Cyrus entered Babylon and presented himself as a traditional Mesopotamian monarch, restoring temples and releasing political prisoners. Under Darius the empire was stabilized, with roads for communication and a system of governors satraps established.
He added northwestern India to the Achaemenid realm and initiated two major building projects: the construction of royal buildings at Susa and the creation of the new dynastic center of Persepolis , the buildings of which were decorated by Darius and his successors with stone reliefs and carvings.
The impression is of a harmonious empire supported by its numerous peoples. However, in B. It took the Persians four years to crush the rebellion, although an attack against mainland Greece was repulsed at Marathon in B. Xerxes led his sea and land forces against Greece in B.
However, the Greeks won a victory against the Persian navy in the straits of Salamis in B. It is possible that at this point a serious revolt broke out in the strategically crucial province of Babylonia.
Xerxes quickly left Greece and successfully crushed the Babylonian rebellion. However, the Persian army he left behind was defeated by the Greeks at the Battle of Plataea in B. Much of our evidence for Persian history is dependent on contemporary Greek sources and later classical writers, whose main focus is the relations between Persia and the Greek states, as well as tales of Persian court intrigues, moral decadence, and unrestrained luxury.
From these we learn that Xerxes was assassinated and was succeeded by one of his sons, who took the name Artaxerxes I r. During his reign, revolts in Egypt were crushed and garrisons established in the Levant. The empire remained largely intact under Darius II r. C , but Egypt claimed independence during the reign of Artaxerxes II r. Many people think of Persia as synonymous with Islam , though Islam only became the dominant religion in the Persian Empire after the Arab conquests of the seventh century.
The first Persian Empire was shaped by a different religion: Zoroastrianism. Named after the Persian prophet Zoroaster also known as Zarathustra , Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions. Zoroaster, who likely lived sometime between and B.
The Achaemenian kings were devout Zoroastrians. By most accounts, Cyrus the Great was a tolerant ruler who allowed his subjects to speak their own languages and practice their own religions.
Hebrew scriptures praise Cyrus the Great for freeing the Jewish people of Babylon from captivity and allowing them to return to Jerusalem.
This period of time is sometimes called the Pax Persica, or Persian Peace. The Achaemenid dynasty finally fell to the invading armies of Alexander the Great of Macedon in B.
Subsequent rulers sought to restore the Persian Empire to its Achaemenian boundaries, though the empire never quite regained the enormous size it had achieved under Cyrus the Great.
The Achaemenid Persian Empire B. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. The Byzantine Empire was a vast and powerful civilization with origins that can be traced to A. Though the western half of the Roman Empire crumbled and fell Its history is marked by many important inventions that changed the world, including the concept For more than two centuries, the Achaemenid Empire of Persia ruled the Mediterranean world.
The Ottoman Empire was one of the mightiest and longest-lasting dynasties in world history. The chief leader, known as the Sultan, was given absolute Sumer was an ancient civilization founded in the Mesopotamia region of the Fertile Crescent situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Known for their innovations in language, governance, architecture and more, Sumerians are considered the creators of civilization as Iraqi president Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait in early August Alarmed by these actions, fellow Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on the United States and other Western nations to intervene.
Before Cyrus could expand into Egypt or toward Greece, however, he was killed fighting nomadic tribesmen who were threatening his eastern provinces. The first successors to Cyrus conquered Egypt, gathered new provinces in North Africa, and extended the empire into India up to the banks of the Indus River. They turned next against the Greeks, who were commercial rivals of Persian Phoenicia. The stage was set for the mighty struggle with the comparatively much smaller city-states of Greece.
Bas-relief leading to the Apadana Throne Room depicting subjects bringing wine to the king, Persepolis The early Persian economy was based on herding because the land was so poor for agriculture. The Persians attributed their toughness to the meager lifestyle to which they had been acclimated for generations. It controlled the rich agricultural areas of Mesopotamia, the grasslands of Anatolia, the trade routes in every direction, and rich deposits of metals and other resources. The majestic statues standing guard on either side are called lamassu.
