"In the first seven sections, I discuss forgery allegations on various silver objects in conjunction with ill-understood metallurgical techniques and erroneous philological assumptions. The remaining sections are then devoted to the reinterpretation of Median, Achaemenid, and Sasanian history, as well as Avestan dilemmas, in light of information derived from these objects and other newly discovered sources. They succinctly bring to light the paradoxical image of "Burning-Water" as a pervasive dualist concept on which all subsequent royal ideologies were built. They also show the substantial impact of Iranian religious conflicts on Abrahamic religions. Finally, the flaws of UNESCO's convention on cultural properties are addressed in the appendix."--Pages 1-2.