Persian Empire

Indo-European Migrations

Hittites

Aryans

Persians

Critical Intro: (2-3 sentences)Make an argument for the most significant impact of the Persians.

Persian Empire

Persian Empire and Royal Road

• Cyrus creates Persian Empire• Conquers from Indus Valley in the east to Anatolia in

West, and the Fertile Crescent

Cyrus the Great•1st great king of Persian Empire•Ruled subjects with Tolerance•Respected religions of others

Darius I• Created imperial bureaucracy•Divided empire into 20 provinces•People could maintain own religion, laws, language•Established idea of nationalities•Greatest failure = could not conquer Greece

Persian Provinces

Darius fails to conquer Greece

Zoroastrianism- Two spiritual armies fighting for possession of souls = Good vs. Evil- Good god = Ahura Mazda – Supreme god of truth and light- Evil god = Ahriman – God of evil and darkness- Your choices in life determines your fate

Zoroaster

Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire

Critical Intro:Better governing style:Iron Fist orToleranceDefend your answer.

Critical Intro:How does Zoroastrianism compare to other religions of the times?