Maintaining Order:
Part 1: Persia
Part 2: India
Part 3: China
Lesson 16
Part 1: Persia
Theme: Centralization and Localization
Lesson 16
ID & SIG
• Darius, Persepolis, Royal Road, satrap
Achaemenid Empire
(558-330 B.C.)
• Medes and Persians migrated from central
Asia to Persia before 1000 B.C.
• The Medes and Persians were
considerable military powers
• Cyrus the Achaemenid ruled from 558-530
B.C. and launched the Persians’ first
imperial venture
• Darius reigned from 521 to 486 and
expanded the empire both east and west
Darius
• Darius’ empire stretched some 1,865 miles from
the Indus River in the east to the Aegean Sea in
the west and 933 miles from Armenia in the
north to the first cataract of the Nile in the south
• Population of some 35 million people
encompassing over 70 distinct ethnic groups
– Description of the construction of the palace at Susa
testifies to the diversity of the empire
Palace at Susa
… the sun-dried brick was molded, the
Babylonian people -- it did (these tasks). The
cedar timber, this -- a mountain named Lebanon -from there was brought. The Assyrian people, it
brought it to Babylon; from Babylon the Carians
and the Ionians brought it to Susa. The yakâtimber was brought from Gandara and from
Carmania. The gold was brought from Sardis and
from Bactria, which here was wrought. The
precious stone lapis lazuli and carnelian which was
wrought here, this was brought from Sogdiana.
The precious stone turquoise, this was brought
from Chorasmia, which was wrought here. The
silver and the ebony were brought from Egypt.
Palace at Susa
The ornamentation with which the wall was
adorned, that from Ionia was brought. The ivory
which was wrought here, was brought from
Ethiopia and from Sind and from Arachosia.
The stone columns which were here wrought, a
village named Abiradu, in Elam -- from there
were brought. The stone-cutters who wrought the
stone, those were Ionians and Sardians. The
goldsmiths who wrought the gold, those were
Medes and Egyptians. The men who wrought
the wood, those were Sardians and Egyptians.
The men who wrought the baked brick, those
were Babylonians. The men who adorned the
wall, those were Medes and Egyptians.
Darius
• Governing such a far-flung empire
would prove to be a more difficult
challenge than conquering it
• Darius was an excellent administrator
• He arrived at a finely tuned balance
between central initiative and local
administration
• Centralization
– Authority
– Persepolis
– Royal Road
– Standardized taxes
• Localization
– Satraps
– Tolerance
Authority: Centralization
• Achaemenid rulers held the official title of “The
Great King, King of Kings, King of Persia, King
of Countries”
• Darius ruled by the grace of Ahura Mazda, the
Zoroastrian god of light
– “A great god is Ahura Mazda, who created the earth,
who created the sky, who created man, who created
happiness for man, who made Darius king.”
