The Persian Empire

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The Persian Empire

• HST 397
• Prof. Marc Cooper

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General Comments

• Conquests of Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius created
  the worlds largest empire in a period of less
  than 50 years.
• The Empire stretched from the Danube in Europe to
  the Indus in India
• Most important Persian source is the Behistun
  trilingual inscription
• Old Persian
• Elamite
• Babylonian
• Our sources are mostly Greek
• Heavily Biased
• Interested entirely in the west

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The Rise and Expansion of Persia
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Cyrus the Great

• Achaemenes founder of a local Persian Dynasty
• Cyrus came to power in 559 BCE
• By 550 Cyrus defeated Media and incorporated it
  into his kingdom
• Cyrus defeated Croesus of Lydia in 547
• Campaigned in eastern Iran from 546-540
• Conquered Babylonia in 539
• Died fighting in northeastern Iran in 530

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Cambyses (529 522)

• Conquered Egypt in 525
• Made himself king of Egypt
• Fully incorporated Egypt into the empire
• Over extended his forces attempting to control
  Libya and the Saharan oases
• Revolt of Gaumata began in the spring of 522
• Gaumata recognized as king in Babylon in summer
• Cambyses died from an accidental infection on the
  way to crush the revolt
• Gaumata killed by Persian nobles led by Darius

Cambyses with the Apis bull
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Darius the Great (521 486 BCE)

• Cousin of Cambyses
• Defeated rivals in a brief civil war
• Incorporated Lybia and reduced Nubia to vassalage
• Incorporated Gandhara (upper Indus valley)
• Reduced much of Greece to vassalage, conquered
  the Balkans south of the Danube and campaigned
  north of the Danube

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Darius and the Greeks

• Scythian expedition failed disastrously in 513
• Scythians could not be brought to battle
• Ionians holding the bridge across the Danube (the
  only possibility for retreat) destroyed the
  bridge
• Ionians revolted in 499
• Athens supported the Ionians and sacked Sardis
• By 494 the Ionian towns were back in Persian
  hands
• Darius punished Athens with a naval expedition in
  490

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Persian War

• Expedition in 490 defeated by Athenians and
  Plataeans at Marathon
• Darius dies in 488
• Egyptian revolt broke out in 486
• Xerxes invaded Greece in 480 with an army of 2.6
  million men and a navy of at least 200 ships
• Navy defeated at Salamis by Athens in 479
• Army defeated by coalition led by Sparta in 479
• Athenian navy decisively defeated Persian navy of
  Mt. Mycale in 479
• Athens continued the war against Persia through
  449 when Athens and Persia accepted the Peace of
  Calias
• Persians controlled Greek politics from 413 to
  336 by bribing Greek politicians

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Seal of Darius
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Political Development
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Problem of unity

• Size of empire greater than any previous state
• Administration difficult
• Rebellions common
• Power struggles among elite constant feature of
  government

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Insurrection of 522-518

• Cambyses younger brother Bardiya proclaimed
  himself king in 522
• Many claimants to the conquered kingdoms appeared
• Nebuchadnezzer son of Nabonidus
• Hashatritu descendent of Cyaxares claimed Median
  throne
• Psametikus III appeared in Egypt

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Darius reforms

• Changed empire from a group of conquered kingdoms
  into 20 provinces, satrapies
• Provinces broke up ancient kingdoms
• Strengthened Persian/Median cohesion
• Promoted many Medes to high office
• Built new capital at Persepolis ca. 518
• Promoted Zoroastrianism
• Dualistic
• Proclaimed an end of times
• Divine judgment
• Imperial law code
• Road system joined Sardis to Babylon and
  Persepolis

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Organization of the Empire
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Toleration as policy

• Persians respected the many political-religious
  traditions in their empire
• Persepolis reliefs depict many ethnic groups
• Ethnoi included as tribute bearers
• Ethnoi depicted as throne bearers
• Decrees rendered in many languages
• Persian king developed into the patron of local
  religious cults
• Cyrus allowed the Temple in Jerusalem to be
  rebuilt
• Returned the Esagila to the worship of Marduk and
  even participated in the New Year ritual

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Tribute

• Central feature of administration was the
  collection of tribute
• Each satrapy was assessed according to its
  ability to pay
• Tribute said to be paid in gold, silver, horses,
  and eunuch boys (Babylonia paid 1000 talents
  silver annually)
• Alexander is said to have captured 180,000
  talents of gold (even if this is exaggerated, it
  was still much more than Greece could absorb
  without inflation)
• Tribute used to
• Supply court
• Supply army
• Bribes for Greek politicians were usually a
  talent or two of silver

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Weakness of the empire

• Military weakness became endemic at the end of
  the 5th century
• Spartan king Agesilaos defeated Persians easily
  with a tiny army in 401 and would have conquered
  Anatolia if he had not been recalled
• Greek mercenaries became decisive in battles for
  the throne
• Anabasis tells the story of mercenaries
• Greeks could march through the heart of the
  empire without serious resistance from the
  Persians
• Only corrupt politicians, according to Isocrates,
  kept the Greeks from conquering Persia

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Final thoughts

• Mesopotamian science remained vital during the
  age of Alexanders successors developing
  numerical astronomy into the first true
  predictive science
• Cuneiform tablets continued to be written until
  the 1st or even 2nd century CE
• Mesopotamian culture continued to thrive into
  Hellenistic and Parthian times, but the oldest
  layer of Sumerian tradition and cuneiform
  literature were forgotten once the Seleucids
  moved away from Babylon