1. Alan Guerra, Andrea Castaneda and Evan Amador Mr. Casso B4 9/14/12 CH.2 SEC. 4

2. THE PERSIAN EMPIRE

3. Cyrus the Great Darius I Satrap Xerxes Zoroaster dualism King of Persia and founder of the Persian Empire; he defeated the Median army and united the Persians and Medians under his rule. King of Persia from 522 to 486 BC; he reorganized and strengthened the Persian Empire by reforming the army and the government. Governors of ancient Persia. King of Persia; his armies invaded Greece but were eventually defeated by the Greeks. Religious teacher and prophet of ancient Persia; he founded a religion known as Zoroastrianism based on the idea that people have free will and can act as they choose. The belief that the world is controlled by two opposing forces, good and evil. KEY WORDS

4. After the death of the King Cambyses, Darius had a lot of controversy in getting to the throne and keeping it, as well as to change the systems Persian had then. Zoroastrianism teaches that the world was created by a god named Ahura Mazda who fought against an evil sprit named Ahrima. This was one of the first religions to teach dualism- the belief that the world is controlled by two opposing forces, good and evil. One of the greatest achievements was cultural unity. The people worked together to advance and it was relatively peaceful in its early history. It had a huge empire stretching into most of Asia as well. Who shaped the growth and organization of the Persian Empire? What were the main teachings of Zoroastrianism? What were the most significant Persian achievements? READING FOCUS QUESTIONS QuestionsAnswers

5. Before the great Persian empire, Medes had conquered Persia. The king had a daughter who was married with a Persian prince, and they had a son, Cyrus. The king had a dream that the baby would one day overthrow him. So he ordered it to death. Not wanting to kill a baby, the guards gave it to a poor farmer. After some years, Cyrus grew up and led a rebellion and declared himself king of Persia. RISE OF THE EMPIRE

6. THE PEAK OF THE EMPIRE

7. Darius I organized a strong army in Persia. He trained a troop of soldiers called the Ten Thousand Immortals. This group were given fast moving horses, chariots, and much support. THE PERSIAN ARMY.

8. Communications was essential to running the empire, the ruler need to know what was happening in the other parts if the country. At the heart of its communication was Persias roads. They had high quality roads that linked every part of the country The largest was the the royal road witch was the worlds first high way and was 1500 miles long. It connected to the 2 most important cities, Susa and Sardis, from there other smaller roads branched off connecting other key cities. COMUNICATION

9. The Persians had a message system pretty similar to other early civilizations. They had horseman travel short distances at a time before giving it off to the other rider with a fresh horse. These guys went on for day in any and all conditions. They can get a message across the empire in a matter of days THE PERSIAN MESSENGERS.

10. Being a culturally united country, Persia had many cultural advancements. There art work mainly consisted of animals such as lions, bulls, and giraffes. The also crafted solid gold cups incrusted with gems, these cups were in the shape of animals. There architecture was monumental nothing like it in the far east. One example was the great hall of the city Persepolis. ART AND ARCHITECTURE

11. Most historians would agree that Darius I was the peak of the empires exsistence. No other ruler had such power folowing Darius. Xerxes tried to build on his fathers cuccess when he past. He even tried to invade Greece ad tried to succeed where his father failed. But he too in turn failed and returned a failure. PERSIAN DECLINE

12. After Darius’ death, the empires trade began to slow down and rebellions were common. However the empire continued for 150 years. In 330 B.C. Alexander the great invaded Persia and effectively ended the empire. AFTER DARIUS’ DEATH

13. SOURCES The book Google images