1 / 16

Ancient Persia and Greece

Ancient Persia and Greece. Relief sculpture found at Persepolis, which is located in Iran. Persian Origin. Iran Organized by clans Leaders collected taxes Considerable military power Equestrian skills Expert archers Frequently raided wealthy Mesopotamia. Cyrus the Achaemenid.

latisha
Download Presentation

Ancient Persia and Greece

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  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 Cyrus’s 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. Cyrus’s Successors • 530 BC: Cyrus killed in battle • Cambyses: reigned 530-522 BC • Cyrus’s 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 • 520 BCE: New capitol city at Persepolis • Reception halls, royal residences, treasury • Darius worked to centralize the administration • Nerve center

  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

  11. Checks and Balances • Military officers/tax collectors • Check on the Satrap’s 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 • Didn’t abolish existing laws • Didn’t 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

  16. 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

More Related