1. Foundations Timeline Before 10,000 BCE Paleolithic Age
10,000 BCE to 4000 BCE Neolithic Age
4000 BCE to 500 BCE First Civilizations
500 BCE to 600 CE Classical Societies

2. What distinguishes the first civilizations from the Classical Societies?
Civilization (complex society) refers to the large scale social organization that emerged in several parts of the ancient world. Early complex societies all depended on robust agricultural economies with surplus. This surplus enabled individuals to congregate in cities, where they devoted time to specialized tasks.
Classical societies achieved high degrees of internal organization, extended their authority over extremely large regions, and developed influential cultural traditions, including the development of sophisticated architecture, legal and moral codes, and different organized religions.

3. Classical Societies: Persia

4. Who were the first Persians?
The empire of Persia arose in Iran around the 6th century B.C.E.
The Medes and the Persians migrated from central Asia to Persia (SW Iran).
For a time, they lived under Babylonian and Assyrian rule.
Classical Persian Society began during the sixth century B.C.E. when warriors conquered the region from the Indus River to Egypt and southeastern Europe. Their conquests produced much larger realms than the earlier Babylonians or Assyrians. The large Persian empire created political administrative problems for rulers.
The Medes and the Persians were two closely related people who migrated from central Asia to Persia.

5. Who were the first Persians?
The Medes and Persians spoke Indo-European languages.
They were part of the larger Indo-European migrations.
They shared many traits with distant cousins, the Aryans.
They were mostly pastoralists.
They were organized into clans rather than states.

6. Who were the first Persians?
The Medes and Persians had considerable military power.
They were expert equestrians like other steppe people.
They were expert archers even on horses.
They often raided the people of Mesopotamia.
Though the Medes and Persians were not tightly organized politically, they did have a lot of military power. As descendants of nomadic people from central Asia, they possessed the equestrian skills common to many steppe peoples.

7. Who were the first Persians?
When the Assyrians and Babylonian empires weakened in the 6th century B.C.E., the Medes and Persians launched their military campaign.

8. Who established the first empire in Persia?
Cyrus the Achaemenid ( B.C.E.)
from SW Iran
called Cyrus the Shepherd
Established first Persian Empire
Called Achaemenid after Cyrus’ clan.

9. Cyrus’s Persian Empire
Cyrus the Achaemenid ( B.C.E.)
He conquered Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), central Asia, and Bactria (modern day Afghanistan).
Within 20 years, his empire stretched from India to the border of Egypt.
Cyrus would have probably launched a campaign against Egypt, but he died protecting the NE part of his empire from nomadic invaders. His troops recovered his body and placed it in a simple tomb, which still stands. The tomb still stands in its original location.

10. Who made the Achaemenid Empire the largest empire the world had ever seen?
Darius the Great ( B.C.E.)
Built the largest empire the world had ever seen.
He was known for being a great administrator.
The Achaemenid Empire had more than 70 different ethnic groups.
He established an empire that provided for communication throughout.
Darius was better administrator than he was conqueror. With a large empire, being a great leader was challenging but he did it well. Because there were so many different ethnic groups with different languages, Darius had to establish a communication system that worked in all parts of his empire. This meant establishing institutions that enabled them to tax and oversee territories. Darius’s administrative techniques were so effective that remained in place

