“The Achemenids’ success…”

In the article "The Achemenids’ success and failure” (Parsiana, October 21, 2016) Farrokh Jijina has outlined a brief history of the subject as presented by Dr Farokh Udwadia (pictured) in a lecture at the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute on September 21, 2016. What has not been conveyed is the splendid manner in which the doctor covered the subject.
Udwadia declared that he was no historian and then promptly proceeded to demonstrate a breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding of the subject which would put professors of history to shame. He spoke fluently for approximately 90 minutes, sharing with the audience a wealth of knowledge, replete with dates, facts and anecdotes. He recounted the entire sequence of succession of the various Achemenid rulers (including stories of the succession struggles). He magically re-created the tactical strategies of battles. He provided great insights into life, economy and government in the time of the Achemenid Empire. He converted what could have been a dry historical factual talk into an interesting, flowing story, complete with the relevant dates, geographical boundaries. Teachers of history in schools and colleges would be well advised to take a leaf from Udwadia’s book.
Udwadia has long been considered to be the Napoleon of respiratory medicine and intensive care medicine. We now need to add history to that list!
Dr SORAB JIMMY SIDHVA
drsjsidhva@gmail.com