Describe Persian sources in brief.
Answers
persian wheel in irrigation
The period covered by the term Ancient Iran spans 12 centuries, from about 600 B.C. to about A.D. 600 -- approximately the date of the advent of Islam. Before that historical time period, there is cosmological time. Myths about the formation of the universe and legend about the founding kings of Iran define this era; after A.D. 600, Muslim writers wrote in a format we are familiar with as history.
Historians can deduce facts about the ancient time period, but with caution, because many of the sources for the history of the Persian Empire are (1) not contemporary (so they are not eyewitnesses), (2) biased or (3) subject to other caveats. Here is more detail about the issues facing someone trying to read critically about or write a paper on Ancient Iranian history.
" It is clear that histories in the sense of a history of Greece, Rome, much less of France or England, cannot be written about ancient Iran; rather, a short sketch of ancient Iranian civilization, including art and archaeology as well as other fields, must be substituted in many periods. Nonetheless an attempt is made here to utilize many works for a composite picture of the past, based on available sources."
Richard N. Frye The Heritage of Persia.