1. The Achaemenid Persian Empire

2. Pre-Persian Expansion

3. Achaemenid Dynasty (553-330 BCE)
Cyrus the Great (r BCE)
Overthrew other Middle Eastern empires
Expanded Persian people and influence throughout the Middle East
Adopted some customs of conquered peoples
Darius I (r BCE)
Xerxes (r BCE)
Both Darius and Xerxes battled the Greeks to expand the empire

4. Persian Kingship Shahanshah: “King of kings” King was secluded
Rituals had to be performed in order to see the king
Proskynesis: ritual bowing to see the king

5. Naqsh-e Rustam
Burial site for four Persian kings

6. Persian Expansion

7. Persian Government Satrapy: 23 divisions of the empire
Often used local regional rulers to maintain control
Satrap: administrator of a satrapy
Elaborate bureaucracy to control empire
“Eyes and Ears of the King”
Aramaic: official language of the empire
Governed million people

8. Persepolis New Persian capital Large palace with grand throne rooms
Constructed by Darius ca. 500 BCE
Large palace with grand throne rooms
Treasury, military barracks
Three sets of walls

9. Gate of All Nations Built by Xerxes I
“May Ahura Mazda preserve me, my kingdom, what has been built by me, and what has been built by my father.”

10. Persian Society Large class of educated, well-paid government workers
Large number of slaves for both agricultural and urban work
Women could own and manage property
Upper-class women were often veiled

11. Cyrus Cylinder Written in Akkadian cuneiform
Praises Cyrus and proclaims his return of captured gods and people to their homelands

12. Persian Achievements Large and skilled army and navy
Standardized coinage based on gold and silver
Religious toleration
70 different ethnic groups
Postal system
“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor darkness of night prevents them from accomplishing the task proposed with the utmost speed.”

13. Royal Road Royal road: 1700 miles long
Traveled in seven days by imperial couriers
Caravanserai: markets and inns for travelers
Facilitated extensive trade within and across the empire
Phoenicia, Greece, Egypt

14. Qanat
Underground tunnels that provided water for irrigation

15. Sakia Water wheel powered by oxen to collect water
Water collected was used for irrigation
Also used in India and Egypt

16. Zoroastrianism Developed by the prophet Zarathustra (660-583 BCE)
Ahura Mazda: one supreme god
Spenta Mainyu vs. Angra Mainyu
Beliefs taught by magi
Avesta: main religious text containing hymns, laws, and instructions for rituals

17. Zoroastrianism
Dominant throughout the empire and practiced by the kings
Did not spread much outside of Persia
Developed concepts later used by other religions
Free will, good v. evil, judgment day, arrival of a savior, heaven and hell