Acknowledgments
PART I, chapter 3 on Administrative Geography and part 11, chapter
5 on Persians are based on articles published in Iran and are published
here with the permission of the editors of that journal. The coins
reproduced in figures 1 and 2 are courtesy of the American Numismatic
Society, New York. The seal impression in figure 2d is published with
the permission of the Trustees of the British Museum, that in figure
2e is authorized by the Yale University Library, and those in figures
2f and 2g were provided by Richard Frye. The audience hall of the
dar al-imara at Kufa is reproduced with the permission of the State
Antiquities and Heritage Organization, Ministry of Culture and In-
formation, Republic of Iraq (copyright reserved). The demon in figure
7f was provided by Giorgio Buccellati. The incantation bowl from
Tell Abu Sarifa in figures 8a and 8b was provided by Robert Adams;
the figures on incantation bowls from Nippur in figures 8c, 8d, and
Sf are reproduced with the permission of the Oriental Institute, Uni-
versity of Chicago.