11. What was unique about Darius’ capital at Persepolis?
Darius the Great ( B.C.E.)
Centralized administration
Built capital at Persepolis near Pasargadae
Reception halls
Royal residences
Military quarters
treasury
Darius was better administrator than he was conqueror. With a large empire, being a great leader was challenging but he did it well. Because there were so many different ethnic groups with different languages, Darius had to establish a communication system that worked in all parts of his empire. This meant establishing institutions that enabled them to tax and oversee territories.
. The construction of this impressive palace started by Darius I, one of Cyrus's successors, in about 518 BC. Was completed over a period of 150 years by subsequent kings Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I. It was burned down during Alexander the Great occupation in 331 BC. Historians debate whether was accidental or intentional retaliation.
The entire complex was built atop a lofty terrace reached by a double stairway that led to the monumental Gate of Xerxes. The terrace is about 1,475 ft long by 985 ft wide, and about ft high. To the south, across a vast open space, was the huge Apadana, or Audience Hall of Darius; east of the Audience Hall rose the massive Throne Hall—called by early archaeologists the Hall of One Hundred Columns—which was begun by Xerxes and completed by Artaxerxes. Many other structures lay to the south of these main buildings, including the palaces of Darius and Xerxes and the royal treasury.
Persepolis (Capital of Persia in Greek) or Takht-e Jamshid (The Throne of Jamshid) became summer capital of Achaemenian after Pasargadae. The construction of this impressive palace started by Darius I, one of Cyrus's successors, in about 518 BC. Was completed over a period of 150 years by subsequent kings Xerxes I and Artaxerxes I. It was burned down during Alexander the Great occupation in 331 BC. Historians debate whether was accidental or intentional retaliation.
Everyone who travels to Iran must visit Persepolis, the center of the great Persian Empire and ceremonial capital of the Achaemenians. Located in Fars province, 60Km northeast of Shiraz.
To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Pārsa, meaning "The City of Persians". Persepolis is the Greek interpretation of the name Πέρσης πόλις (Persēs polis: "Persian city").
For historical reasons, Persepolis was built where the Achaemenid Dynasty was founded, although it was not the center of the empire at that time.
Persepolitan architecture is noted for its use of wooden columns. Architects resorted to stone only when the largest cedars of Lebanon or teak trees of India did not fulfill the required sizes. Column bases and capitals were made of stone, even on wooden shafts, but the existence of wooden capitals is probable.
The buildings at Persepolis include three general groupings: military quarters, the treasury, and the reception halls and occasional houses for the King. Noted structures include the Great Stairway, the Gate of Nations (Xerxes), the Apadana Palace of Darius, the , the and of Darius, the of Xerxes, the palace of Artaxerxes III, the Imperial Treasury, the Royal Stables and the Chariot House.
Persepolis is near the small river Pulwar, which flows into the river Kur (Kyrus). The site includes a 125,000 square meter terrace, partly artificially constructed and partly cut out of a mountain, with its east side leaning on Kuh-e Rahmet ("the Mountain of Mercy"). The other three sides are formed by retaining walls, which vary in height with the slope of the ground. From 5 to 13 meters on the west side a double stair, gently slopes to the top. To create the level terrace, depressions were filled with soil and heavy rocks, which were joined together with metal clips. Around 518 BC, construction of a broad stairway was begun. The stairway was planned to be the main entrance to the terrace 20 meters above the ground. The dual stairway, known as the Persepolitan stairway, was built in symmetrically on the western side of the Great Wall. The 111 steps were 6.9 meters wide with treads of 31 centimetres and rises of 10 centimetres. Originally, the steps were believed to have been constructed to allow for nobles and royalty to ascend by horseback. New theories suggest that the shallow risers allowed visiting dignitaries to maintain a regal appearance while ascending. The top of the stairways led to a small yard in the north-eastern side of the terrace, opposite the Gate of Nations.
Gray limestone was the main building material used in Persepolis. After natural rock had been levelled and the depressions filled in, the terrace was prepared. Major tunnels for sewage were dug underground through the rock. A large elevated water storage tank was carved at the eastern foot of the mountain. Professor Olmstead suggested the cistern was constructed at the same time that construction of the towers began.
The uneven plan of the foundation of the terrace acted like a castle whose angled walls enabled its defenders to target any section of the external front. Diodorus writes that Persepolis had three walls with ramparts, which all had towers to provide protection space for the defense personnel. The first wall was 7 meters tall, the second, 14 meters and the third wall, which covered all four sides, was 27 meters in height, though no presence of the wall exists in modern times.

12. Persepolis: Aerial View

13. Carving of Persian Soldiers at Persepolis

14. Ancient Texts at Persepolis

16. Persepolis
Persepolis was the administrative center and monument to the dynasty.
Bustled with ministers, advisors, diplomats, scribes, accountants, translators and bureaucratic officers.

