Ancient Persia and Greece

1
Ancient Persia and Greece
Relief sculpture found at Persepolis, which is
located in Iran.
2
Persian Origin

• Iran
• Organized by clans
• Leaders collected taxes
• Considerable military power
• Equestrian skills
• Expert archers
• Frequently raided wealthy Mesopotamia

3
Cyrus the Achaemenid

• Reigned 588-530 BC
• Laid foundation of 1st Persian empire
• Ruled in Pasargadae

4
Conquest Timeline

• 553 BC initiated rebellion against median
  overlord
• 548 BC all of Iran under Cyruss control
• 546 conquered kingdom of Lydia in Anatolia
  (present day turkey)
• 545-539 BC campaigned in central Asia and
  Bactria
• 539 BC seized Babylonia
• In 20 years, Cyrus built empire that stretched
  from India to Egypt

5
Cyruss Successors

• 530 BC Cyrus killed in battle
• Cambyses reigned 530-522 BC
• Cyruss son
• Conquered Egypt in 525
• Darius reigned 521-486 BC

6
The Great One

• Darius greatest emperor
• Extended empire
• Captured Gandhara, Thrace, Macedonia and the West
  coast of the Black Sea
• Empire stretched over 1,800 miles
• Population of 35 million

7
Governing

• 70 ethnic groups
• Lines of communication
• Tax and administration
• techniques

Consider the problems we are having with the
immigration of only a few ethnic groups in the
United States today. Multiply that by 70 and you
will have an idea of what the Achaemenid rulers
dealt with!
8
Persepolis

• Nerve center

• 520 BCE New capitol city at Persepolis
• Reception halls, royal residences, treasury
• Darius worked to centralize the administration

9
The Satrapies

• 23 Satrapies
• Admin and tax districts governed by Satraps
• No direct rule
• Most Satraps were Persian, but rulers recruited
  local officials to fill almost all administrative
  posts below level of Satrap
• Always a risk Satrapies may become independent or
  threaten the Empire

10
The Satrapies
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Checks and Balances

• Military officers/tax collectors
• Check on the Satraps power
• Imperial spies eyes and ears of the King
• Surprise audits, intelligence reports
• Without these checks, could have easily split
  into hundreds of independent regional kingdoms

12
Taxes

• 1 standard of laws
• Income for rulers
• Bureaucracy and army
• Silver, horses and slaves annually
• Standardized coins to aid payment of taxes
• Side effect fostered trade throughout the Empire

13
Courts

• 520 BC Legal system
• Didnt abolish existing laws
• Didnt impose uniform law code
• Codified law

14
Roads and Communication

• Built good roads to unite empire
• Persian Royal Road
• Parts paved in stone
• Stretched over 1,600 miles
• 90 days to travel
• Inns along the way
• Well-policed

15
Persian Royal Road
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Courier Service

• 111 postal stations spaced every 25-30 miles
• Each station had a fresh supply of horses
• Enabled couriers to speed from one end to the
  other in 1 week!

"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of
night shallstay the the Persian Courier from his
appointed rounds. - Herodotus