Quaestio: Was Herodotus’ view of the Persians accurate?

Nunc Agenda: Take a handout (“The Mighty Persians”) from the homework desk and work

individually to read and complete the questions.

The Persian Empire

Persian Empire

• Four major empires- Achaemenid (558-330 BCE)- Seleucid (323-283 BCE)- Parthian (247 BCE-224 CE)- Sassanid (224-651 CE)

The Persians formed one of the largest empires in the ancient world and made great cultural achievements.

Why the Persians “Rule”• Large Centralized ____________• Ruled lightly

– Let people rule themselves– “Just give us tribute”

• Money Economy• Banned Slavery (for religious reasons)• Road Network• Postal Service• Professional Army

I. Growth and Organization

At the height of its power, the Persian Empire encompassed approx. 8 million square kilometers and spanned the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. It included Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of India, Saudi Arabia and Central Asia, Asia Minor, Thrace and Macedonia, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt as far west as Libya.

A. Cyrus the Great • Expanded the Persian Empire• Policy of toleration gained respect of those he conquered

Cyrus the Great - (c. 600 BC-530 BC)

B. Darius I • Strengthened army and empire

• Created satraps to help govern

• Standardized currency and

established a tax-collecting system

• Built the great Royal Road system

• Established a complex postal system

• Created a network of spies

C. Xerxes• Son of Darius• Attempted to

conquer Greece after attempts made by his father

The Fictional Xerxes

Blended Culture• Cyrus and Darius encouraged cultural unity• Shared culture led to peace• People worked together to improve empire

Communication• Network of high quality roads• Royal Road = world’s first long highway• Horseback messengers in shifts

D. Persian Achievements

Art and Architecture• Persepolis, monument to Persia’s glory• Greatest example of Persian architecture

Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid

Empire (c. 550-330 BCE)

Tribute is a payment from one ruler to another ruler. Paying tribute is a way to acknowledge the superior ruler.

Messengers relayed news on a network of high quality roads; 1500 mile-long Royal Road was world’s first long highway

Animals were a common subject at Persepolis

Staircase in Persepolis- a lion bringing down a horse

• Xerxes failed to conquer Greeks• Empire declined until conquered by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C.

E. Persia in Decline

II. Zoroastrianism• The Persians worshipped

many gods until Zoroaster started a new religion in about 600 B.C.

A. TeachingsZoroaster taught dualism – world controlled by struggle between good, the god Ahura Mazda, and evil, the spirit Ahriman

A Persian king fighting with Ahriman

Ahura Mazda from the Hall of One Hundred Columns

B. SlaveryZoroastrian forbade the practice of slavery. As a result, slavery was almost absent from Persia, unlike much of the ancient world… including Greece!

Herodotus (c. 484-425 B.C.)

• From the Greek colony of Halicarnassus in Asia Minor• Viewed as starting the genre of History• Biased toward the Greeks but respectful of other cultures, or at least interested to learn about them• Known as “The Father of History" and "The Father of Lies”•Because it was the first attempt at writing history, some of it sounds historical while some sounds much more legen…

…DARY!!!

• Where is Herodotus from, and why is that significant?• How did Herodotus learn about the non-Greek world? Was his information trustworthy? Why or why not?• According to the reading, how is the writing of Herodotus different than the way, for example, you textbooks are written?• According to Herodotus, why did he write The Histories? (Box 2)• Before Herodotus, what did the term historia mean? How did it's meaning change?• What were the two titles or nicknames given to Herodotus, and why was he given these names? (answer separately for both titles)• How did Herodotus' approach to recording history differ from historians that came after him, such as Thucydides?• How does Herodotus deal with myths about gods and why was that radical for his time?• Read the paragraph from The Histories in Box 3. What is Herodotus saying about how people view other cultures as compared to their own? Give a specific example.