Phiroze Vasunia

Achaemenid-era head of a Persian guard, c.486-65 BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.

On the Spot: Phiroze Vasunia

‘Which moment would I most like to go back to? The Achaemenid Persian court when Alexander the Great took over in the 330s BC.’

Porus surrenders to Alexander the Great, from History of the World, by Evert A. Duyckinck, 1870. Look and Learn/Bridgeman Images.

How Ancient Greece Shaped the British Raj

British agents of empire saw their actions in India through the texts of their classical educations. They looked for Alexander, cast themselves as Aeneas and hoped to emulate Augustus.