Empires of Persia

Chapter 7:
The Empires of Persia

Chapter 7 Reading Questions:

How did Cyrus manage to expand the Persian holdings so dramatically during his lifetime? Cyrus the Achaemenid launched the Persians’ imperial venture. Cyrus was a tough leader and a great military strategist. In 558 BCE Cyrus became the king of the Persian tribes, and in 553 BCE he initiated a rebellion against his median overlord whom he defeated within three years. By 548 BCE he controlled all of Iran, and in 546 BCE he controlled Lydia (in Anatolia). In 539 BCE he seized Babylonia. His empire stretched from India to the borders of Egypt.
Why does the book say that Darius was "more important as an administrator than as a conqueror"? His empire was the largest empire the world had seen up until that time (3000 km). Governing a far-flung empire was much more difficult than conquering it. His empire presided over more than seventy distinct ethnic groups, including peoples who lived in widely scattered regions, spoke many different languages, and had many religions and traditions. To maintain his empire, the Achaemenids had to establish ways of communication throughout their realm and design ways for them to tax and administer their territories.
Describe the administrative structure of the Achaemenid Empire. The administration was centralized. The capital, Persepolis, served as an administrative center. Persepolis was home to advisors, ministers, diplomats, scribes, accountants, translators, and bureaucratic officers of all descriptions. The government depended on a balance between central initiative and local administration. The Achaemenid rulers appointed governors to serve as agents of the central administration and oversee affairs in the various regions. Darius split up his realm into 23 satrapies (administrative and taxation districts governed by satraps). Most of the satraps were Persians. Various tactics were used to avoid the satraps from allying with the locals and become independent of Achaemenid authority. Each satrapy had a contingent of military officers and tax collectors who would check the satraps’ power and independence. Also the rulers created a new category of officers who were the “eyes and ears of the king.” These agents would conduct surprise audits. The empire also regularized tax levies and standardized laws. The empire also issued standardized coins.
In what ways did Darius, and his successors, promote communication and commerce throughout the empire? Darius standardized the coins which fostered trade throughout his empire. The Achaemenid empire built great roads across their realm, notably the so-called Persian Royal Road that stretched 2,575 km from the Aegean port of Ephesus to Sardis in Anatolia. Parts of the road were paved in stone. It took caravans 90 days to travel the road. The government built a courier service and built 111 postal stations along the road. Each station kept a supply of horses which allowed couriers to spread from one end of the royal road to another in ten days which greatly improved communication.
In what ways did Alexander of Macedon both destroy and preserve elements of the Achaemenid Empire? Alexander the Great defeated the empire with a well-disciplined army. His army carried heavier arms and used more sophisticated military tactics than the Achaemenids. This allowed Alexander’s army to easily defeat the Persian empire. After defeating the kit empire he claimed himself heir to the Achaemenid rulers and then set the capital on fire. Alexander portrayed himself in Persia and Egypt as a legitimate successor of the Achaemenids who observed their precedents and deserved their honors. He kept the Achaemenid administrative structure, and he even approved appointments of many satraps and other officials.
How did the Parthians come to control the Persian Empire? They established themselves as lords of a powerful empire based in Iran. The parthians were very skilled warriors because they had to defend themselves from nomadic people. Early in the third century BCE the Parthians began to wrest their independence from the Seleucids. They had a very powerful cavalry , thanks to their horses that fed on alfalfa in the winter they were larger and therefore could carry warriors with heavier weapons. Mithrades I, was the Parthians’ greatest conqueror. His rise to the throne helped transform the state into a powerful empire.
What was the role of the imperial bureaucrats in Persian society? How did they fit in with the other social classes? The development of a cosmopolitan empire brought much complexity to the Persian society. The requirements of imperial administration called for a new class of educated bureaucrats who undermined the position of the old warrior elite. The bureaucrats did not directly challenge the patriarchal warriors and did not want to displace them from their privileged position in society, but the bureaucrats crucial role in running the day-to-day affairs of the empire pretty much guaranteed them a prominent and comfortable place in Persian society. High-ranking bureaucrats came to share power and influence with warriors and clan leaders.
What agricultural technologies and techniques did the Persians use to produce the large surpluses they needed to feed their huge population of nonfood producers? The Persian empire had a large amount of parched land that received little rainfall which required workers in the countryside to build and maintain irrigation systems. The most remarkable irrigation system were underground canals known as qanat, which allowed cultivators to evenly distribute water to fields without losing a large amount of water to evaporation.
The Persian Empires were noted for being part of a trade route critical to the economy of the classical world. What did the rulers do to facilitate trade? Why was Persia geographically so important? The rulers of the Persian Empire greatly facilitated trade by maintaining political stability, creating general prosperity, standardizing coins, and giving their people access to trade routes such as the Persian Royal Road and sea routes through the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. Rulers also established cities which attracted stimulated trade throughout the whole region from the Mediterranean to northern India. Persia was so geographically important because it was able to link lands all the way from India to Egypt in a vast commercial zone.
What were the basic teachings of Zoroastrianism? Why is it considered a highly moralistic religion? How did Zoroastrianism influence other religions? The basic teachings of the Zoroastrianism are good words, good thoughts and good deeds. Its teachings are based on good actions against evil, which makes it a highly moralistic religion. It teaches that good outweighs evil and those who are evil will be punished in hell. It influenced the Jewish, Islam, and Christian faiths, believing that good prevails over evil, and human beings must strive for high moral standards, and all individuals will undergo judgement.

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Empires of Persia

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