1. The Various Persian Empires in the Classical Era
AP World History
KC 2.2.I-IIA-C
Pamela Hammond,
Brantley County High School, Nahunta, GA 2015

2. Achaemenid Empire (549–330 BC) Original Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great
Known for religious tolerance and fair ruling under Cyrus
Darius I
Canal in Egypt for trade
Royal Road
Expanded empire
Divided into Satrapies
Elaborate bureaucracy
“Eyes and ears of the King”
Greco-Persian Wars
Attempted diplomacy to annex— “give me your earth and water”
Xerxes
Defeated by Greeks
Able administrator

3. Seleucid Empire ( BC)
Begun by one of Alexander’s generals, Seleucus
Center of Hellenistic culture
Dominated by Hellenistic aristocracy especially in the urban areas
Some resistance in Judea when ordered to erect a temple to Zeus (Maccabees)
Declined in the 3rd century BCE due to growing threat of the Romans in the West and the Parthians in the East
Silver coin from the Seleucid Empire

4. Parthian Empire (247 BCE – 224 CE)
Originally from east of the Caspian Sea
Nomads, known for the “Parthian shot”
rider twists backward at full gallop and shoots enemies in the rear
Conquered Seleucids in 247 BCE
Continued the satrapies/bureaucracies established by earliest Persians
Participants in Silk Road trade, gained great wealth as a middle man between Rome and Han China
Hellenistic kingdom; but saw a revival of Iranian culture
Built the first qanat tunnels for irrigation purposes in the First century BCE
Competed with Romans over Armenia
Crassus killed in 53 BCE
Gained control over the Levant
Head of a Parthian
Louvre

5. Sassanid Empire (226 AD – circa 650 AD)
Sassanid Persians overthrew the Parthians and wanted to return to their Persian roots
Zoroasterian
Religious tolerance grew as Christians fled Roman Empire
Continued strong centralized government with satrapies and bureaurcracies
Constant warfare with Rome over SW Asia
Both sides used Arab mercenaries
Proxy war
Continued as middle man on the Silk Roads
Paid tribute to the Huns, so survived the invasions that brought down the empires surrounding them.
Gained some tribute from Byzantine Empire to pay off the Huns (would later take over the Levant from Byz Emp
Advanced system of taxation
Fell to Muslim Arabs—Abbasid Dynasty
Mesopotamia and Persia split into two
Iraq and Iran
Ctesiphon the capital of the Pre-Islamic Parthian and Sassanian Empires