• Acta Via Serica
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.133-152
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• 2022

Both in popular perception and specialized literature, the Achaemenid Empire, for over two centuries the most important player from the Aegean to the Indus, is rarely evoked in correlation with the complex of socio-cultural dynamics which shaped the spaces of what has become known as the Silk Road(s). Building on the case study of the Pazyryk carpet on the one hand (King 2021, 353-361, Linduff and Rubinson 2021, 88-97), and of the spread of an artistic motive such as the quatrefoil on the other (Kim 2021), this paper explores the rich and complex nature of the commercial networks that flourished across Central Asia under the aegis of Achaemenid Great Kings. Both archaeological and literary evidence shall be discussed (especially the Aramaic Documents from Ancient Bactria: Naveh and Shaked 2012, and now King 2021, 315-320). If taken together and read against the grain, such material is significant for the following reasons. First, it suggests the existence - and the scale - of commercial activities directly fostered or indirectly promoted by the imperial administration in Central Asia, an area of crucial importance within the Achaemenid domains, but for which our evidence is rather scanty and difficult to assess. Second, it shows how the Achaemenid "Imperial Paradigm" (Henkelman 2017) affected the social and economic landscape of Central Asia even after the demise of the Empire itself, thus considerably shaping the world of the Silk Road(s) a century before the Ancient Sogdian Letters (de la Vaissière 2005, 43-70) or Zhāng Quiān's famous report.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.79-97
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• 2008

This paper is a study on the Bisotun relief of the Achaemenid Dynasty in ancient Persia. The Bisotun relief consists of the relief and the inscriptions which was completed through 7 phases. The inscriptions describe how King Darius suppressed the rebels in Elamite, Babili and ancient Persian languages. This relief is a work during the early Darius period and it describes using the traditions of Mesopotamia in terms of the theme and structure. In terms of structural features, it follows the typical features of the Assyrian arts, the beard and the shape of hair style. On the other hand, the smooth curves used to describe the creases of the clothes and the supple body was not a typical oriental feature. It was known to be because of Greek influence from their communications. It also showed the dressings of the clans that made up the Achaemenid Dynasty through the 9 rebellions wearing clothes unique to their clan and the inscription that was inscribed with the name of the clans. The clothing and ornaments they were wearing can be divided into two groups, the clans that wore one-piece style Persian dress and clans that wore tunic jackets and trousers which is a typical dressing style of the nomads.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.58 no.6
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• pp.124-144
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• 2008

This study is taken as the part of the cultural research on the Kaspian coastal region, which has a great significance as the start of human civilization and in the history of cultural exchange. This study is focused on the Achaemenid dynasty of the great Persian Empire that Iranians have established on the Parsa region, south of Iran on 6-4th century B.C. This research limits to the tribute-relief illustrated on the stairs of Apadana Palace in Persepolis during the age of Achaemenid dynasty. The objective of this research is classify and analyze Persians and its neighboring tribes, their dresses and the detailed elements of the dresses to complete the typology of the dresses in that period and use this to categorize the features of nomadic and agricultural tribes of costal areas of the Mediterranean Sea to Northern India and study the cultural exchange and its effects. Furthermore, we aim to use the above typology to revise the typology of the Korean traditional dresses that were formerly just sorted as a type of coat-trousers that classified as a nomadian Scythian dress type. The results of above analysis are as follows: The clothing of many tribes living in the coastal areas of Mediterranean Sea to the Northern India in the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia on 6th century B.C. shows that the typology of the dressings have close relationship with the region they live in. Such typology is displayed differently from tribes east and west of Iran. The tribes west of Iran showed characteristics of an agricultural tribe and the tribes east of Iran displayed features of a nomadic tribe. In addition, uniformed styles of dressing were displayed amongst many tribes sharing a common lineage. Such inference came from the fact that similar styles of dressings were identified not only in tribes east of Iran but also in tribes west of Iran.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2003

The following paper deals with Persian costume of Achaemanid period in Persia. The study about Persian costume is very important for the research of European and Asian costume. However, its theme is insufficiently examined until now, so we were not able to recognize the Persian costume culture properly. For the reason mentioned above, this study is necessary for understanding the Persian costume culture at that time correctly. The research was undertaken with the information on historical archaeological art sites, analyzing the dressing carved in the reliefs of king's Audiencescene in Apadanastairs in Persepolis. The results driven from the study are as the following: There are two styles in the reliefs of Audiencescene in Apadanastairs. One is long robe with pleats, which is called Persiandress. The other is tunic and trousers. Persiandress, long robe with pleats which was the typical dress in Persia at that time was originally the dress of Elamites, who occupied a very advanced civilization in this region. This robe was a borrowing by the Persians from their Elamite neighbours as formal dress. There is the Persian dress worn by king, prince, guardsmen, servants in the reliefs of Audiencescene in Apadanastairs. It is inferred from this that the dress was popularly worn in Persian court. Tunic and trousers, the typical clothing of ridding race, is worn by Median who is one of the relatives of Persian. The tunic has narrow sleeves and is reaching the knees. The trousers are ending at the ankle. Beyond the clothing, various headgear are also examined according to the social status and nationality. These are being precious materials for study on the persian costume among the relations with other surrounding countries.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.877-887
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• 2011

