Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis
Curator of Middle Eastern Coins at the British Museum
4 episodes
Covers topics in categories such as:
Persepolis
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 'City of the Persians' that flourished for almost 200 years from the reign of Darius I until its destruction by Alexander III of Macedon.
7 June 2018
Also featuring: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Lindsay Allen
Shahnameh of Ferdowsi
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the epic poem the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, the 'Book of Kings', which has been at the heart of Persian culture for the past thousand years.
13 December 2012
Also featuring: Narguess Farzad, Charles Melville
The Sassanid Empire
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Sassanian Empire, a grand imperial rival to the Roman Empire.
13 December 2007
Also featuring: Hugh N. Kennedy, James Howard-Johnston
Zoroastrianism
Melvyn Bragg discusses Zoroastrianism, often claimed to be the world's first monotheistic religion, and known to have passed on ideas of the afterlife to Judaism.
11 November 2004
Also featuring: Farrokh Vajifdar, Alan Williams