num_pages: 418
description: In the fifth century BC, a global superpower was determined to bring truth and order to what it regarded as two terrorist states. The superpower was Persia, incomparably rich in ambition, gold and men. The terrorist states were Athens and Sparta, eccentric cities in a poor and mountainous backwater: Greece. The story of how their citizens took on the most powerful man on the planet is as heart stopping as any episode in history.
language: English
title: Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
titlecomplete: Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
genres: Historical, War, Greece, Iran, Nonfiction, Ancient, Ancient History, World History, Military Fiction, History
ratings_count: 9288
places: Persian Empire
awards: awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Runciman Book Prize
publisher: Abacus