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Rise of Achaemenids: Iran & Persian Empire

Explore the rise of the Achaemenids in Iran and the establishment of the Persian Empire. Discover their military success, Zoroastrianism, and the reforms brought by Darius. Learn about the ancient Greeks and their expansion in the Mediterranean world.

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Rise of Achaemenids: Iran & Persian Empire

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  1. Chapter 6 New Empires in Iran and Greece, 2000 B.C.E.–651 C.E.

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  4. The Rise of the Achaemenids in Iran, 1000–330 B.C.E. • Indo-Europeans migrated into western Iran ca. 1000 B.C.E. • Heartland of Iran is Persis, in the southwest • The Persian Empire was ruled by the Achaemenid dynasty, 550–330 B.C.E. • The empire stretched from Samarkand in the east to Egypt and Turkey in the west, the largest empire of its time, between 30 million and 35 million people. • Achaemenid Persian model of government was used widely and successfully. • The Greek historian Herodotus wrote an account of Darius’s rise to power.

  5. The Rise of the Achaemenids in Iran, 1000–330 B.C.E. • Zoroastrianism • Avesta is a book of Zoroastrianism, the religion of Persia. Also our main source for early Persian history. • Zarathustra believed in Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Truth, who created heaven and Earth, day and night, darkness and light. • Ahura Mazda also gave birth to twin spirits, one good and one evil. The good and evil spirits, deities, and demons, are in perpetual conflict. • Zarathustra believed that each person had to choose between good and evil. • He also believed that there will be a day of judgment in which Ahura Mazda will decide the fate of each person. • Choosing good means thinking good thoughts, doing good deeds, and telling the truth.

  6. The Rise of the Achaemenids in Iran, 1000–330 B.C.E. • The Military Success of the Persian Empire, 550–486 B.C.E. • Iran remained tribal until 612 B.C.E., when the Medes tribe captured the Assyrian capital • In 550 B.C.E., Persis tribe led by Cyrus defeated the Medes, established Achaemenid dynasty. • The Royal Road linked the Aegean coast with the capital at Susa. • Couriers could cover the 1600-mile Royal Road in less than twenty days. • Cyrus did not force conquered people to change their religions or cultures, made offerings to local gods. • Contact with Zoroastrianism may have introduced Jews to concepts of an afterlife and a devil.

  7. The Rise of the Achaemenids in Iran, 1000–330 B.C.E. • Darius’s Coup, 522 B.C.E. • Cyrus’s son Cambyses inherited the throne and continued his father’s conquests. • In 522 B.C.E., Darius and a group of rebels killed Gaumata, a pretender to the throne after Cambyses. • Darius married the daughter of Cyrus, Artystone, to emphasize his links to the Achaemenid dynasty, to which he was only distantly related. • Darius continued the Achaemenid expansion into Thrace and the Indus Valley.

  8. The Rise of the Achaemenids in Iran, 1000–330 B.C.E. • Darius's Administration • Darius reformed the Persian administration, tax system, and legal system. • Reform of the legal system involved appointing judges for life. • Darius divided the empire into provinces called satrapies. • Each province was governed by a satrap, chosen from the local populace. • Each satrap was required to collect a fixed amount of revenue each year. • The ritual center of Darius’s empire was Persepolis • Darius was succeeded by his son Xerxes in 486 B.C.E. who was killed by his younger son • Assassinations became common in the Achaemenid dynasty for a century.

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  10. Ancient Greece and the Mediterranean World, 2000–334 B.C.E. • Greek Expansion in the Mediterranean, 2000–1200 B.C.E. • The earliest civilization in the Greek region was the Minoan. • In order to farm the area, they used irrigation channels, growing wheat, olives, and grapes in different regions. • The Minoans were located on the island of Crete, ca. 2000–1500 B.C.E. • Their writing, Linear A, has not been translated. • the Minoans traded widely • Mycenaeans based at the city-state of Mycenae, ca. 1600–1200 B.C.E. • Wrote in Linear B, which was only deciphered in 1952. • If there was a real historic Trojan War as Homer described it, it was during the Mycenaean period.

  11. Ancient Greece and the Mediterranean World, 2000–334 B.C.E. • The Phoenicians and the World’s First Alphabet • Phoenician homeland was in modern day Lebanon ca. 900 B.C.E. • Phoenicians invented a new system of writing, the alphabet. • The Phoenician alphabet had twenty-two letters. Each letter represented a consonant; there were no vowels. • The alphabet letters only depicted sounds; they were not pictorial symbols. • Phoenicians had established ports along the north coast of Africa, including Carthage by 814 B.C.E. • They also had ports along the southern coast of Spain. • Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet and their geographic knowledge.

