1. Chapter 7:The Empires of Persia
The Rise & Fall of The Persian Empires
Persia lies in the arid area between Mesopotamia and the nomadic tribes
of central Asia, so it was subject to invasions and migrations from the east.
Nevertheless, in the sixth century B.C.E., the Persians began conquests
that would put the area under their control for the next thousand years.
The Achaemenid Empire
(Theme: Political Structures)
The settlers of Persia were Indo-European ethnic groups organized into
clans who became connected to Mesopotamian overlords. As
descendants of central Asian tribes, the Persians had a military tradition,
Achaemenid ruler Cyrus conquered a huge region between India and
Egypt by 530 B.C.E.. He was an intelligent and inventive military
leader, but his reign was cut short when he was killed in battle in the
northeast region of his empire. His son Cambyses, completed his father’s
surge for more territory by taking Egypt.
A young kinsman, Darius, extended the empire into the north and west of
India and the western shore of the Black Sea. But it is his skill as an
administrator that is most notable. Darius built a new capital at Persopolis
which became the center of a sophisticated bureaucratic state. He also
set up an efficient administration of 23 satrapies (provinces) to balance
local and central government.
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The provincial rulers, satraps, were held in check by the
presence of Darius’s imperial troops and tax collectors while
traveling administrators monitored their actions. In common with
later leaders of large expansive empires, taxes and money were
standardized throughout the empire.
The Persian Royal Road stretched for 1600 miles from the
Aegean Sea to Iran. Please note that these administrative
patterns repeat themselves in China and Rome.
Decline and Fall of the Achaenamid Empire
(Themes: Political Structure – Changes & Continuities)
Eventually, cultural and traditional differences between the
Persians and their colonies became too much for even the Persians
to control. Unlike the tolerance of Cyrus and Darius was not
continued by Xerxes, the ruler after Darius. His harsh policies led
to rebellion and led to the Persian Wars with Greece.
A long period of war with the Greek city-states eventually led
to Xerxes defeat. In 334 B.C.E., Macedonian conqueror
Alexander the Great invaded Persia and defeated the Persians
three years later. Persia was them divided into three regions and
ruled by Alexander's generals, one region lasted into the 7th
century C.E.

3. (Theme: Political Structures - Changes and Continuities)
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The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanid Empires
(Theme: Political Structures - Changes and Continuities)
The Seleucids, named after Alexander’s general,
Seleucus, kept the administration of the Achaemenid’s
but faced resistance to his foreign rule. Rebellions and
central Asian invasions diminished their holdings so that
the Romans easily defeated their remaining territories in
the first century B.C.E.
Once again the invasions of the central Asians
attacked the region and this time became the rulers of the
central region of Persia. The Parthians ruled with a less
centrally dominated government for nearly two centuries. In 224, C.E., the Sasanids of Persian origin claimed
the area and began to rebuild the administrative network
that the Achaemenid’s had used.
Regular conflict on the borders of the Sasanids allowed
the Arabs to defeat them in 651 C.E. The Arabs
instituted the Islamic religion and state, however, even they
adopted the Persian system of administration to control
the region.

4. Social Development in Classical Persia (Theme: Social Structure)
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IMPERIAL SOCIETY & ECONOMY
Classical societies like the Persians became much more complex requiring increased numbers of bureaucrats, craftsmen, and slaves to function.
Social Development in Classical Persia
(Theme: Social Structure)
Similar to centralized Egypt, the demands of imperial administration required a large class of bureaucrats at the top of society to act as tax collectors and keep records. In order to unify a vast empire with a variety of cultures, the bureaucracy needs large numbers of translators. Similar to earlier Mesopotamian societies, free classes and slaves formed the bulk of Persian society.
Free classes had few privileges beyond their freedom from slavery. This class was made up of craftsmen, artisans, merchants, and the lowest civil servants. Priests and priestesses formed a significant portion of the population as well.
In rural areas, peasants and landless farmers were included in the free classes. This group built the irrigation systems that included qanats (underground channels) carried water to the city’s crops.

5. Economic Foundations of Classical Persia
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A large class of slaves also worked in rural and urban areas. Most were prisoners of war but some were unfortunate debtors owned by private individuals; the state also owned slaves, as did the temple community, who used slaves to build temples and other religious monuments.
Economic Foundations of Classical Persia
(Theme: Economics)
Despite the arid regions of central Persia, the conquered regions of the Persian empire were exceptionally rich agricultural areas and supplied them with great prosperity for the empire. Cereal grains, vegetables, and fruits were grown. The advantageous position of the empire between the east and west Asia allowed long-distance trade continued to flourish even after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.

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RELIGIONS OF SALVATION IN
CLASSICAL PERSIAN SOCIETY
Zarathustra and His Faith
(Theme: Religious Developments)
In the late 7th and early 6th centuries B.C.E., Zarathustra developed a theology based on the dualism of good and evil represented by two gods. Zarathustra is believed to be a historical person but the details of his life are not well understood. Magi or priests communicated his ideas via the spoken traditions that later were written in the Gathas. Zarathustra named one main good deity, Ahura Mazda, and six lesser gods who conflicted with an evil spirit, Angra Mainyu. Followers of Zoroastrianism could be sure of entrance into heaven by following a life of “good words, good thoughts, good deeds.” The religion spread quickly throughout the Persian Empire and continued into other areas as well even after the fall of the Persian Empire.
As a religion of salvation, some specific Zoroastrianism teachings influenced Jewish, Christian, and Islamic theology.

7. CLASSICAL PERSIAN SOCIETY
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RELIGIONS OF SALVATION IN
CLASSICAL PERSIAN SOCIETY
Religions of Salvation in a Cosmopolitan Society
(Theme: Religious Developments)
Although Alexander attempted to obliterate Zoroastrianism, it continued and was revived in the Sasanid dynasty. Later Islamic conquerors also persecuted the Zoroastrians until they either converted or migrated to India where they still exist today.
The ideas of a beneficent creator god, the struggle between good and evil, and the belief that humans should behave in a positive moral way in order to attain salvation.