THE PERSIAN EMPIRE: The Achaemenid Dynasty

1. THE PERSIAN EMPIRE: The Achaemenid Dynasty (550–330 B.C.)

2. Empire “a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority; especially: one having an emperor as chief of state “ ~ Merriam-Webster Dictionary

3. Persian Empires • Contemporary Iran • Four major dynasties • Achaemenids (558-330 BCE) • Seleucids (323-283 BCE) • Parthians (247 BCE-224 CE) • Sasanids (224-651 CE)

4. Achaemenid Empire (558-330 BCE) • Migration of Medes and Persians from central Asia, before 1000 BCE • Indo-Europeans • Capitalized on weakening Assyrian and Babylonian empires • Cyrus (r. 558-530 BCE) founder of dynasty • “Cyrus the Shepherd” • Peak under Darius (r. 521-486 BCE) • Ruled Indus to the Aegean • Capital Persepolis

5. The Persian Empire Homeland lay on the Iranian plateau Famous monarchs -Cyrus (reigned 557-530 BCE) -Darius (reigned 522-486 BCE) Persian conquests reached from Egypt to India A single state of some 35 million people Cultural diversity Centered on an elaborate cult of kingship

6. Effective administrative system Persian governors (satraps) were placed in each of the empire’s twenty-three provinces Lower-level officials drawn from local authorities System of imperial spies Respect for non-Persian cultural traditions -Cyrus allowed Jews who had been exiled in Babylon to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple in Jerusalem in 539 BCE Model for future regimes with its administrators, tax collectors, record keepers, and translators

7. System of standardized coinage Predictable taxes levied on each province Newly dug canal linking the Nile with the Red Sea A “royal road”, some 1,700 miles long -Facilitating communication and commerce

8. Persepolis

9. Persepolis Gate of Xerxes at Persepolis

10. Persepolis

11. Persepolis

12. Ancient Persepolis

13. Persepolis

14. The People of Persepolis