Impressions of power: ‘Greco-Persian’ seals in perspective

The importance of seals and sealing practice in the bureaucratic organisation of the Achaemenid Empire is well known. Through a combined analysis of literary and material evidence, this paper aims at emphasising the importance of seals in the western part of the empire, where they were administrative tools and luxury items required by members of the elite in order to certify their status. Moreover, the present study intends to contextualise the ‘Greco-Persian’ glyptic, in particular the ten-sided tabloids, within the historical and social framework of the Eastern Mediterranean under Achaemenid rule.