Quaestio: Was Herodotus

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

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

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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

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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.
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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)
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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

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C. Xerxes

• Son of Darius
• Attempted to conquer Greece after attempts made
  by his father

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The Fictional Xerxes
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D. Persian Achievements

• 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 worlds first long highway
• Horseback messengers in shifts

• Art and Architecture
• Persepolis, monument to Persias glory
• Greatest example of Persian architecture

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Tribute is a payment from one ruler to another
ruler. Paying tribute is a way to acknowledge
the superior ruler.
Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the
Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE)
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Messengers relayed news on a network of high
quality roads 1500 mile-long Royal Road was
worlds first long highway
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Animals were a common subject at Persepolis
Staircase in Persepolis- a lion bringing down a
horse
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E. Persia in Decline

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

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II. Zoroastrianism

• The Persians worshipped many gods until Zoroaster
  started a new religion in about 600 B.C.

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A. Teachings

• Zoroaster 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
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B. Slavery

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

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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

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DARY!!!
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• 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.