The Persian Empire

By Anonymous and assisted by 003By Anonymous and assisted by 003

Modern day satellite Image

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GeographyAt full extent

GeographyAt full extent

Modern day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Some of Egypt and India

Geographical features Water masses -Touching upon the Arabian sea,the Aral sea,

the black sea, the Caspian sea, the Mediterranean sea, the Persian gulf and the red sea

Rivers -Euphrates, Tigris, Indus Surrounded by the Arabian desert, Caucasus

Mountains Climate -Middle Eastern climate is generally hot and dry,

with the exception of the Fertile Crescent river-valley with fairly mild winters lesser in the more mountainous terrain

Modern day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Some of Egypt and India

Geographical features Water masses -Touching upon the Arabian sea,the Aral sea,

the black sea, the Caspian sea, the Mediterranean sea, the Persian gulf and the red sea

Rivers -Euphrates, Tigris, Indus Surrounded by the Arabian desert, Caucasus

Mountains Climate -Middle Eastern climate is generally hot and dry,

with the exception of the Fertile Crescent river-valley with fairly mild winters lesser in the more mountainous terrain

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“Setting the Stage”“Setting the Stage” The Ancient Persian Empire specifically known as the Achaemendid

Empire was one of many empires in the ancient world. During, imperial China was in it’s Han Dynasty, still fairly isolated and to

itself. Ancient India was very much under the influence the caste system and of

various rising religions (e.g. Hinduism and Buddhism). Not much written history of interaction with Ancient India with the exception of and Cyrus Campaigns East and Darius’s expansion of Persia past the Indus River

Ancient Greece at the time was dominated by the Athenians, who were constantly clashing with Ancient Persia and kept a rival relationship

The Ancient Persian Empire specifically known as the Achaemendid Empire was one of many empires in the ancient world.

During, imperial China was in it’s Han Dynasty, still fairly isolated and to itself.

Ancient India was very much under the influence the caste system and of various rising religions (e.g. Hinduism and Buddhism). Not much written history of interaction with Ancient India with the exception of and Cyrus Campaigns East and Darius’s expansion of Persia past the Indus River

Ancient Greece at the time was dominated by the Athenians, who were constantly clashing with Ancient Persia and kept a rival relationship

A struggling Persian battling a Greek Warrior depicted on a Greek vaseImage 4

Starting of the Persian EmpireAround 612 B.C., the Persians had overthrown the Assyrians.

Then the Persians started to build their empire.

The first Empire of the Persians started around 550 B.C.

The first Persian King was Cyrus.When they started with their empire,

they began to expand it.They took over some of the

neighboring countries.They extended their empire from the

Indus Valley-Anatolia.Cyrus's army conquered the Fertile

Crescent and most of Anatolia.

Trade and the Royal RoadTrade and the Royal Road Ancient Persia being rich in

natural resources of copper, lead, gold, silver, blue lapis lazuli(gem) had thriving trade

Ancient Persia having access to Sea-trade also had established land trade system a convenient trade route known as the Royal Road

The Royal Road itself was part of a series trade routes including the Silk Roads, restored during the Persian Empire by King Darius I

Ancient Persia being rich in natural resources of copper, lead, gold, silver, blue lapis lazuli(gem) had thriving trade

Ancient Persia having access to Sea-trade also had established land trade system a convenient trade route known as the Royal Road

The Royal Road itself was part of a series trade routes including the Silk Roads, restored during the Persian Empire by King Darius I

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Ancient Persia being an Empire of many Empires was very culturally diffused. Diffusion meaning the exchange of ideas,beliefs and culture, this possible through the means of trade.

Persian Rulers

This section will include Persian rulers and the affects on the civilization. Throughout the entirety of this civilization there has been three rulers. All three included in what is called a dynasty. Although being a ruler was inhibited, the way they ruled differed in many ways.

Made by: Kiyana Clark ™

King Cyrus• The beginning of king Cyrus’ ruling started in 550 B.C • Under his rule the Persian Empire expanded from the Indus river to

Anatolia. (Approximately 2,000 miles.)• When King Cyrus was leading wars he was said to have lead many

victories. (550- 539 B.C.)• He was a very kind person, considering he believing in recognition

of local customs and Religions. • Because he allowed freedom Babylon welcomed Cyrus.(539 B.C)• Cyrus permitted Jews to return to Jerusalem, resulting in the Jews

being able to continue their rituals and reconstruct their city. • Cyrus passed away in a skirmish, trying to protect his empire by

fighting invaders on his territory. He left the thrown to his son, Cambyses. (530 B.C)

King Cambyses

• Expanded the empire by gaining control of Egypt.• In contrast to his father, he did not accept all religions.

