The Persian Empire

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Persia The people of ____________________ lived in what is today southwestern Iran. __________________ the ____________ ruled from 559 to 530 B.C. and united the Persians into a powerful kingdom. Under his rule, they built an empire larger than any yet seen in the world. In 539 B.C. Cyrus’s armies captured ___________________. Cyrus’s merciful rule helped hold his growing empire together.

Persian Government __________________ reorganized the government of the Persian Empire when he took over the throne in 521 B.C. ____________________ were the 20 provinces (states) into which the Persian Empire was divided. Each province was ruled by a _________________, or “protector of the kingdom” who acted as a tax collector, judge, chief of police, and head recruiter of the Persian army. In Persia, the government paid people to be full- time soldiers.

Persian Religion The Persian religion was called ________________________. Its founder, ___________________, was born in 660 B.C. and began preaching after seeing visions as a young man. He believed in one god and also recognized evil in the world, too. Believed humans had the freedom to choose between right and wrong.

The Persian Wars The Persians often clashed with the ______________. By the mid-500s B.C., Persia controlled the Greek cities in Asia Minor. King ________________ decided the mainland Greeks had to be stopped from interfering in the ________________ Empire. Beginning around 490 B.C. the Persians and the Greek city-states battled over control of Greece. Sparta and Athens worked together to defeat the Persians

The Battle of __________________ In 490 B.C. a Persian fleet landed 20,000 soldiers on the plain of ___________________. The Athenians were outnumbered, so they held back in the hills overlooking the plain. As the Persian troops boarded their ships, the Greeks charged down from the hills and easily defeated the Persians. According to legend, ____________________ ran 26 miles from Marathon to ___________ to tell the news of the victory.

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Thermopylae During this famous battle, about 7,000 Greek soldiers held off the ______________ for two days to stall their army before reaching Athens. A traitor directed the Persians to a mountain path that led them around the Greeks. The Spartans were especially brave here. King ______________ several hundred men stayed behind and fought to the death. The __________________ lost the battle at Thermopylae.

Fall of the Persian Empire Greeks eventually defeated the Persian army Persian rulers raised taxes to gain wealth, which caused rebellions Persian royal family fought over who would be king Murder of many rulers Persia vulnerable to attack Emergence of ___________________ the Great

View “Decisive Battles: Thermopylae”