17. Describe the political structure of Darius’s Empire
Balance between strong central power and local administration
Governors were appointed to oversee various regions.
Twenty-tree administrative and taxation districts governed by satraps
Most satraps were Persian but local officials were recruited for some administrative posts.
To prevent local officials from allying with locals each sarapy had a contingent of military officers and tax collectors who served as checks on the satraps’ power and independence. Second the rulers created a new category of officials—imperial spies known as “the eyes and ears of the king.” They traveled throughout the empire with military forces conducting surprise audits of accounts and procedures.

18. Political Structure of Darius’s Empire
Regulated tax levies by standardizing laws.
Each satrapy had to pay a set quantity of silver to the imperial court.
He standardized coins which encouraged trade.
He did not interfere with local laws but he sometimes modified them to make the empire run more smoothly.

19. What was unique about the Persian Royal Road?
Construction began during the Achaemenid Empire.
Parts were paved with stone.
Stretched 1600 miles from Aegean Sea to Anatolia, through Mesopotamia to the capital of Persepolis in Iran.
It took caravans 90 days to travel this road, lodging at inns along the well-policed route.

20. Persian Royal Road
Courier service with 111 postal stations 25 to 30 miles apart on the Royal Road
Each station had a supply of horses for couriers.
This system facilitated trade with various regions.

21. What events led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire in Persia?
Cyrus and Darius had policies of tolerance.
They respected values and beliefs of the people they ruled.
Darius’s successor, Xerxes ( B.C.E.), flaunted his Persian identity and imposed his values on conquered lands.
This created ill will, especially in Mesopotamia and Egypt. L

22. Fall of the Achaemenid Empire: The Persian Wars (500 – 479 B.C.E.)
Ethnic Greeks in Ionian cities in Anatolia resented the Persian governors who oversaw their affairs.
They rebelled, expelling or executing their governors.
This rebellion launched a series of conflicts known as the Persian Wars.
The Achaemenids had a difficult time with their ethnic Greek subjects and efforts to control the Greeks helped to bring about the collapse of the Achaemenid empire. Ethnic Greeks inhabited many of the cities in Anatolia especially the region of Ionia on the Aegean coast of western Anatolia and they maintained close economic and commercial ties with their cousins in the peninsula of Greece. The Iionian Greeks fell under Persian domination during the reign of Cyrus. They became restive under Darius’s Persian governors “tyrants” the Greeks called them who oversaw their affairs. In 500 B.C.E. the Ionian cities rebelled, expelled or executed their governors and asserted their independence. Their rebellion launched a series of conflicts known as the Persian Wars (500 to 479 B.C.E.)

23. Fall of the Achaemenid Empire: The Persian Wars (500 – 479 B.C.E.)
For 150 years, the Persian empire sparred with the Greek cities.
The Greek cities were too small and disunited to pose a serious threat to the Persian empire.
The standoff ended with the rise of Alexander of Macedon or Alexander the Great.

24. Why was Alexander so Great?
In 334 B.C.E. Alexander invaded Persia with an experienced army of 48,000 Macedonians.
The Macedonians were well-disciplined and carried heavier arms with more sophisticated military tactics.
Alexander confiscated the wealth in the treasury at Persepolis, proclaimed himself heir to the Achaemenid rulers and burned the city.
The carnage was so great that when archaeologists explored Persepolis in the 18th century, they found layers of ash and charcoal up to 1 meter (3 feet) deep.

25. What became of the Achaemenid Empire after Alexander’s death?
His chief generals divided the empire into three large realms which they divided among themselves:
The Seleucids
The Parthians
The Sasanids

26. What was the historical importance of the Seleucid Empire?
The former Achaemenid empire went to Seleucus, a commander in Alexander’s army.
He retained the Achaemenid system of administration, taxation, imperial roads, and postal service.
They founded new cities and attracted Greek colonists to occupy them.