He treated the Egyptian religion very poorly. • An example of his horrid treatment towards Egyptian

religion is that he had people under his ruling burn pictures of Egyptian gods.

• The actions of this King caused rebellion to occur in the Persian empire.

• He ruled for 8 years before dying.• After dying he left the thrown to his heir Darius.

King Darius

• With the help of the Ten Thousand Immortals, Persian soldiers, King Darius ceased revolts and take control of the thrown.(522-521 B.C)

• He was able to expand the empire so far, that it now consists over 250,000 miles. This included the Egypt and Anatolia, small section of India, and the Fertile crescent. Although he was able to conquer a lot he failed to conquer Greece.

• To take control of his empire, he decide to divide it into 20 provinces. He tolerated freedom of religion in each province, but still had complete control. Each province was assigned a satrap, a governor, to rules just that province. He also had “King ears” , who made sure everything was right between every province. A tax collector and an army leader was later assigned to provinces as well.

• Through cultural diffusion he was able to process the idea of making metal coins. Coins has a specific value and were used throughout the entire empire.

Military Style Military Style The King would act as commander and chief and generals were

usually Satraps(local governors)or wealthy men of born into a higher social class

King Darius, successor to Cambyses seized the throne with the aid of a skilled troupe of Persian soldier known as the “Ten Thousand Immortals”

“Bridge of Boats”-almost conquered Greece and did conquer Egypt. A platoon of bloats to form floating bridge, another known item of strategy was the chariot

“Not just conquered, wooed.”-Persia was not known for it’s brute force as the Assyrians were, that’s why people were so hopeful at the rise of the Persian empire. Persia had a way of charming it’s subjugated subjects . People after conquered by the Persians were sometimes grateful to be under it’s rule.

The King would act as commander and chief and generals were usually Satraps(local governors)or wealthy men of born into a higher social class

King Darius, successor to Cambyses seized the throne with the aid of a skilled troupe of Persian soldier known as the “Ten Thousand Immortals”

“Bridge of Boats”-almost conquered Greece and did conquer Egypt. A platoon of bloats to form floating bridge, another known item of strategy was the chariot

“Not just conquered, wooed.”-Persia was not known for it’s brute force as the Assyrians were, that’s why people were so hopeful at the rise of the Persian empire. Persia had a way of charming it’s subjugated subjects . People after conquered by the Persians were sometimes grateful to be under it’s rule.

The Persian empire at it’s largest was 2,500 mile east to west from the Indus river to Anatolia, the majority of this expanded land attained through some sort of battle. Image 6

Wars

• The Greco-Persian war was one of the major wars that occurred in this empire.

• The war was caused because of Differences between the Greek and Persian way of life.

• During the time when Darius ruled, his troops fought this war. Unfortunately, they were unable to win.

The Ending of the Persian EmpireThe Greeks and the Persians were

always against each other.The Greeks wanted to be the

dominant force.There were a number of Graeco-

Persian Wars from 490-480/79 B.C.This was not what destroyed the

Persians.The Macedonian, Alexander the

Great, invaded and destroyed the Persian Empire.

He conquered the Persian Empire and started to claim himself as the ruler.He followed some of their customs and combined the Persian cavalry

with his.

ZoroastrianismIt is one of the oldest monotheistic

religions.The religion was founded by

Zoroaster who was believed to be the prophet for their god.

The Zoroastrians called their god Ahura Mazda.

Zoroaster was thinking of the question, “Why is there so much pain

and suffering in the world?The Zoroastrians believe in a final

judgment day.They also believe in a heaven and

hell.The Zoroastrian calendar is filled

with holy days, feasts and festivals, which makes them such content

people.

Zoroastrian Cont...The religion spread out towards India too.

Today, there are very few Zoroastrians left.

This could possibly be from the parents not teaching their children the religion, or that women and men are

having inter-marriages.Today, the Zoroastrians try to

continue their religion with their families.

They are not allowed to try to convert people's religions. This could be another reason for it not continuing

so vastly today.

