“Come Then Ye Classic Thieves of Each Degree”: The Social Context of the Persepolis Diaspora in the Early Nineteenth Century

Between 1800 and 1828, British diplomatic and commercial missions systematically removed fragments from Persepolis' stone structures, marking the onset of large-scale diaspora during the Qajar period. Archival analysis traced the provenance of three known fragments (in London and Edinburgh) while quantifying earlier dispersal patterns—distinctly slower than later 20th-century removals. These transactions occurred within a gift economy involving East India Company officers stationed in Persia, revealing how colonial logistics facilitated cultural asset extraction under variable political conditions. The study reconstructs object biographies to estimate dispersal rates, offering new insights into the historical trajectory of Persepolis' architectural heritage.

Allen, L. (2013). “Come Then Ye Classic Thieves of Each Degree”: The Social Context of the Persepolis Diaspora in the Early Nineteenth Century. Iran, 51(1), 207–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2013.11834730