  12. Ancient Greece and the Mediterranean World, 2000–334 B.C.E. • The Rise of the Greek City-State, 800–500 B.C.E. • The polis, or city-state, emerged about 800 B.C.E. • Each polis was independent and had its own law codes, courts, and army. Each polis had a guardian deity and a temple dedicated to it within the city walls. • The Greeks believed in many gods, headed by Zeus and his wife Hera. • Greeks established over 250 city-states along the Mediterranean and Black Seas. • Greek colonies remained linked to the mother city by trade. • major trade items included olive oil, wine, pottery, and lumber. • Sparta and Athens

  13. Ancient Greece and the Mediterranean World, 2000–334 B.C.E. • The Greco-Persian Wars, 490–479 B.C.E. • Athenian army consisted of citizen-soldiers • Greek soldiers were called hoplites. Had better shields, stronger armor, and better formations than the Persians. Organized into units called phalanxes, eight men deep • Athens first defeated the Persians at Marathon in 490 B.C.E. • Xerxes assemblies a force so large he hopes Athens will surrender. • Instead, Athens and Sparta form an alliance. First ever coalition of Greek city-states • Held the Persians at Thermopylae, until the Persians found a hidden passage through the mountains • Persians eventually forced out of Greek territory

  14. Ancient Greece and the Mediterranean World, 2000–334 B.C.E. • Culture and Politics in Athens, 480–404 B.C.E. • During the fifth century, over 100 tragedies were written. Three great playwrights of this period: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. • In 478 B.C.E., Athens formed the Delian League, a group of city-states who wanted to drive the Persians from the Greek world. • Athens then used the Delian League funds to build up the Acropolis. The most important monument was the Parthenon, dedicated to Athena. • From 431–404 B.C.E., Sparta and Athens fought the Peloponnesian Wars over Delian League leadership. • Sparta defeated Athens, with the help of Persia in 404 B.C.E.

  15. Ancient Greece and the Mediterranean World, 2000–334 B.C.E. • Athens as a Center for the Study of Philosophy • Greek philosophy began ca. 600 B.C.E. in Miletus, on the eastern Aegean. • Miletus school believed that the universe came from a single physical element. • First philosophers to propose a rational explanation rather than a divine one for the creation of the universe • Socrates, 469–399 B.C.E., stressed virtue, excellence • Plato, 429–347 B.C.E., wrote Dialogues, founded Academy • Aristotle, 384–322 B.C.E., was tutor to Alexander the Great. • Aristotle taught that conclusions had to be explained using logic, reasoning from one point to the next.

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  17. Map 6-1 p149

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  20. Alexander the Great and his Successors, 334 B.C.E.–30 B.C.E. • Philip and Alexander: from Macedon to Empire, 359–323 B.C.E. • Philip II, r. 359–336 B.C.E., made Macedon powerful • Philip reorganized the army into a professional force. • Alexander divided his army into two groups: infantry phalanxes and cavalry. • Philip II was assassinated in 336 B.C.E. • Alexander defeated the Persians in 331 B.C.E. • Alexander took over the Persian administration intact and adopted the satrapies. He also copied Achaemenid military, administration, and tax systems • Alexander’s army stopped at the Hyphasis River in India, 326 B.C.E. Began to march back to Babylon, where Alexander died in 323 B.C.E.

  21. Alexander the Great and his Successors, 334 B.C.E.–30 B.C.E. • The Legacy of Alexander the Great • Alexander’s rule spread Hellenization. • Alexander’s empire was split into three sections, ruled by his generals. • Ptolemy took Egypt. • Antigonas took Greece and Macedon. • Selecus took Mesopotamia, Mediterranean coast, and satrapies to the Indus River Valley. • In Egypt, Alexander had founded a city called Alexandria in 332 B.C.E. • All texts that traveled to Alexandria were copied by the library. • In 240 B.C.E., Greek astronomer Eratosthenes was appointed librarian of Alexandria.. • He measured the circumference of the Earth, estimating it at 24,427 miles.

  22. Map 6-2 p157

  23. Figure 6-1 p161

  24. The Parthians and the Sasanians, Heirs to the Persians, 247 B.C.E.–651 C.E. • Parthian empire, 247 B.C.E. - 224 C.E. • Zoroastrian but religiously tolerant • Famed mounted archers • Sassanian dynasty, 224 C.E.-651 C.E. • Persecuted new religions like Manicheanism and Christianity

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