The Persian EmpireBy: Matt Weckwerth

Persian ExpansionThe Persian Empire was the largest empire in

World history, which spanned from Western Europe, to Egypt, to all of the Middle East. This vast empire lasted from 550-330 B.C.E.

Persian ReligionZoroastrianism was the main religion of the

Persian Empire. This new adaptation in religion was a change, as prior religion was based on polytheism. Zoroastrianism is based on monotheism, which was a very radical change in the Persian Empire’s society.

The Greco-Persian WarsThe Persian Empire continued to strive to

expand their borders. Upon arrival in Greece, they saw that Greece’s army was small, which led to overconfidence. The Persian army consisted of at least 100,000 soldiers, while Greece only had about 300.

The Greco-Persian WarsThe impossible happened as the 300 Greek

Spartans took down the massive Persian army, thus keeping their land and gaining confidence to take over further lands. This was the beginning of the end for the Persian Empire.

Greek ConquestThe loss to Greece left the Persian Empire

susceptible to invasion. Greece took advantage of this, and a young man by the name of Alexander began his conquest of the Persian lands. He was successful in defeating the great Persian Empire, burning the capital and ending the reign of Persian rule.

Persia TodayPersia today is currently the country of Iran.

Many traditional Persian values from the great Persian Empire are still in existence today. An empire as large as the Persian Empire will not happen again, but learning of the conquest and the rise and fall teaches us a lot about how life was like in ancient times.