Iron Age Empires Introduction

• Age of large empires encompassing multiple people groups (iron metallurgy begins around 1500BCE)

• Iron allows larger, more complex, more populous government structures (better military equipment/better plows)

• In pre-modern times, how can a ruler govern a large territory to establish stability and prosperity?

PersepolisDarius I began the elaborate citadel; his son, Xerxes, continued its construction; and his grandson, Artaxerxes I, completed the magnificent city of Persepolis, which was a confluence of styles--Median, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek. Only portions of the audience hall remain. (George Holton/Photo Researchers, Inc.)

Persepolis

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Relief of two Persian MagiThis stone relief from Dascylium, headquarters of the Persian governor in northwest Anatolia, shows two magi wearing veils over their mouths and holding bundles of sticks used in the ceremony of sacrifice. The Persian kings and their subordinates were Zoroastrians, and it is likely that Zoroastrianism spread to the provinces, where significant numbers of Persians lived, and influenced the beliefs of other peoples. (Courtesy, Archaeological Museums of Istanbul)

Relief of two Persian Magi

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Tomb of CyrusCyrus the Great (r. 559-530 B.C.E.), king of the Persians, was one of the most remarkable statesmen of antiquity. For all his greatness Cyrus retained a sense of perspective. His tomb, though monumental in size, is rather simple and unostentatious. Greek writers reported that it bore the following epitaph: "O man, I am Cyrus the son of Cambyses. I established the Persian Empire and was king of Asia. Do not begrudge me my memorial." (The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)

Tomb of Cyrus

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