Ancient Persia Counters Warmongering Myths

The reviewer argues that Adrian Goldsworthy’s survey of seven centuries of Roman–Persian relations shows wars were typically limited, reciprocal, and constrained by logistics — not existential crusades. Reintroducing that history into modern debates undermines simplistic analogies that justify large-scale, 'decisive' military interventions against Iran. — Framing contemporary policy with the Roman–Persian precedent can blunt calls for escalation and force more nuanced public debate about the actual aims and costs of war.