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Reading Quiz Chapter 4.3: Persia
Unites Many Lands
1.
Who was Cyrus? (Time Period,
Location, Key Achievements)
550 BCE (modern-day Iran) Cyrus is
considered one of the greatest Persian
rulers of all time. He conquered a great
deal of territory, from the Indus River to
Anatolia. He was very tolerant of
conquered peoples, allowing them to
continue practicing their religions and
cultures, as long as they paid tribute to the
Persians…also allowed the Jews to return to
Jerusalem in 538BCE
2.
List and define 3 ways that the
Persians effectively administered their
expansive Empire.
 Royal Road- 1,677 miles long
 Satrapies with Satraps as governors (20
different provinces with own governors)
 Uniform currency- coins (helped with
trade)
 Tolerant of other cultures/ religions
3.
What are some of the key tenets of
Zoroastrianism? (founder, holy books,
key beliefs)
Founder: Zoroaster
 Struggle between God of Good (Ahura
Mazda) and God of Evil (Ahriman)
 Final Judgment/ paradise/ fiery pit
 Ethical Dualism
Holy Books: Avesta
Chapter 4.3 Persia Unites Many
Lands
I. The Rise of Persia
 Persians based their empire on
tolerance and diplomacy…relied on a
strong military
 Ancient Persia includes modern day Iran
A. The Persian Homeland
 Around 1000BCE- Indo-Europeans first
migrated from central European and
southern Russia to the mountains and
plateaus east of the Fertile Crescent
 Rich mineral deposits… and thriving
trade
 Medes and others overthrew the
Assyrians in 612 BCE…Medes and
Persians emerged
B. Cyrus the Great Founds an Empire
 550BCE- Cyrus began his conquest of
several neighboring kingdoms in Iran…
 Persians eventually extended their rule
from the Indus River in the east to
Anatolia in the west
 2,000 mile empire
 Soldiers were armed with short bows,
which they shot from mountain ponies
 String of victories- 550 to 539BCE
conquered the entire Fertile Crescent
 Cyrus’s most enduring legacy was his
method of governing
 Very tolerant of conquered
peoples…didn’t allow his soldiers to loot
and pillage
 Under Persian rule- subject peoples
enjoyed freedom
 Ex: Cyrus offered prayers to Marduk
when he took over Babylon
 Cyrus also allowed the Jews to return to
Jerusalem in 538BCE…many parts of the
Torah were recorded during this time
 Hebrews were very appreciative to
Cyrus
 Cyrus died in battle…tomb “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.”
II. Persian Rule and Religion
 Successors to Cyrus had to organize and
unify conquered territories by
combining Persian control with local
self-government
A. Cambyses and Darius
 Cyrus died in 530BCE
 Son Cambyses: extended the Persian
Empire by conquering Egypt…but he
scorned Egyptian religion…died after 8
years…widespread rebellions erupted
 Darius: noble of the ruling dynasty…was
one of the king’s bodyguards.
 Darius seized the throne in 522-521BCEwith help of Ten Thousand
Immortals…eventually established an
unusually efficient and well-organized
administration
 Extended Persian conquests in the
east…into Afghanistan and India…2,500
miles
 Unable to conquer Greece
B. Provinces and Satraps
 Darius’s greatest genius lay in
administration
 King divided empire into 20
provinces…people still practiced own
religion…spoke own
language…administrative policy of many
groups “nationalities”
 Darius still ruled with absolute power
 Governor for each province called a
SATRAP
o Darius sent out inspectors called
“King’s Eyes and Ears” to keep the
Satraps in line
 Excellent road system and use of
standard money helped unite the
empire
o Royal Road ran from Susa in Persia to
Sardis in Anatolia (1,677 miles)
 Manufacturing metal coins (borrowed
from the Lydians)…coins of a standard
value…promoted trade
 “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor
gloom of night stays these couriers from
the swift completion of their appointed
rounds.” –Herodotus in 400’s BC about
the Persian messengers on the Royal
Road
C. Persian Religion
 Zoroaster: Persian prophet and religious
reformer…lived around 600BCE
 Taught that two spiritual armies fight for
possession of a person’s soul.
o God of Truth and Light, Ahura
Mazda- leads one army
o God of Evil and Darkness, Ahriman
leads the other
 At the end of time, all souls would be
judged according to which side they had
chosen, followers of Ahura Mazda would
be lifted into Paradise, followers of
Ahriman would suffer forever in a fiery
pit.
 Avesta: collection of books that formed
the holy writings of the Zoroastrian
religion
 People’s own choices controlled their
fate with a final judgment
 Concepts of heaven, hell, and final
judgment were similar in
Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam.
 Faith of Zoroaster spread into India,
became the Parsi sect…largest group of
Zoroastrians in the world today
 Also important influence on the
development of Manicheanism- religion
that competed with early Christianity
 Cult of Mithra, a Zoroastrian god, spread
westward and became popular among
the military legions in the Roman Empire
D. The Persian Legacy
 With tolerance and good government,
Persians brought political order to
Southwest Asia…preserved ideas from
earlier civilizations and found new ways
to live and rule