaemenian empire, bringing to the task his own sharp sense of the power of religious ideas to motivate and justify historical agents. . . . A solid contribution to our understanding of the tightly interwoven religious beliefs and political values of the first Persian empire."

Steven W. Hirsch | International History Review