Persian Empire

From Civilization to Empire

After thousands of years of civilization in river valleys, the first empires appeared River valley civilizations were complex societies with advanced technologies, cities, workers, writing, & institutions. Empires were advanced societies with well-organized centralized governments that conquered & ruled a variety of formerly independent people

One of the most important ancient empires was the Persians (in present-day Iran)

Persians controlled their empire in a variety of ways:

Persian kings were tolerant & allowed conquered people to keep their languages & religions

Rather than destroying or looting conquered cities, King Cyrus showed respect for local customs.
The Persians grew into a powerful empire under Kings Cyrus & Darius.
With a powerful army, the Persians conquered Mesopotamia, Egypt, & India

Building an Empire

The son of Cyrus the Great conquered Egypt. The next ruler, Darius, unified the Persian Empire by building a network of public roads, introducing a uniform set of weights and measures, and establishing several capital cities.. Persia was now larger than any empire up to that time. It stretched more than 3,000 miles from the Nile to the Indus River. The Persians controlled this vast empire by dividing it into provinces, each ruled by a group of local officials loyal to the Persian king. The Persians collected tribute (a payment made as a sign of submission) and taxes from these provinces. Although they paid tribute, the provinces profited from extensive trade throughout the Persian Empire.

Religion

At first, the Persians worshipped many gods. In 570 BC, a new religion was introduced into the Persian Empire by the religious leader Zoroaster. Zoroastrianism taught that there were only two gods: the god of truth, light and goodness, and the god of darkness and evil. The whole universe was the battleground between these two forces. Those who led good lives would eventually go to Heaven, while those who were evil would be doomed to a fiery Hell.

Persia's Accomplishments

From the Lydians, Persians learned the practice of using coins. Under the rule of Darius, citizens were encouraged to use coins to purchase goods. Persians were now able to move from bartering to a “money economy.” The use of coins greatly improved trade throughout the empire. The Persians also built hundreds of miles of roads using gravel and stone. The Persian Royal Road was 1,500 miles long, with more than 100 stations holding fresh horses. These roads fostered a feeling of unity within the Persian Empire. Darius established a postal service to make communication easier within the Persian Empire. Couriers carried letters over the new roads.

Darius I → emperor of the Persian Empire during the first segment of the Persian Wars.
Darius sought to extend Persian rule into the Greek city-states by sending a large force to invade Athens.
Greeks would meet the Persians at Marathon and defeat them with the help of the phalanx.

Battle of Marathon

The Battle of Marathon occurred in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artisphere’ The battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The Greek army inflicted a crushing defeat on the more numerous Persians, marking a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars.

Athenian victory in Marathon was held in high regard by the Greeks.
Darius would plan another attack but would not live to see it through.

The marathon running race originates from the Athenians’ victory

Following their success at Marathon, legend has it the Athenians dispatched a runner named Pheidippides to announce the victory in Athens – some 26 miles away. Upon reaching Athens, Pheidippides is said to have exclaimed, “Nike!” (the Greek word for victory), before collapsing dead from exhaustion.

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