• Zoroastrianism was a Persian religion which emphasized the
duality of good and evil and the role of individuals in
determining their own fate
Authority: Centralization
• King’s decision on all
matters of policy was
final
• King was commanderin-chief of the army and
ceremoniously took his
position in the center of
the formation
– There he was protected
by an elite royal
bodyguard
The Greeks called the bodyguard
the Ten Thousand Immortals
Persepolis: Centralization
• Soon after Darius
came to power he
began centralizing
his administration
• About 520 he
began building a
new capital in
Persepolis
– Would become the
nerve center of the
Persian empire
Palace of Darius
Persepolis: Centralization
• Persepolis had vast
reception halls, lavish
royal residences, and
a well-protected
treasury
• It was designed to be
not just an
administrative center
but also a monument
to the Achaemenid
dynasty
Gate of All Nations at
entrance to city
Persepolis: Centralization
• Persepolis was full of
advisors, ministers,
diplomats, scribes,
accountants, translators,
and other bureaucratic
officials
• Governors served as
agents of the central
administration to
oversee affairs in the
various regions
Persepolis is near modern
day Shiraz in Iran
Satraps: Localization
• Darius divided the
kingdom into 23
satrapies
– Administrative and
taxation districts
governed by satraps
• Satraps were royal
appointees, often
members of the royal
dynasty by birth or
marriage
– Satrapies tended to
become virtually
hereditary domains
Satrap receiving a visitor
Satraps: Localization
• Principal duty of the satrap was to collect taxes
and deliver them to the central treasury
• Before Darius, Cyrus had accepted irregular,
periodic “gifts” as tribute from subject lands and
cities
• Though often lavish, these gifts did not provide a
consistent and reliable source of income
– Darius changed all that
Standardized Taxes: Centralization
• Darius replaced the
irregular payments with
formal tax levies
• Each satrapy was
required to pay a set
quantity of silver– and in
some cases a levy of
horses and slaves also–
to the imperial court
• In order to expedite
payments, he issued
standard coins
Gold coin issued by
Darius, known after him
as a daric
Localization: Legal Tolerance
• Darius did not abolish the existing laws of
individual lands and peoples
• He had no uniform law code for the entire
empire
• He did direct legal experts to codify the
laws of the subject people and modify
them as necessary to harmonize them
with the legal principles observed by the
empire as a whole
Localization: Religious Tolerance
• “Now then, Tattenai, governor of TransEuphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you, their
fellow officials of that province, stay away from
there. Do not interfere with the work on this
temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews
and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God
on its site.”
– Ezra 6: 6-7
• Darius also funded the project and provided
harsh penalties for anyone who interfered
Royal Road: Centralization
• The Royal Road stretched
1,600 miles from the
Aegean port of Ephesus to
Sardis in Anatolia, through
Mesopotamia along the
Tigris River, to Susa in Iran,
with an extension to
Pasargadae and Persepolis
• Caravans took 90 days to
travel the route
• Inns along the way provided
lodging
• The road was well policed
for safety
Royal Road: Centralization
• Darius established 111 postal stations at 25 to
30 mile intervals along the route
• Each station kept a fresh supply of horses so
couriers could travel the entire route in one week
– Like the Pony Express
• Herodotus praised the couriers saying, “Neither
snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays
these couriers from the swift completion of their
appointed rounds.”
– Motto of the US Postal Service
Checks and Balances
• Since the satraps were often far away from
Persepolis, there was always the possibility they
might ally with local groups and become
independent of the central authority
• To prevent this, Darius:
– Placed a contingent of military officers and tax
collectors in each satrapy to serve as a check on the
satrap’s power and influence
– Appointed agents to serve as “the eyes and ears of
the king” by traveling throughout the empire
conducting surprise audits and gathering intelligence
Alexander the Great
• Ultimately the Persian Empire is going to
fall to Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.
– We’ll talk about the military conquests of
Alexander in Lesson 20
• Alexander is going to have an even larger
empire and he will rely largely on
established Persian institutions such as
the satrapies to govern it
How were populations controlled by
the Persians?
How were populations controlled by
the Persians?
• Combination of centralization and localization
– Centralization
• Authority
• Persepolis
• Royal Road
• Standardized taxes
– Localization
• Satraps
• Tolerance
Part 2: India
Theme: Social hierarchical controls
Lesson 16
ID & SIG
• caste system, jati, untouchables, varna
Where we left off in Lesson 13:
Roots of Hinduism
• The Vedas (“Wisdom”) were
collections of prayers and
hymns of the Indo-European
Aryans who migrated into India
around 1500 B.C.
