Why do history books not talk about eastern empires, like the Selucids, that Rome conquered?

by red_emperor_sevarog

There are several major empires that impacted the Anatolian region (like Pontus) and middle east (Selucids). Is it just a lack of information? Because I can barley find anything on pre Roman history in the area. Maybe it's just because I'm a sophomore but IDK.

Sorry in advance for spelling

arte_et_labore

Interesting question! The main reason that there isn't much information is due to the lack of primary sources. The reason being: the Seleucids wrote everything on clay tablets, in contrast to other civilizations in the geographical region that used papyrus, resulting in the clay tablets being pretty useless due to the tablets growing brittle with age and deteriorating due to the climate of the area. Furthermore, certain things that are known include governmental structure due to outside observation; for instance, we know they were a satrapal society much like Persia, but besides that, there really isn't much out there in terms of primary sources regarding things like administration, economic practice, and much, much more, unfortunately. Regardless, my personal favorite book on the Seleucids, and arguably one of the most extensive on the topic, is From Samarkhand to Sardis: A New Approach to the Seleucid Empire.

Please feel free to reply or PM if you have any further questions regarding the matter.