The Persian Empire

2000 BC – 100 BC

The Persian Empire 2000 BC – 100 BC

Spoke an Indo-European Language

Originally ruled by the Medes

Cyrus the Great led a rebellion to win independence, united the Medes and Persians

Darius and Xerxes I would spread rule of Persia further

It was the mightiest Empire of the time

Had several disputes with Greece

Government

Rulers concerned with justice

Allowed conquered people to keep own leaders, language, and religion

King had spies to check regional rulers

Built roads to connect empire

Became extension of Silk Road

Eventually defeated by Alexander the Great

Building an Empire

-the son of Cyrus the Great conquered Egypt

-Darius built a network of public roads, introduced a uniform set of weights and measurements and established several capital cities

-Persia became the largest empire that had ever been built

-taxes were paid by the people to the king

-trade made the Persians very wealthy

Religion

-at first, Persians worshipped many gods

-in 570 BC, a religious leader named Zoroaster, introduced Zoroastrianism

-there were only two gods

1. the god of truth, light, and goodness

2. the god of darkness and evil

-the whole universe was the battleground between the two forces

-if you lived a good life, you went to Heaven

-if you lived an evil life, you went to Hell

Persian Empire

Persia’s Accomplishments

-they learned the practice of using coins

-Persians moved from a bartering to a “money economy”

-they built 100’s of miles of roads using gravel and stone

-a postal service was established to make communication easier

Geography-large mountainous peninsula, the islands of the Aegean Sea, and the coast of what is present-day Turkey

-farming was hard because of the hilly and stony terrain so they had to rely on trade

-they produced wine, olive oil, and pottery which they traded

-trade cultural diffusion

-the exposure led to the Greeks using the Phoenician alphabet

The Rise of Greek City-StatesMountains and the sea caused Greek centers of population to be cut off from one another. As a result, separate city-states developed with their own governments and laws. The Greek word for city-state is polis.

Sparta-one of the most important city-states

-located in the southern part of Greece

-military state

-in 725 BC, the Spartans conquered their neighbors and forced them to farm for them

-individualism and new ideas were discouraged

-strict obedience and self-discipline were highly valued….for example, if a newborn Spartan baby was found to be unhealthy, it was left on a hillside to die

Athens- Developed the first Democracy

- a democratic city-state where voting on issues took place

-the Citizens Assembly was the main governing body

-all citizens were welcome but only the first 5,000 were allowed

-the Citizens Assembly met about ten times a year

-the assembly made laws

-even poor citizens could be on the assembly

-this type of government became known as a democracy

-all citizens were allowed to participate in government