550 B.C. – 330 B.C.

The largest empire of the ancient world

Persian EmperorsPersian EmperorsThe Persian Empire had three influential and powerful leaders that helped them expand their country; Cyrus the Great, Cambyses, and Darius.

Born between 590 -585 B.C.E. Part of the clan of

Achaemenidae, predominate clan of the Pasargadae tribe.

559-558 BCE Cyrus rose to power & went to war against Medes; took their king as captive. 550 BCE proclaimed

himself the king of all Persians

539 BCE Cyrus conquered Babylonians, Lydian, & Spartans.

Defeated Babylon, issued Charter of the Rights, laid out a plan for respecting human rights. First declaration in the

history of man.

529 BCE Cyrus was killed when fighting Massagetae, tribe near the Caspian Sea.

Tomb of Cyrus the Great

King of Persia 530 – 522 B.C. Added Egypt to the

Persian Empire.Publicly scorned the

Egyptian religion by burning down images of Egyptian gods.

Cambyses suffered from severe mental illness later in his life. Later eventually

killed by his own people.

Judgment of Cambyses

The son of Hystaspes, a strap of Parthia. Became king through treachery.

Member of the royal bodyguard for Cyrus. Traveled to Media in 522 & plotted

murder of Bardiya, the third king, with six other conspirators.

Became king, met great widespread revolt against him being king. Fought the uprisings

Fortified frontiers & extended his borders. 519 was in possession of the whole

Indus Valley Tried two failed attempts on

conquering Greece. Died in 486 when planning a third

attempt. Followed Cyrus’s idea of

tolerating other religions & customs.

Mosaic of Darius in Battle

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/Articles/Maps/Maps_of_the_Ancient_World.htm

When it started, it had an area from the Caspian Sea in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south. When Cyrus took power, expanded all the way from the Indus River to Anatolia in the west. Cambyses continued the expansion by adding Egypt. Darius completed the extension of Persia by obtaining part of India in the east. only area Persia couldn’t get their hands on was Greece

http://encarta.msn.com/media_461544724_761564512_-1_1/cyrus_the_great.html Cyrus the Great picture

http://simplisticart.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html Cambyses picture http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/History/DariusIOfPersia.html Darius picture http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/westasia/history/persians.htm picture of Cyrus’s

tomb http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/aria/aria_assets/BK-14517?lang=en&context_space=aria_encyclopedia&context_id=00046867 judgement of Cambyses

http://fotios.cc/papers/articles/medean_wars/part1.htm map of Persian Empire in 500 B.C. Grossman, Mark. "Cyrus the Great." World Military Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE49&iPin=WML0063&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 26, 2008).

Pettman, Andrew. "Darius I." In Ackermann, Marsha E., Michael Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, and Mark F. Whitters, eds. Encyclopedia of World History: The Ancient World, Prehistoric Eras to 600 CE, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE49&iPin=WHI096&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 26, 2008).

INTRODUCTION:The Persians had one of the most successful empires

because of the impressive organization and upgraded technology they possessed. Both of these possessions

helped the Persians progress into one of the most powerful and sophisticated of the ancient empires known to us. The

Persians cultural diversity, which made them unique among the other empires, gave them many beneficial advantages over fellow empires. Technology, organization, and culture

contributed greatly to the development and later, the honorable remembrance of the Persian Empire.

The Persian Empire had The Persian Empire had effective methods of effective methods of organization organization and and progressive technology, progressive technology, which which helped to build and organize the empire. These helped to build and organize the empire. These include the division of the 20 provinces administered include the division of the 20 provinces administered by by satraps,satraps, the institution of a postal system, a the institution of a postal system, a standard form of currency standard form of currency (Darics) (Darics) and measurement, and measurement, and and The Royal Road.The Royal Road.

Daric

Persian Empire was so large it was hard to keep unified

King Darius created a system with 20 provinces in approximately 521 B.C.E.

Each province had a governor known as a satrap

This system lasted until the 1900’s

THINK ABOUT IT

*******The division of these problems also allowed for a group of people to practice their own beliefs and religions within that province without constantly clashing with another group**********

A governor appointed by the king, to rule local provinces. They collected taxes and recruited soldiers for the king.

These governors helped to keep order in these provinces, since it was impossible for a king to control and maintain all of them himself.

The Royal The Royal RoadRoad

FACTSFACTS:- Completed by Darius I in the5th century B.C.

-Ran from the Lydia, Sardes to Persis,Persepolis (1,677 miles)

-Helped to make traveling faster and easier and expanded trade. This helped Persians export and import goods more efficiently and prevented travelers from getting lost as easily.

- Rest stations were located along the road. -It was the Persian Empire’s “highway”.

-The road did not follow the shortest or simplest routes to some of the important cities, therefore historians believe the western parts of it were built by the Assyrians

CULTURECulture became a large part of the Persian Empire as the years progressed. Since the empire involved so manydifferent kinds of people, all with different cultures, thePersian culture as a whole included a variety of art, music, and foods.

-Earliest Persian artworks include detailed ceramics coming from Susa and Persepolis, bronze objects from Luristan and, gold, silver, and ivory objects from Ziwiye.

-During the Achaemenid Dynasty (550-330 B.C) ,Persian art was hugely influenced by the Egyptian and Greek styles. Sculpting and stone carving were famous forms of artistic expression during this time.

-Other types of artistic expression include carpet weaving , cylinder seals, and lots of metalwork.

Seal of Darius I

Metalwork

Gold Sword

Stone Carving

Persian Ceramics

History: There are few records of earliest

types of music in the Persian Empire since notation had not been an existing concept at the time. Plus, most of the music was improvisational. We know that music was played in ancient Persian timesis because depictions of musical instruments and musicians have been found in pottery, paintings, and poetry. It is said that Persians favorite music aspect was rhythm, a conclusion derived from the fact that many different kinds of drums were found left behind be the Persians.

Instruments:

Tombak- Chief percussionof classical Persian music

Daf- Persian Frame drum

FOODS

Persians ate similar foods to what is eaten today. Kings ate elaborate stews packed with meat Persians ate similar foods to what is eaten today. Kings ate elaborate stews packed with meat and fruit with herbs. Persians also ate rice and bread made from wheat. yogurt, made fromand fruit with herbs. Persians also ate rice and bread made from wheat. yogurt, made fromboiled milk, butterfat, and could be eaten cooked or raw. Apricots, artichokes, boiled milk, butterfat, and could be eaten cooked or raw. Apricots, artichokes, eggplants, lemons, limes, oranges, pistachios, spinach, tarragon, and saffron all went to eggplants, lemons, limes, oranges, pistachios, spinach, tarragon, and saffron all went to Europe from Persia. Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, paprika, dill, pomegranates were all Europe from Persia. Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, paprika, dill, pomegranates were all condiments and spices used in Persian foods. Lamb and goats were a staple meat eaten condiments and spices used in Persian foods. Lamb and goats were a staple meat eaten by the Persians. by the Persians.

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Zoroastrianism was a great religion that was complex in many ways and was far ahead of its time

Created by the philosophies of a prophet named Zoroaster

Solved the basic question of why there was chaos and pain in the world

Believed in heaven, hell and final judgment Judaism, Christianity and

Islam all had similar concepts

Second monotheistic religion after Judaism

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http://www.ebibleteacher.com/imagehtml/images karenswhimsy.com/persian-empire.shtm

(Persian Empire :: Royal Palace of Ispahan)