This broad yet scrupulous study invites a fundamental rethinking of the history of Christianity in the Sasanian Empire. Rejecting the conventional historiographical framework that focuses on Christian narratives of Zoroastrian persecution, A State of Mixture demonstrates, with cogency and clarity, how thoroughly the Sasanian Empire absorbed the Christian community within its borders. Weaving together a rich array of texts, documents, and archaeology, Payne’s study shows how the Christian elites of the Sasanian world created local histories, law, and martyr legends consistent with their own values."—Joel Walker, Associate Professor and Jon Bridgman Endowed Professor of History at the University of Washington "Sasanian history and the place of Christians within pre-Islamic Iran is opaque to most scholars and when narrated often done so with banal statements about intolerance and persecution. Richard Payne integrates archaeological and linguistically complex sources to tell a compelling story about violence, ritual, class, ideology, and social life. More broadly, this is a book about how subjects negotiate their positions within empires and how imperial ideology is compatible with religious difference."—Adam H. Becker, Associate Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at New York University