– Reflect the knowledge that
priests needed to carry out
their functions
• The Aryans developed a social
structure with sharp
distinctions between
individuals and groups
according to the occupations
and roles in society
– These distinctions became
the basis of the caste
system
– Brahmins (priests) were at
the top of the caste system
Fanciful depiction of the IndoAryans entering India
Aryan Social Order
• Aryan social hierarchy served to maintain order
and stability that other societies such as
Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China maintained
through state and political structures
• The term caste comes from the Portuguese
word casta meaning a social class of hereditary
and usually unchangeable status
– Coined by Portuguese merchants and mariners who
visited India during the 16th Century
Caste and Varna
• As the Aryans settled in India they
interacted with more people to include the
darker-skinned Dravidians
• The Aryans began using the word varna
meaning “color” to refer to the major social
classes
– This suggests that social distinctions arose
partly from differences in skin color
Varnas
• After about 1000 B.C., Aryans increasingly
recognized four main varnas
– Brahmins (priests)
– Kshatriyas (warriors and aristocrats)
– Vaishyas (cultivators, artisans, and
merchants)
– Shudras (landless peasants and serfs)
Untouchables
• Some centuries later, the
Aryans added the
category of untouchables
• The untouchables
performed dirty or
unpleasant tasks such as
butchering animals or
handling dead bodies
• Such work made them
become so polluted that
their very touch could
defile individuals of
higher status
Members of the untouchable
class dispose of corpses after
the 2004 tsunami
Subcastes (Jati)
• Until about the 6th Century, the four varnas were
sufficient to maintain the desired social
distinctions, but increased urbanization and
specialization demanded a more complex
hierarchy
• Jati emerged as subcastes
– Largely determined by occupation
– By the 18th and 19th Centuries there were several
thousand jati
– Even untouchables had jati and some looked down
on others as more polluted and miserable than
themselves
Castes and Subcastes
• Prescribed an individual’s role in society in
the minutest of detail
– Members of the same jati ate together,
intermarried, and cared for their own sick
– Elaborate rules dictated how members of
different jati addressed each other and
communicated
– Violation of the rules could result in expulsion
from the larger group
Social Order
• Individuals came to identify themselves
more closely with their jati than with their
cities or states
• The caste system served as the principal
foundation of social stability in India, doing
what states and empires did to maintain
public order elsewhere
Mobility
• There were some provisions for movement
between classes, but individual upward
mobility was not easy
– More often it occurred for a group as
members of a jati improved their
condition collectively
• The caste system enabled foreign people
to find a place in Indian society
Expansion of the Caste System
• As more people migrated to India,
especially Turks and Muslim merchants,
the caste system continued to provide
order
• Immigrant groups gained recognition as
distinct groups under the umbrella of the
caste system
– Established codes of conduct both within their
group and in their interactions with others
Caste and Economic Development
• Since jati was so closely tied to occupation
they often took the form of workers’ guilds
that were able to powerfully represent the
group’s interests
• Merchants and artisans established
distinct jati based on their particular type of
commerce or industry
Geographic Expansion
• At first the caste system was confined to
northern India where the Aryans had first
entered
• As commercial relationships pushed
south, the caste system took hold there as
well
• By the 11th Century the caste system was
the principal basis of social organization in
southern India
Caste in India Today
• The preamble of India’s constitution forbids negative
public discrimination on the basis of caste.
• In reality, caste ranking and caste-based interaction
continue
– More prominent in the countryside than in urban settings and
more in the realms of kinship and marriage than in less personal
interactions
– “The National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) is part
of a wider struggle to abolish ‘untouchability’ and to ‘cast out
caste’. ‘Untouchability’ and caste discrimination continue to be a
brutal reality for more than 160 million Dalits living in India today,
despite the fact that more than half a century has passed since
India was born as a ‘democratic’ and independent state.”
• http://www.dalits.org/
How were populations controlled in
India?
How were populations controlled in
India?
• Caste system
– Maintained order by assigning an individual to
a place in the social hierarchy and established
a rigid code of behavior based on that
assignment
– Allowed immigrant groups to find a place in
society by recognizing them as distinct groups
within the overall system
Part 3: China
Theme: The costs of maintaining order
Lesson 16
ID & SIG
• Confucianism, Daoism, dynasty, Han
Feizi, junzi, legalism, mandate of heaven,
Period of the Warring States
Where we left off in Lesson 4
• Dynasty
– “A sequence of
powerful
leaders in the
same family”
• Shang
Dynasty
1766 to 1122
B.C.