BibliographyBibliography The British Museum. The Trustees of the British Museum.

<http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire.html> Department of The Ancient Near Middle East, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Achaemenid Empire.”

2000-2008. <http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/acha/hd_acha.htm> Drury, Mark. “Achaemenid Persia.” <http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia> <http://www.weathernotebook.org/transcripts/2003/05/14.php> Hooker, Richard. “The Persians.”1996. Washington State University.

<http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/PERSIANS.HTM> Hooker, Richard. “The Persian Wars.” 1996. Washington State University.

<http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/PERSIAN.HTM> Lendering, John. “Royal Road.” 1996-2008. <http://www.livius.org/ro-rz/royal_road/royal_road.htm> Tajar, M.S. “A Few Hundred Reasons to be Pround of Being Iranian.” 2004. University of the Philleppines

<http://www.pitt.edu/~sorc/iranian/BeingIranian.htm> Tallis, Nigel. Forgotten Empire: The World Of Ancient Persia. University of California Press Berkley and Los

angeles,California, 2005 Author Unidentified “History of Persia.” <http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?

historyid=aa65> Specific Author Unknown. “India Chronology.” 1997. University of Evansville.

<http://eawc.evansville.edu/chronology/inpage.htm> Author Unknown. “Persian Empire.” Minnesota State University

<http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/middle_east/persia.htm> Author Unknown . Wisconsin Concordia University.

<http://www.cuw.edu/Academics/programs/history/courses/History_103/ancient_world.pdf> Special Thanks… Multiple Authors, Consultants and Reviewers. World History: Patterns of Interaction. McDougal Littell. 1999.

The British Museum. The Trustees of the British Museum. <http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire.html>

Department of The Ancient Near Middle East, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Achaemenid Empire.” 2000-2008. <http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/acha/hd_acha.htm>

Drury, Mark. “Achaemenid Persia.” <http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia> <http://www.weathernotebook.org/transcripts/2003/05/14.php> Hooker, Richard. “The Persians.”1996. Washington State University.

<http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/PERSIANS.HTM> Hooker, Richard. “The Persian Wars.” 1996. Washington State University.

<http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/PERSIAN.HTM> Lendering, John. “Royal Road.” 1996-2008. <http://www.livius.org/ro-rz/royal_road/royal_road.htm> Tajar, M.S. “A Few Hundred Reasons to be Pround of Being Iranian.” 2004. University of the Philleppines

<http://www.pitt.edu/~sorc/iranian/BeingIranian.htm> Tallis, Nigel. Forgotten Empire: The World Of Ancient Persia. University of California Press Berkley and Los

angeles,California, 2005 Author Unidentified “History of Persia.” <http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?

historyid=aa65> Specific Author Unknown. “India Chronology.” 1997. University of Evansville.

<http://eawc.evansville.edu/chronology/inpage.htm> Author Unknown. “Persian Empire.” Minnesota State University

<http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/middle_east/persia.htm> Author Unknown . Wisconsin Concordia University.

<http://www.cuw.edu/Academics/programs/history/courses/History_103/ancient_world.pdf> Special Thanks… Multiple Authors, Consultants and Reviewers. World History: Patterns of Interaction. McDougal Littell. 1999.

Bibliography (continued)Bibliography (continued)

Image 1 - < http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/maps/map1.html> Image 2 - Google Earth Snapshot Image 3- <http://orias.berkeley.edu/2003/peace/satmap.jpg> Image 4 - <http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~tcf/pictures/persian.jpg> Image 5 - http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/maps/map4.html Image 6 - http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ugk/relief03.jpg

Image 1 - < http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/maps/map1.html> Image 2 - Google Earth Snapshot Image 3- <http://orias.berkeley.edu/2003/peace/satmap.jpg> Image 4 - <http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~tcf/pictures/persian.jpg> Image 5 - http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/maps/map4.html Image 6 - http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ugk/relief03.jpg

Images

Bibliography

• Greco-Persian Wars: Battle of Thermopylae » HistoryNet." HistoryNet - From the World’s Largest History Magazine Publisher . 20 Nov. 2008 <http://www.historynet.com/greco-persian-wars-battle-of-thermopylae.htm>.

• Littell, Mcdougal. Formal Assessment (McDougal Littell World History: Medieval and Early Modern Times). United States of America: Mcdougal Littell, 2006.