500 B.C.

  Greece Greece  Persia Persia Greek and Persian Empires

  The Persian territory was very large, and needed to be linked by road systems.  The Royal Road was the largest (1500 miles).  The Road connected Persia to Anatolia and had stations along the way for travelers to obtain food, water, and fresh horses. The Royal Road

  Sardis  Nineveh  Susa Major Cities

  Caspian Sea  Black Sea  Mediterranean Sea  Red Sea  Persian Gulf  Arabian Sea Major Bodies of Water

  Cyrus  1 st King  Created an army that grew into the Persian Empire  Under Cyrus’ rule, the empire stretched to be about the size of the continental United States.  Cyrus held his kingdom together by ruling fairly.  Allowed his peoples to keep their own languages, religions, and laws. Kings

 King Cyrus the Great

  Darius ( B.C.)  Reorganized the government to make it more efficient.  Divided empire into provinces called satrapies.  Each satrapy was ruled by a governor called satrap. Which means defender of the kingdom.  Collected taxes, judged legal cases, managed police, recruited for army. Kings

 King Darius I

  The Persians first worshiped many gods (polytheistic).  Then a religious teacher, named Zoroaster, preached a new monotheistic (having one god) religion.  This religion was called Zoroastrianism.  Believed that there was one supreme god: Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord).  Believed there was good and evil in the world and people were free to pick between the two. Religion

 Symbol of Zoroastrianism

  Take out a sheet of paper.  Draw a Venn Diagram.  Label 1 section “Persia,” the middle “Both,” and the other section “Greece.”  Work with a partner to fill in all three sections with at least 3 similarities/differences. Compare and Contrast!

  At the beginning of the 400s B.C., the Persians wanted to expand.  Quickly clashed with the Greeks in the Mediterranean.  The two societies were very different.  Persians already controlled Greek cities in Anatolia.  Athenians sent warships to help rebels that were rising up, but Persians stopped the uprising. Persian Wars

  490 B.C. Darius sent a fleet of 600 ships and an army to invade Greece.  Landed in Marathon.  Persians outnumbered Greeks, so Greeks never came to fight.  Persians were leaving to attack Athens, then Greeks attacked as the Persians were leaving and caught Persians by surprise and won. Marathon

 Persian Fleet

  480 B.C. Persian King Xerxes attacked Greece at Thermopylae.  Persians won on land, but lost at sea.  Athenian fleet ships lured Persian fleet into strait of Salamis near Athens.  Greeks won because their ships were fast and easy to maneuver.  Greek city-states combined forces to make a larger army, trained, and defeated Persia. Land and Sea

  First you read.  Second you annotate.  Third you answer the questions with a partner.  Make sure you agree before writing anything down for an answer. Primary Source

  After losses in Greece, Persia faced many challenges.  Couldn’t defend entire empire.  Unhappy with government.  High taxes.  Disagreement on who should rule.  By 300s B.C. Persia couldn’t defend against any attacks.  Persia ended and a new Greek Empire emerged and extended beyond Persia’s boundaries. Decline