• Zhou
Dynasty
1122 to 256
B.C.
Characteristics of a Civilization
• Intensive agricultural techniques
• Specialization of labor
• Cities
• A social hierarchy
• Organized religion and education
• Development of complex forms of economic
exchange
• Development of new technologies
• Advanced development of the arts. (This can
include writing.)
Social Hierarchy: Mandate of
Heaven
• Zhou justified their disposition of the
Shang by the mandate of heaven
– Earthly events were closely related to
heavenly affairs
– Heavenly powers granted the right to govern
to an especially deserving individual known as
the son of heaven
– Ruler served as a link between heaven and
earth
Social Hierarchy: Mandate of
Heaven
• The ruler had the duty to govern conscientiously,
observe high standards of honor and justice,
and maintain order and harmony within his
realm
– As long as he did, the heavenly powers would
approve his work, all would be in balance, and the
ruler would retain his mandate to govern
– If the ruler failed his duties, balance would be
disrupted, chaos would follow, and the displeased
heavenly powers would withdraw the mandate and
transfer it to a more deserving candidate
• This principle was maintained by Chinese rulers
until the 20th Century
Decline of the Zhou
• The Zhou relied on a decentralized
administration, entrusting power, authority, and
responsibility to subordinates who in return
owed allegiance, tribute, and military support to
the central government
• Subordinates gradually established their own
bases of power, setting up regional
bureaucracies, armies, and tax systems which
allowed them to consolidate their rule and
exercise their authority
• The Zhou began to lose control
Period of the Warring States (403
to 221 B.C.)
• The late centuries of the Zhou Dynasty brought
political confusion to China and led eventually to
chaos
• Territorial princes ignored the central
government and used their resources to build,
strengthen, and expand their own states
• They fought ferociously among themselves to
become the leader of the new political order
• Violence and chaos gave rise to the name
“Period of the Warring States”
Period of the Warring States
Education
• In response to this chaos, people began
thinking about the nature of society and
the proper roles of human beings in
society to hopefully identify principles that
would restore political and social order
– Confucianism
– Daoism
– Legalism
Education: Confucianism
• Founded by Kong
Fuzi (551-479 B.C.)
– Known in English as
Confucius
• Thoroughly practical
approach
– Moral, ethical, and
political thought
– Did not address
abstruse philosophical
or religious questions
Education: Confucianism
• Thought social harmony arose from the proper
ordering of human relationships rather than the
establishment of state offices
• Believed the best way to promote good
government was to fill official positions with
individuals who were both well educated and
extremely conscientious
– Concentrated on forming junzi (“superior individuals”)
who took a broad view of public affairs and did not
allow personal interests to influence their judgments
Education: Confucianism
• Even more important than
advanced education to the
ideal government official
was a strong sense of
moral integrity and a
capacity to deliver wise
and fair judgments
• Confucius encouraged his
students to cultivate high
ethical standards and hone
their facilities of analysis
and judgment
• Required social activism
• Ren
– An attitude of kindness and
benevolence or a sense of
humility
– Courtesy, respectfulness,
diligence, and loyalty
• Li
– A sense of propriety, which
called for individuals to
behave in conventionally
appropriate fashion
• Xiao
– Filial piety (reflective of the
high significance of the
family in Chinese society)
Education: Daoism
• Daoists were the most prominent
critics of Confucian activism
– Considered it pointless to waste
time and energy on problems
that defied solution
– Instead, Daoists devoted their
energies to reflection and
introspection, hoping that they
could understand the natural
principles that governed the
world and learn to live in
harmony with them
Laozi,
founder of Daoism
Education: Daoism
• Dao means “the way,” “the way of nature,” or “the way of
the cosmos”
• Dao is neither positive or negative
– It is a supremely passive force that does nothing but
accomplishes everything
