The Empire and the Steppe: Achaemenid Persia’s Northern Frontiers
This year's Tina and Hamid Moghadam Annual Lecture brings together evidence concerning the northern borderlands of the Achaemenid Empire—a dynamic region stretching from the Black Sea to Central Asia, where Iran met the steppe. With no textual sources, the story of the northern borderlands of the Achaemenid world has long been shadowy. However, in recent decades, new and surprising finds have come to light—from an Old Persian inscription on the Black Sea coast to a palatial complex in Azerbaijan to administrative documents related to Balkh in Afghanistan. These discoveries paint a picture of just how deep the entanglements along the northern frontiers ran. We can now begin to ask: What was it like to live on the edge of Achaemenid space, and what did Persian rule change for those who did? Lara Fabian is Assistant Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research focuses on the wider Iranian world from the Achaemenid…
Event Location: Zoom. Cost: Free. Register in advance (required). Categories: Lectures & Discussions. Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Captioning.
Tuesday, December 8, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.