1 / 8

“The Great Governors”

“The Great Governors”. The Story of the Persian Empire. Persian Empire: 550-330 BC. Persian Empire Largest of the ancient empires centered in Southwest Asia At its height, stretched from Greece to India Lasted for two centuries, until they were conquered by Alexander the Great.

mackensie-lee
Download Presentation

“The Great Governors”

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. “The Great Governors” The Story of the Persian Empire

  2. Persian Empire: 550-330 BC • Persian Empire • Largest of the ancient empires centered in Southwest Asia • At its height, stretched from Greece to India • Lasted for two centuries, until they were conquered by Alexander the Great

  3. Persian Empire: Major Features • Political Organization • Great King: Persian emperor, expected to be great conqueror • Satrap System: Empire divided into regional provinces overseen by governors known as satraps • Eyes of the King: Spy network monitors Persian officials and reports directly to Great King • Royal Road: Road links together empire, improves trade and communication • Significance • Unlike previous empires based solely on military force, Persians have intricate system of imperial organization

  4. Major Leaders • Cyrus the Great • Created empire by unifying Persians and Medes to overthrow Babylonians • Known for his tolerant treatment of conquered groups • Darius I • Expanded empire to largest size • Known for his creation of satrap system and construction of the Persian capital

  5. Cultural Achievements • Zoroastrianism • Persian religion • Dualism: Life is struggle between forces of good vs. evil, light vs. dark • Ideas may have influenced Judaism and Christianity • Persian Art • Beautiful sculpted vessels • Highly decorated architecture

  6. Interesting Facts • The Original Pony Express? • The Persians had a messenger service with fresh horses at outposts a day’s ride apart • Greek Historian: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the completion of their appointed rounds”

  7. Coach Lerch’s Final Thoughts • The Persian Empire was able to successfully unite a large number of diverse peoples due to their intricate political organization and tolerance for other cultures

  8. Bibliography • Main Sources • “The Persian Empire”, Human Legacy (textbook) • “The First Persian Empire”, The Great Empires of the Ancient World (reference book) • “The Achaemenid Persian Empire”, Metropolitan Museum of Art (web) • “Achaemenid Persians”, Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia, Facts on File (online database) • Additional Images from Web • “Cyrus’ Tomb”, Syracuse University • “Darius”, Williams University

More Related