18 - Persian Gold
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M ention the words “gold” and “Persia” together, and images of
wealth and luxury spring quickly to mind. From Herodotus
onward, the Greek authors never tired of describing the wealth
of Persia. But the Persian Empire wasn’t completely devoted to ostentation.
Under the Persians, agriculture, trade, and manufacturing À ourished. The
royal administration played a major role in the empire’s economic life,
but there was also a thriving private sector. And, thanks to the survival of
Persian documents, we can get an inside look at the workings of the empire’s
economy. In this lecture, we start with an overview of the Persian economy,
then zoom in on some of the people who became wealthy as “entrepreneurs
of empire.”