About this eBook
In the fertile land of ancient Persia a rising leader, Cyrus, challenges the power of the mighty Median Empire to forge a new world from the ashes of the old. Among the countless warriors who gather beneath the banner of Cyrus, one name would rise from obscurity to become both feared and revered across Persia and beyond: Kian Mihran.
The son of a slave born into a noble household, the brutal murder of his betrothed at the hands of wandering Sarmatians burns away the man he had been. What remains is a warrior driven by grief, hardened by vengeance and sharpened by ordeal. As Cyrus forges his army to elevate Persia above all others, Kian becomes the sword of his king, a leader who has an instinct for war, a ruthless courage and a loyalty that never wavers.
Set amid the sweeping rise of the Persian Empire in the sixth century BC, this epic tale of war, love and sorcery brings to life a forgotten world where history and myth collide, and where one man’s quest for revenge will change the fate of kings and empires.
‘Lion of Persia’ is the first volume in the Satrap series, which tells the story of Kian Mihran who rises in the ranks of the army of Cyrus the Great, the warrior king who founded the Persian Empire in the sixth century BC. A map of ancient Persia and the surrounding kingdoms and empires at this time is available to download for free from the maps page of my website.
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About the author
I was raised in Grantham, Lincolnshire and attended the King’s Grammar School after passing the Eleven Plus exam. In the latter I clearly remember writing an essay on Oliver Cromwell – my first piece of military writing.
Then came a BA in history and international relations at Nottingham followed by a Master of Philosophy course at the University of York. The subject was the generalship and cavalry of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, my boyhood hero, during the English Civil War. The year I spent researching and writing at York, Oxford and at the British Library in London was a truly wonderful time. However, like all great times it eventually came to an end and I was forced to find employment.
By this time I was living in London and started work at the London Borough of Haringey. It was hell, but it did allow me to finish my thesis. Then fate took a hand and I landed a job as a research officer with the Defence Intelligence Staff in Whitehall. Writing top-secret intelligence reports was highly exciting, until I realised that their security clearance was so high that only a handful of people were cleared to read them. In 1990, therefore, I decided to apply for a job in the publishing industry as an editor. I joined a small company in said position in the summer of that year and the rest, as they say, is history.
I also write under the pen name Steve Crawford, though not every book that has Steve Crawford on the cover is one of mine.