These protective deities were portrayed as hybrid beasts—winged bulls or lions with the heads of bearded men. The Persians had adopted these mythological creatures from Babylonian and Assyrian mythology, but the beasts appear in literature as far back as the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. The Macedonian ruler and his army stormed the citadel in BCE, slaying its inhabitants, looting the treasury of thousands of tons of gold and silver, and burning Persepolis to the ground.
King Darius the Great instituted many economic innovations and reforms: systematized taxation; standardized weights, measures, and monetary units the first successful widespread use of coins ; improved transportation routes, including the mile-long Royal Road from Susa to Sardis; improvements to an early version of the Suez Canal; royal trading ships; promotion of agriculture; a banking system; and the promotion of international trade.
Zoroastrianism was monotheistic centering on Ahura Mazda—one supreme god who created everything material and spiritual. The powers of good and evil worked on humans, who had to choose constantly between the two. These concepts of monotheism, good versus evil, free will, and posthumous reward or punishment were a departure from the polytheistic religions prominent in the area previously.
King Darius on his throne, bas-relief, East Stairs, Persepolis The head of the Persian government was the king, whose word was law. His authority was extended by a bureaucracy led by Persian nobles, scribes who kept the records, a treasury that collected taxes and funded building projects and armies, and a system of roads, couriers, and signal stations that facilitated mail and trade.
In the early years when the army was predominately Persian, it capably preserved the internal and external peace. Much of the empire was divided into provinces called satrapies, ruled by a governor called a satrap. All of Egypt was usually a single satrapy, for example. The satraps were normally Persians or Medes to help ensure their loyalty.
They ruled and lived like minor kings in their own palaces. Some satraps became strong enough to threaten the king. Strong kings kept their satraps in check by holding close the reins of the armies and the treasury. The Persian kings were able to communicate very quickly across their empire using a highway called The Royal Road.
Riders could make the entire journey—from one end of this 1,mile-long highway to the other—in a mere week. It is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Begun c. The vast complex covers an area the size of 13 hectares about the size of an equal number of international rugby fields or nearly 16 baseball fields. Illustration of the staircase leading to the Apadana in Persepolis c.
Perhaps 10, people could stand inside the magnificent Apadana—a chamber decorated with bas-reliefs showing the king engaged in battles with monsters. The exquisite bas-reliefs adorning the walls leading to the Apadana depict dignitaries from all twenty-three of the far-flung subject nations of the Empire bringing gifts to the king a symbol of their loyalty. All of these bas-reliefs as well as the columns and ceilings throughout the various buildings and porticos would have been painted with brilliant colors.
Ruins of the stairs and northern portico of the Palace of Darius, Persepolis The elegant towering columns called Persepolitan Columns by archaeologists , capped by massive double-animal capitals, once supported lofty roofs and porticos made of wooden beams.
The Gate of All Nations one of the ceremonial entrances to the palace complex built by Xerxes I bears inscriptions in three languages: Elamite, Akkadian and Old Persian. Tragically, Persepolis was wantonly destroyed by Alexander the Great in BCE after being thoroughly looted by his soldiers. According to the UNESCO World Heritage web page, no changes or reconstructions have been made at the site since its discovery, thus making this archaeological treasure completely authentic.
Bas-relief showing Persian soldiers, East Stairs, Persepolis All Persian men to the age of 50 years were obligated to serve in the armies of the Persian Empire. Ancient Greek accounts state that Persian boys were trained in riding, archery, hand-to-hand combat, and mounted combat.
At the age of 20 they were eligible for military service. The army consisted mainly of four types of units: spearmen for infantry shock combat; foot archers to act as skirmishers; light cavalry armed mainly with bows; and heavy cavalry that wore some armor and carried spears. In the early years of the empire, the predominately Persian army was highly motivated and responsive on the battlefield, making it a dangerous foe. Bas-relief of Immortals from the Apadana, Persepolis The elite of the Persian army was the Ten Thousand Immortals, so called because the unit was always kept at a full strength of 10, men.
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