Persian Empire

1. Persian Empire The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland,and beyond in Western Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The Persian empire has become what we know today as Iran.

2. Origins • Persians were originally a nomadic group. • They lived in what today is southwestern Iran. • The Assyrians originally controlled this territory, but they were replaced by Babylon, which was replaced by the Persians. • Cyrus went on to unify the Persians in 559 B.C.

3. -Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus II of Persia and Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Persian Empireunder the Achaemenid dynasty. -As leader of the Persian people in Anshan, he conquered the Medes, Babylonians, and the Israelites and unified the Persian kingdom. -As the king of Persia, he reigned over the new empire from 559 B.C. until his death. The empire expanded under his rule, eventually conquering most of Southwest Asia, much of Central Asia, and much of the Indian frontier to create one of the largest nations the world had seen. In August 530 B.C. Cyrus was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II, who managed to conquer Egypt during his short rule.

4. It was through the organization of the empire he became the true successor of Cyrus the Great. He divided the Persian Empire into twenty provinces, each under the supervision of a governor or satrap.The satrap position was usually hereditary and largely autonomous, allowing each province its own distinct laws, traditions, and elite class. Every province, however, was responsible for paying a gold or silver tribute to the emperor; many areas, such as Babylonia, underwent severe economic decline resulting from these quotas. Each province also had an independent financial controller and an independent military coordinatoras well as the satrap, who controlled administration and the law. All three reported directly to the king.

5. Royal Road • Darius made the Royal Road as it is recognized today by improving the road bed and connecting the parts together in a unified whole, primarily as a quick mode of communication using the kingdom's messengers.

6. The Persian Royal Road was an ancient highway built by the Persian king Darius in the 5th Century BC.Couriers could travel 1,677 miles (2,699 km) in seven days.

7. Royal Road Today

8. -Xerxes, son of Darius the Great and Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great, was appointed King of Persia by his father in preference to his elder half-brothers, who were born before Darius had become king. After his accession in October 485 BC he suppressed the revolts in Egypt and Babylon that had broken out in 486 BC and appointed his brother Achaemenes as governor, or satrap, over Egypt.

9. Zoroastrianism • They were monotheistic. • Persian religion was called Zoroastrianism. • Zoroaster, a prophet of the religion, was born in 660 B.C. • Believed that Ahuramazda was the supreme god. He had to defeat an evil spirit when the world was created. Humans helped in the battle, ultimately choosing good over evil and triumphing.

10. Fall of Persian Empire • -The Islamic conquest of Persia (633–651) led to the end of the Empire and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. • -However, the achievements of the previous Persian civilizations were not lost, but were to a great extent absorbed by the new Arab Islamic influence.