Greece Persia
Greek and Persian Empires
The Persian territory was very large, and
needed to be linked by road systems.
The Royal Road was the largest (1500 miles).
The Road connected Persia to Anatolia and had stations along the way for travelers to obtain food, water, and fresh horses.
The Royal Road
Cyrus
1st King Created an army that grew into the Persian
Empire Under Cyrus’ rule, the empire stretched to be
about the size of the continental United States. Cyrus held his kingdom together by ruling fairly.
Allowed his peoples to keep their own languages, religions, and laws.
Kings
Darius (522-486 B.C.) Reorganized the government to make it more
efficient. Divided empire into provinces called satrapies. Each satrapy was ruled by a governor called
satrap. Which means defender of the kingdom. Collected taxes, judged legal cases, managed
police, recruited for army.
Kings
The Persians first worshiped many gods
(polytheistic). Then a religious teacher, named Zoroaster,
preached a new monotheistic (having one god) religion.
This religion was called Zoroastrianism. Believed that there was one supreme god:
Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord). Believed there was good and evil in the world
and people were free to pick between the two.
Religion
Take out a sheet of paper. Draw a Venn Diagram. Label 1 section “Persia,” the middle “Both,”
and the other section “Greece.” Work with a partner to fill in all three sections
with at least 3 similarities/differences.
Compare and Contrast!
At the beginning of the 400s B.C., the Persians
wanted to expand. Quickly clashed with the Greeks in the
Mediterranean. The two societies were very different. Persians already controlled Greek cities in
Anatolia. Athenians sent warships to help rebels that
were rising up, but Persians stopped the uprising.
Persian Wars
490 B.C. Darius sent a fleet of 600 ships and
an army to invade Greece. Landed in Marathon. Persians outnumbered Greeks, so Greeks
never came to fight. Persians were leaving to attack Athens, then
Greeks attacked as the Persians were leaving and caught Persians by surprise and won.
Marathon
480 B.C. Persian King Xerxes attacked
Greece at Thermopylae. Persians won on land, but lost at sea. Athenian fleet ships lured Persian fleet into
strait of Salamis near Athens. Greeks won because their ships were fast and
easy to maneuver. Greek city-states combined forces to make a
larger army, trained, and defeated Persia.
Land and Sea
First you read. Second you annotate. Third you answer the questions with a partner. Make sure you agree before writing anything
down for an answer.
Primary Source
After losses in Greece, Persia faced many
challenges. Couldn’t defend entire empire. Unhappy with government.
High taxes. Disagreement on who should rule.
By 300s B.C. Persia couldn’t defend against any attacks.
Persia ended and a new Greek Empire emerged and extended beyond Persia’s boundaries.
Decline
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