27. What led to the fall of the Seleucids?
The Seleucids had conflicts with native Persians, especially the ruling classes.
The Satraps often revolted against Seleucid rule.
The Seleucids lost their holdings in northern India.
The semi-nomadic Parthians took over Iran during the third century B.C.E.

28. Describe the rule of the Parthians.
Established strong empire in Iran and extended to Mesopotamia.
Maintained many of the customs of the nomadic people from steppes of central Asia.
Loosely organized into federation of leaders who met in councils.
Skilled warriors.

29. The Parthians
Improved grazing methods for horses which created stronger horses that could support soldiers with heavy armor.
This development enabled them to fight off nomads from the steppes.
The Parthians revolted against the Seleucids in the third century B.C.E. and by 155 B.C.E. had taken firm control of Iran to Mesopotamia.
Parthians made the discovery that if their horses grazed on alfalfa in the winter, they would grow larger and stronger than the small horses and ponies on the steppes. Their horses could support heavily armed warriors outfitted with metal armor, which served as an effective shield against arrows of the steppe nomads. Well-trained forces of heavily armed cavalry could usualy put nomadic raiding parties to flight. As early as the third century BCE the Parthians began to wrest their independence from the Seleucids. The Parthian satrap revolted against his Seleucid overlord in 238B.C.E and during the following decades his successors gradually enlarged their holdings.. Mithradates I, the Parthians’ greatest conqueror came to the throne about 171 BCE and transformed his state into a mighty empire. By about 155 BCE he had consolidated his hold on Iran and had also extended Parthian rule to Mesopotamia.

30. The Parthians Followed example of the Achaemenids in running empire.
Maintained elements of their own steppe traditions.
Government not as centralized.
Most authority rested in hands of clan leaders who often served as satraps who worked to build independent bases of power in their regions.
For three centuries, Parthians presided over powerful empire between India and Mediterranean.
About the first century C.E. they faced pressure in the west from the expanding Roman empire. The Parthian empire as a whole never stood in danger of falling to the Romans, but on three occasions in the second century CE Roman armies captured the Parhtian capital at Ctesiphon. Combined with internal difficulties caused by the rebellious satraps, Roman pressure contributed to the weakening of the Parthian state. During the third century C.E. internal rebellion brought it down.

31. What were the contributions of the Sasanids?
Claimed they were direct descendants of the Achaemenids.
Conquered the Parthians in 224 C.E. and ruled until 651 reinstating much of the splendor of the Achaemenid empire.
Rebuilt strong system of administration.
Refurbished numerous cities.
Merchants traded actively with people from east to west.
Introduced rice, sugarcane, citrus fruits, eggplant, and cotton.
Created buffer states between themselves and Roman empire.

32. Describe Persian Classical Society
In the early days of the Achaemenid empire, Persian society reflected its origins on the steppes of central Asia.
Family and clan relationships were extremely important in political and social affairs.
Male warriors were the head of the clans.
The development of a cosmopolitan empire complicated this structure.
In the early days of the Achaemennid empire, Persian society reflected its origins on the steppes of central Asia.
In the early days of the Achaemenid empire, Persian society reflected its origins on the steppes of central Asia. When the Medes and Persians migrated to Iran, the social structure was similar to that of the Aryans in India, consisting primarily of warriors, priests and peasants. Fr centuries when they lived on the periphery and in the shadow of the Mesopotamian empires, the Medes and Persians maintained steppe traditions. Even after the establishment of the Achaemenid empire, some of them followed a seminomadic lifestyle and maintained ties with their cousins on the steppes. Family and clan relationships were extremely important in the organization of Persian political and social affairs. Male warriors head the clans, which retained much of their influence long after the establishment of the Achaemenid empire.