– Individuals should tailor their behavior to Dao’s
passive and yielding nature
• Called for retreating from the world of politics and
administration and living a simple, accepting life
Chinese character for Dao
Education: Legalism
• Ultimately, order was restored through legalism
– Unlike the Dao, legalists cared nothing about
principles governing the world or the place of human
beings in nature
– Practical and efficient approach to statecraft in which
the state was strengthened and expanded at all costs
– Sought to channel as many people as possible into
cultivation or military service and discouraged them
from careers as merchants, entrepreneurs, scholars,
educators, philosophers, poets, or artists
Education: Legalism
• “Legalism”
– Self-interest must be
subordinated to the
interests of the state
– Strict legal regimen
that clearly outlined
expectations and
provided severe,
swiftly administered
punishment
– Harsh penalties for
even minor infractions
Education: Legalism
• Collective responsibility before the law
– Expected all members of a family or
community to observe others closely, forestall
any illegal activity, and report infractions
– Failure to do so meant all members of the
family or community were subject to
punishment along with the violator
• Unpopular program but eventually restored
order and brought about a unified China
Shang Yang (390 to 338 B.C.) and
Han Feizi (280 to 233 B.C.)
• Yang and Feizi were the chief developers
of the legalist doctrine
• Both served as advisors to the Qin court
• Both made serious enemies
– Yang was murdered, his body mutilated, and
his family annihilated
– Feizi was forced to commit suicide
Legalism: According to Han Feizi
• “...rewards should be rich and certain so that
the people will be attracted by them;
punishments should be severe and definite
so that the people will fear them; and laws
should be uniform and steadfast so that the
people will be familiar with them. Consequently,
the sovereign should show no wavering in
bestowing rewards and grant no pardon in
administering punishments, and he should add
honor to rewards and disgrace to punishments-when this is done, then both the worthy and
the unworthy will want to exert themselves...”
Qin: Unification
• Rulers of several regional states adopted
elements of the legalist doctrine
• The most enthusiastic were the Qin in western
China (where Yang and Feizi had overseen the
legalist doctrine’s implementation)
– The Qin soon dominated their neighbors and imposed
centralized rule throughout China
• Qin only lasted a few years, but their
successors, the Han, followed their policy of
centralized imperial administration
How were populations controlled in
China?
How were populations controlled in
China?
• Philosophically, as a response to the failed social and
political order of the Period of the Warring States
• Confucianism
– Cultivate high ethical standards and facilities of
analysis and judgment and apply them in a socially
active way
• Daoism
– Retreat from the world of politics and administration
and living a simple, accepting life
• Legalism
– Subordinate self-interests to the interests of the state
and harshly punish all violations
Legalism in Action
• When Rudy Giuliani became mayor of New York
City he vowed to clean up crime
• In five years the
overall crime rate
was down 50%
The Broken Window Theory
• A broken window (or a littered sidewalk or graffiti)
does no great harm to a neighborhood if promptly
addressed.
• Left untended, it sends a signal: that no one cares
about this neighborhood, that it is a safe place to
break things, to litter, to vandalize. Those who
engage in such behaviors will feel safe here. And
once these minor miscreants have become well
established, perhaps it will seem a safe enough
neighborhood in which to be openly drunk, in which
to beg for money, and possibly extort it.
• In short the smallest symptoms of antisocial
behavior will, left to fester, breed greater and greater
crimes, all the way down to murder.
The Debate
• Obviously crime went
down
• Critics however
argued that in the
process civil liberties
were curtailed
Barney Fife and Legalism: “Well,
today's eight-year-olds are
• Do you think the
tomorrow's teenagers. I say this
trade-off is worth it? calls for action and now. Nip it in the
bud. First sign of youngsters going
wrong, you've got to nip it in the
bud.”
Next Lesson
• Greece
Plato