E. W. Sauer, H. Omrani Rekavandi, T. J. Wilkinson and J. Nokandeh Oxbow Books www.oxbowbooks.com Persia’s Imperial Power in Late Antiquity Persia’s Imperial Power in Late Antiquity Between 2005 and 2009 a team of archaeologists explored an ancient barrier stretching for some 200km through northern Iran. The Gorgān Wall, guarded by over 30 forts, is longer than Hadri- an’s Wall and the Antonine Wall put together and is the most monumental ancient border de- fence system between Central Europe and China. Yet few have heard of it. Until recently, dating proposals ranged over more than a millennium, and majority opinion atributed the wall to the Parthians (3rd century BC–3rd century AD). Scientifc dating has now established that this massive monument was created in the 5th/6th century AD and belongs to one of the largest and most long-lasting empires of antiquity, that of Sasanian Persia (3rd–7th centuries AD). Stretch- ing from modern Pakistan to Mesopotamia and into Central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, the empire conquered in the early 7th century much of the Levant and advanced as far as the Bosporus. Our investigation makes clear that such expansion was made possible through one of the largest and most well organised military systems of antiquity, together with targeted invest- ment in border defence and the empire’s agriculture. In the hinterland of the wall there were massive square fortifcations, of some 40ha size each, one of which has yielded traces of dense occupation, probably neat rows of army tents. The Late Sasanian era also saw the foundation of a city, more than twice the size of Roman London at its prime, demonstrating that the area was prosperous enough to sustain a sizeable urban population. Substantial manpower was required for these construction projects. Brick production for the Gorgān Wall depended on thousands of kilns that received water via major canals. The wall cut through a landscape that was heavily setled and irrigated by canals as much as a millennium earlier, which had enabled a fourishing culture to emerge in the steppe. The Gorgān Wall project has shed light on factors that enabled one of antiquity’s largest empires and other early civilisations to succeed. Eberhard W. Sauer, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi, Tony J. Wilkinson and Jebrael Nokandeh The Great Wall of Gorgān and Frontier Landscapes of Sasanian Iran Persia’s Imperial Power in Late Antiquity The British Institute of Persian Studies Archaeological Monographs Series II