33. What was the social hierarchy in Persian Classical Society?
Imperial administration called for a new class of educated bureaucrats.
This undermined old warrior elite.
Persian cities were home to administrators, tax collectors, record keepers, translators, and high ranking officials.
Bureaucrats shared power with warriors and clan leaders.
The bureaucrats did not directly challenge the patriarchal warriors and certainly did not seek to displace them from the privileged position in society. Nevertheless, the bureaucrats crucial role in running the day to day affairs of the empire guaranteed them a prominent and comfortable place in Persian society. By the time of the later Achaemenids and the Seleucids, Persian cities were home to masses of administrators, tax, collectors, and record keepers. The bureaucracy even included a substantial corps of translators, who depended on these literate professionals and high-ranking bureaucrats came to share power and influence with warriors and clan leaders.

34. Persian Classical Society
Clan Leaders and Bureaucrats
Free Classes
Artisans
Craftsman
Merchants
Priests and Priestesses
Low ranking civil servants
Slaves
Gap between rich and poor increased with increased wealth. Slavery had more to do with expansion of imperial states which often enslaved conquered foes but also reflected increasing gulf between rich and poor.
In the countryside the free classes included peasants who owned their own land as well as landless cultivators who worked as laborers or tenants on properties owned by the state, temple communities or other individuals. Free residents of rural areas had the right to marry and move as they wished and they could seek better opportunities in the cities or military service. Because the Persian empire embraced a great deal of parched land that received little rainfall, work in the countryside involved not only cultivation but also the building and maintenance of irrigation systems.
dMost slaves were prisoners of war. But the Persians also enslaved civilians who resisted their advance or who rebelled against imperial authorities. Other slaves came from the ranks of free subjects who accummulated debts.
Slaves could not move or marry at will although existing family units stayed together. Most slaves worked as domestic servants or skilled laborers in the households of the wealthy, but some cultivated their owners’ fields. State owned slaves provided much of the manual labor for large scale construction projects, such as road, irrigation systems, city walls, and palaces.
In Mespotamia temple communiteis owned many slaves who worked at agricultural tasks and performed administrative chores for their priestly masters.

35. What was the role of women in Classical Persian Society?
Married women and women of royalty were respected.
There were some women who ruled.
Some women were merchants and business women.
When the Romans captured Persian soldiers, some were women.
Some evidence indicates the practice of veiling in Persia during this time.
The position of woman in ancient Iran was apparently in no ways inferior to her standing in the Vedic times of early India. As among other oriental nations, however, submission to her lord and master is taken for granted, and the woman who is 'obedient to her husband' comes in for a special meed of praise in the Avesta and elsewhere; but it is perfectly evident, as a rule, there was not that subjection which results in loss of personality and individuality."[9]
The early Achaemenid-era Persepolis fortification and treasury tablets refers to women in three different terms: mutu, irti and duksis.[10] The first refers to ordinary (non-royal) women; the second to unmarried members of the royal family; and the last duksis to married women of royalty. Such differentiated terminology shows the significance of marital status and of a woman's relationship to the king. The tablets also reveal that women of the royal household traveled extensively and often personally administered their own estates.[10] The queen and her ladies-in-waiting are known to have played polo against the emperor and his courtiers.[11] The only limits on the extent of the authority exercised by the king's mother were set by the monarch himself.[12][Need quotation on talk to verify]
A bust from The National Museum of Iran of Queen Musa, wife of Phraates IV of Parthia.
In the tablets, "non-royals and the ordinary workers are mentioned by their rank in the specific work group or workshops they were employed. The rations they received are based on skill and the level of responsibility they assumed in the workplace. The professions are divided by gender and listed according to the amount of ration. Records indicate that some professions were undertaken by both sexes while others were restricted to either male or female workers. There are male and female supervisors at the mixed workshops as evident by the higher rations they have received with little difference in the amount of rations between the two sexes. There are also occasions where women listed in the same category as men received less rations and vice versa. Female managers have different titles presumably reflecting their level of skill and rank. The highest-ranking female workers in the texts are called arashshara (great chief). They appear repeatedly in the texts, were employed at different locations and managed large groups of women children and sometimes men working in their units. They usually receive high rations of wine and grains exceeding all the other workers in the unit including the males."[10] In addition, pregnant women also received higher rations than others. Women with new-born children also received extra rations for a period of one month.
A few experts claim that it was Cyrus the Great who twelve centuries before Islam, established the custom of covering women to protect their chastity. According to their theory, the veil passed from the Achaemenids to the Hellenistic Seleucids. They, in turn, handed it to the Byzantines, from whom the Arab conquerors inherited it, transmitting it over the vast reaches of the Arab world.[13]
The Sassanid princess Purandokht, daughter of Khosrau II, ruled the Persian empire for almost two years before resigning. Also, during the Sassanian dynasty many of the Iranian soldiers captured by Romans were women who were fighting along with the men.[14]
Female Iranian PhDs in front of Tehran University's reactor, Text: "A quarter of Iran's Nuclear Energy scientists are women!"
Persian women are depicted in many masterpieces of Persian paintings and miniatures.[15] These are often used as sources to "trace through the sequence of women's fashion from earlier periods".[16] Drawing a Persian girl dressed in colors with Persian wine at hand has been a favorite style for portraying love[citation needed].