The purpose of Sassanian dynasty was to succeed the civilization of Achaemenid dynasty but it shows vestiges of Parthian civilization in many ways. This study is an attempt to take a look at Sassanian civilization through analyzing these rock reliefs since these features are shown on the rock relief of Ardashir I in early Sassanian Iran. The way carried out this study was first, to collect and search documentary data to establish the theoretical background, and collect positive data by exploring this region and then we comparatively analyzed the two data in general and the result is the following: The form of costume is different according to the person's status. In the early period of Ardashir I the costume style of the royals is reflected by clothes such as tunic, trousers in parthian style. However, trousers do not have vertical pleats which are commonly shown in the case of parthian trousers. It assumed that after the early period of Ardashir I, Sassanians formed their own styles. The form of cap is also different according to the person's status. Ardashir I and the Ahura mazda god put on crown and Korymbos which symbolized the sovereign power. Except the king and the god, the prince and the king's vassal put on high caps called Kolah. Diadem which symbolized sovereign power of king was used by the king, the god and the crown prince. There are two kinds of diadem. The first form has vertical pleats and the other does not have pleats. This form became different depending on the social position. The form of hairstyle is generally thick curly hair which goes down until the shoulder. There is no difference in their hairstyle in terms of the social position. The beard style is generally in the form of scoop. There is also no difference in terms of the person's status.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.400-410
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• 2017

Bactria was the intersection of transportation between Greece-Iran and Central Asia at the Silk Road. This kingdom was Greek in all of its ruling classes. Because the Greek culture of Bactria spread to India and the east, Bactria was a very important place in ancient civilizations. The purpose of this study is to understand the life and the various cultures of Bactria and the influence of Greek culture on the costumes of Bactria. The research method was approached through the analysis of the empirical data. Data on antiquities were analyzed in European exhibition catalogs and secondary data collected from Internet. The results of this study are as follows: First, the original costume of Bactria was identified in two styles in the reliefs of the Persian Achaemenid. One is the tunic jacket sarapis that goes down to the knee and wide trousers with half-length boots. The other is the Scythian style trousers that looks like a barrel in a Sarapis. Second, in the Bactrian coin depicting the bust of the Bactrians, the hair styles and headgear of the Bactrian kings were analyzed. The Bactrians wore braids with short curly hair and wore Macedonian hats and helmets on them. Third, the relics excavated from the ruins of Ai-Khanuom depicted the forms of the ruling classes of Bactria. The dress styles and hair styles of gods and priests were imitating the form of the Greek costume as it is.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.153-178
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• 2022

This study analyzes the traces of East-West cultural exchange focusing on the palmette pattern expressed on Sassanid Persian and Silla Korean carpets. The results of the study are as follows. The palmette, which originated in ancient Egypt, is an imaginary flower made up of the transformation of a lotus, which combined with the Mesopotamian quadrant (四分法) and expanded to a four-leaf palmette and further to an eight-leaf palmette by applying the octant (八分法). The palmette, which was brought to Assyria, Achaemenid Persia, Parthia, Greece, and Rome, can be seen lavishly decorated with plant motifs characteristic of the region. Sassanid Persia inherited the tradition of the palmette pattern, which applied the quadrant and octant seen in several previous dynasties. On the one hand, it has evolved more splendidly by combining the twenty or twenty-one-leaf palmette and the traditional pearl-rounded pattern decoration of Sassanid Persia. These Sassanid Persian palmette patterns can be found through the palmette patterns depicted on the ceilings of the Dunhuang Grottoes located on the Silk Road. The palmette pattern of the Dunhuang Grottoes was expressed in the form of a fusion of Persian Zoroastrianism, Indian Buddhism, and indigenous religions. In the Tang Dynasty, it shows the typical palmette pattern of four and eight leaves in the medallion composition, which were mainly seen in Persian palmettes. The palmette pattern handed down to Silla can be found on a Silla carpet, estimated to be from around the 8th century, in the collection of Shoso-in (正倉院), Japan. The Silla carpet shows a unique Silla style using motifs such as peonies and young monks, which were popular in Silla while following the overall design of the Persian medallion.