The Empires of Persia
• Rise of Persia through the Sasanid
Dynasty
The Persian Empire
Persian Empires
• Contemporary Iran
• Four major dynasties
– Achaemenids (558-330 BCE)
– Seleucids (323-283 BCE)
– Parthians (247 BCE-224 CE)
– Sasanids (224-651 CE)
Achaemenid Empire
(558-330 BCE)
• Migration of Medes and Persians from central
Asia, before 1000 BCE
– Indo-Europeans
• Capitalized on weakening Assyrian and
Babylonian empires
• Cyrus (r. 558-530 BCE) founder of dynasty
– “Cyrus the Shepherd”
• Peak under Darius (r. 521-486 BCE)
– Ruled Indus to the Aegean
– Capital Persepolis
Cyrus the Great
 A tolerant ruler  he
allowed
different cultures within
his
empire to keep their own
institutions.
 The Greeks called him a
“Law-Giver.”
580 – 529 B. C. E.
 The Jews called him “the
anointed of the Lord.” (In
537,
Tomb of Cyrus the Great
Iranian artists
rendition of Cyrus
the Great
The Cyrus Cylinder, sometimes described as the
"first charter of human rights"
Darius I (the Great)
As portrayed on a Greek vase
Darius the Great
(526 – 485 B. C. E.)
 Built Persepolis.
 He extended the
Persian Empire to
the
Indus River in
northern
India. (2 mil. sq.
mi.)
 Built a canal in
Egypt. Precursor to
the modern-day
Suez Canal
Persepolis
Persepolis
Gate of Xerxes at Persepolis
Persepolis
Persepolis
Ancient Persepolis
Persepolis
The People of Persepolis
Persian Archers & Soldiers
Darius the Great
(526 – 485 B. C. E.)
 Established a tax-collecting system.
(tributary system)
 Divided the empire into districts
called SATRAPIES.
 Built the great Royal Road system.
 Established a complex postal
system.
 Created a network of spies called
“the King’s eyes and ears.”
Achaemenid Administration:
The Satrapies
• 23 Administrative divisions
• Satraps Persian, but staff principally local
• System of spies, surprise audits
– Minimized possibilities of local rebellion
• Standardized currency for taxation
purposes
• Massive road building, courier services
Technologies
• Qanat: System of underground canals
– Avoided excessive loss to evaporation
– System began in Persia but spread
throughout the world
• Extensive road-building
– Persian Royal Road
• 1,600 miles, some of it paved
– Courier service (the Pony Express of its era)
Qanat System
Qanat System
Wind tower
and qanat
used for
cooling.
By 400 BCE Persian engineers had already mastered the
technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert in
naturally cooled refrigerators called yakhchal (meaning ice pits)
which were connected to qanats..
Persian “Royal Road”
Decline of the Achaemenid
Empire
• Policy of toleration under Cyrus, Darius
– Rebuilding of Temple in Jerusalem
• Xerxes (486-465 BCE) attempts to impose
Persian stamp (tighter control) on
satrapies
• Increasing public discontent
– revolts begin with Ionian Greeks leading to
the Persian Wars
Xerxes I
Persian Wars (500-479 BCE)
• Rebellious Greeks in Ionia
• Peninsular Greeks join in (led by Athens)
• Persians defeated at Marathon (490 BCE),
retreated, ending the first phase of the Persian
Wars (by a primarily Athenian force)
• Upon the death of Darius, his son Xerxes I
assembled one of the largest militaries ever to
invade Greece again in 480 BCE
• In 479 BCE at the Battle of Plataea, the Persians
were defeated for the final time in Greece.
• Further Greek revolts took place of the next 25
years.
• 300
Seleucid Empire
• Alexander the Great conquers the
Achaemenid Empire (334-331 BCE) at the
Battle of Guagemala
• Alexander burns Persepolis to the ground
• Alexander the Great dies suddenly
• Generals divide empire, best part goes to
Seleucus (r. 305-281 BCE)
• Attacked by rebellion in India, invasion of
Parthians
The Achaemenid
and Selucid Empires, 558-83 BCE
Parthian Empire
• Seminomadic Parthians drive Seleucus
out of Iran
• Federated governmental structure
• Especially strong cavalry
– Alfalfa fed horses grew larger than steppe
ponies and enabled heavy armor
• Weakened by ongoing wars with Romans
• Fell to internal rebellion of feuding satraps
Sasanid Empire (224-651 CE)
• Claimed descent from Achaemenids
• Continual conflicts with Rome, Byzantium
in the west, Kush in the east
• Overwhelmed by Arab conquest in 651
• Persian administration and culture
absorbed into local Islamic culture
The Parthian
and Sasanid Empires, 247 BCE-651 CE
Persian Society
• Early steppe traditions
– Warriors, priests, peasants
– Family/clan kinship very important
• Creation of bureaucrat class with empire
– Tax collectors
– Record keepers
– Translators
Slave Class
• Largest slave class of any society at that
point in history
• Prisoners of war, conquered populations
• Debtors
• Children, spouses also sold into slavery
• Principally domestic servitude
– Some agricultural labor, public works
Persian Economy
• Several areas exceptionally fertile
• Long-distance trade benefits from Persian
road-building
• Goods from India especially valued
• Each region provided a variety of finished
and raw goods
• Coined money from the Lydians reinforced
economy
Zoroastrianism
• Early Aryan influences on Persian
religious traditions
• Zarathustra (late 7th-early 6th c. BCE)
• Prophet of Ahura Mazda, against Angra
Mainu
• Priests of Zarathustra known as Magi
• Oral teachings until Sasanid period
composed Gathas
Zarathustra [Zoroaster], 6c
BCE:
Good Thoughts, Good Deed, Good Words
“Tree of Life”
Dualistic Battle of
Good vs. Evil
Ahura Mazda
“Holy Spirit”
Ahriman
“Destructive
Spirit”
Zend-Avesta
(The “Book of Law”)
The “Sacred Fire”  the force to
fight
evil.
Fortunes of Zoroastrianism
• Under Alexander: Massacre of Magi,
burning Zoroastrian temples
• Weak Parthian support
• Major revival under Sasanids, persecution
of non-Zoroastrians
• Discrimination under Islam
Extent of Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Faravahar, or Guardian Spirit: The depiction of the
human soul before birth and after death.
Other Religious Groups in the
Persian Empire
• Judaism, Christianity & Islam later influenced by
Zoroastrianism
–
–
–
–
Omnipotent God responsible for creation of all
Dualism
Good will prevail over evil
Humans must strive for good, followed by judgment: reward
or punishment
• Major Mesopotamian communities of Jews
• Composition of the Talmud, c. 500 CE
– “constitution of Judaism”
• Buddhism, Christianity and Manichaeism also
survived