36. What about technological developments?
Qanat – underground canals allowed cultivators to distribute water to fields without losing large quantities to evaporation through exposure to the sun and open air.
Elaborate qanat system was maintained by slaves and laborers in the countryside.

38. What were some of the key economic developments of Persian Society?
Agriculture was the foundation.
Resources from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and northern India helped Persia prosper.
Barley and wheat were the most commonly cultivated crops.
Peas, lentils, garlic, onions, pomegranates, pears, and apricots supplemented the cereals in diets.
Beer and wine were the most common beverage.

39. Economic Developments of Persian Society
Long-distance trade grew rapidly.
Standardized of coins
Availability of good trade routes.
Newly constructed highways such as the Persian Royal Road.
Sea routes through the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea
Cities like Babylon were home to banks.

40. With whom did Persia trade?
From India: gold, ivory, aromatics
From Iran and Central Asia: lapis lazuli, turquoise and other stones
From Mesopotamia: textiles, mirrors and jewelry
From Anatolia: gold, silver, iron, copper and tin
From Arabia: spices and aromatics
From Egypt: grain, linen textiles, papyrus writing materials, gold, ebony, ivory
From Greece: oil, wine, and ceramics

42. Describe early Persian religion.
Celebrated natural elements and geographical features, i.e. the sun, the moon, the water, and especially fire.
Recognized many of the same gods as the Aryans
Priests performed sacrifices similar to those conducted by the brahmins in India.
Used hallucinogenic agent called haoma in the same way Aryans used soma

43. How did Zoroastrianism develop in Persia?
Attempt to address moral questions in a cosmopolitan world.
Zarathustra, priest from aristocratic family, left family at 20 yeas of age to seek wisdom.
He experienced visions and became convinced that the supreme god had chosen him as a prophet to spread message.
As society became more complex, moral and religious thinkers sought to adapt their message to a cosmopolitan society. One result was Zoroastrianism which emerged from the teachings of Zarathustra

44. What were The Gathas?
Originally transmitted orally by priests or magi.
During Seleucid dynasty, magi began to preserve in writing.
Hymns composed in honor of the various deities.
Treatises on moral themes.

45. What were the basic beliefs of Zoroastrian?
Not strict monotheists
Recognized a supreme deity and creator of all good things.
Spoke of six lesser deities.
Explored battle between good and evil, as well as judgment, reward, punishment, heavenly paradise, demons, and place of pain and suffering.
Encouraged enjoyment of earthly pleasures in moderation.

46. Zoroastrianism Attracted large numbers during 6th century B.C.E.
Popular with Persian aristocrats and ruling elites.
Wealthy supported the building of temples.
Large priesthood emerged and taught Zoroastrian values through oral transmission.
Darius and other emperors closely associated themselves with Ahura Mazda, the Zoroastrian deity.
Darius did not suppress other religious practices, however.
With imperial sponsorship, Zoroastrian temples croped up through the Achaemenid realm. The faith was most popular in Iran but it attracted alrge followings in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt, etc.