Agenda
1. Persian Empire
Objectives
Students will be able to…
26. Describe the major beliefs and
traditions of Judaism.
27. Summarize the key aspects of the
Persian Empire.
Skills Objectives
Students will be able to…
S7. Analyze important features of
political and thematic maps.
11/11/10
People of Mesopotamia
• Hebrews
• Phoenicians
• Assyrians
• All conquered by the Babylonians (the
New Babylonians!)
• Then by the Persians
Assyrian Empire
(New) Babylon
Objective #27
Persian Empire
Babylonians
• King Nebuchadnezzar
• Hanging Gardens (a
Wonder of the World)
• Forced the Hebrews to
move to Babylon as slaves
– Babylonian Captivity
(also called the Exile)
• [Objective 25]
Persians
• Conquered the Middle East, Egypt,
modern-day Iran and Afghanistan,
Asia Minor, and even into Europe
1. Where would you find the oldest part of the Persian
empire?
2. When did the Persian empire reach its greatest
extent?
Cyrus the Great
• Founder of the Persian Empire
• Conquered many lands
• Known for his tolerance of other
cultures and religions
• Allowed the Hebrews to return to
and rebuild Jerusalem
Cyrus the Great
• Called “the Great”
because of his conquests,
and because people
loved him
• Persian Empire expanded
easily, conquered peoples
wanted to be a part of it
Persian Tombs
• Known as the “king of kings”
Cambyses
• Cyrus’ son. He’s not so great.
• Cambyses is everything his father is not
–Intolerant
–Mean
–Disliked
• When he dies, the empire falls apart
Rule of World History
#4
Power will collapse without
respect
Darius
• The winner of a mini-civil war was
Darius
• Not related to Cyrus, but carries on
his tradition
• Creates the largest empire in the
world up to that time
Darius
•
•
•
•
Re-conquers the empire
Restores tolerance
Invades Greece
Creates the Persian
imperial achievements
Persia’s Achievements
• Imperial bureaucracy
• The Royal Road
Imperial Bureaucracy
• Imperial = belonging to an empire
• Bureaucracy = organizational
structure in government that is in
charge of running things
• Darius built a really good one to
manage his large empire
The Royal Road
• Connected the major Persian cities
• Important for:
–Communication (messenger
system)
–Trade
–Moving armies
3. Where were the two endpoints of the Royal Road?
Persian Religion
• Called Zoroastrianism, named after
the prophet Zoroaster
• Monotheistic – Ahura Mazda
• Based on conflict between good and
evil
• People choose sides and their soul is
rewarded for choosing well
The Story of
Zoroaster
He was placed by
god in a Hamoa plant.
He Laughed instead of crying at birth.
He glowed so bright that the people became frightened of him and wanted to
destroy him.
They tried to burn him to death
They tried to let animals stamped upon him
They left him in the woods, where a mother wolf found and raised him.
Then Angels took him up to heaven
They taught him about the past, present, and future
Zoroaster taught that the Persians that there were two
powerful gods. One stood for truth (Ahura Mazda) and light.
The other represented evil (Ahriman) and darkness.
The two gods
were in a
constant
struggle.
Paradise awaited those who followed truth and light, and punishment
for those who chose darkness. This was determined by a day of
Judgment. Zoroaster wrote down these ideas in a book called the
Avesta.
The Persians left their mark in history. The Persians
showed respect for other cultures.
Their government brought order to Southwest Asia.
Only Greece escaped Persian control.
Exit Ticket
Persia Writing!
• Explain how the Persian Empire’s
rulers fit Rule of World History #4
• Explain how the Hebrew Kingdoms
(think Solomon) fit Rule of World
History #1
The Rules of History
(Thus far…)
#1 Divided, you fall
#2 Beware the nomads
#3 He who controls trade, controls the world
#4 Power will collapse without respect