Griffin Bassman
Professor Frame
Ancient Near East History
12/5/14
How did the Persian kings control/govern the various parts of their realm? Consider at least three different geographical areas
The origins of Cyrus the Great are rather unclear and highly disputed. Multiple accounts range from him being the grandson of the Median King Astyages to being the son of a poor Persian family of a disreputable clan. Although there can be no certainty, as with most everything from the ancient world, it is widely believed that, by heredity, he became the sub-king of a Persian land called Persis, under the rule of the Median king Astyages. (Cook 1983, 25-26) He quickly expanded his power by unifying all of the Persian lands under
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After conquering Media, Babylonia, and Egypt, for instance, Cyrus The Great and Cambyses II would make a personal union with the peoples of these countries. They would crown themselves according to the local customs, and created normal conditions for the development of the economy and transit trade. They retained, with moderate altercations, the local political structures in these countries, and offered the peoples a large degree of local self-government. These first two kings proved to have not created a very well structured empire, however, which led to the multiple uprisings from 523-521 BCE. (Gershevitch 1985, 502 – 504) From there, Darius I, the King who proceeded Cambyses II, found a more stable balance by putting in place a more organized administrative system that would not undergo any fundamental changes up until the demise of the Achaemenid Empire.
The system that Darius I put in place split the empire up into roughly twenty “satrapies” that would be governed by “satraps.” The satraps were responsible for collecting the annual tribute set by the king, drafting people to the army, and maintaining justice and security within their satrapy. The satraps would also have an armed force at their disposal to keep everybody within their satrapy in line. (Gershevitch 1985, 267) Inspectors would also periodically visit each satrapy to
As the king Xerces started ruling, the beginning of the decline of tolerance and the Persian Empire as a whole began. Although we do not have the exact facts from this late time period, historians have studied Greek depictions of “increasing brutality and repression of the later Achaemenid kings, provoking violent uprisings among the subject people.” (Day of Empire pg. 21) The pivotal point of failure occurred when Darius III took the power of the Empire. During this time, “growing intolerance, unrest, and violence” (Day of Empire pg. 21) was happening amongst the subject peoples. As more and more people were conquered, the Persian Empire had so many diverse people that there was no unity amongst the Persian Empire. Soon, the whole empire came to a fall when Alexander of Macedon began to conquer cities and replace the Persian
Darius I ,also known as Darius the Great, was the third king who reigned from 550-486 BCE during the Achaemenid Empire. While he lived, Darius held the empire at its peak, which stretched from the river Nile and parts of Northern Greece to the Indus River Valley. One of the most major events in Darius 's life was his expedition to discipline Athens and Eretria for their support in the Ionian Revolt. He made his empire larger by vanquishing Thrace and Macedon, and occupying Scythia. He also arranged his empire, by splitting it into provinces and placing governors to rule over it. Darius organized a new financial system, along with making Aramaic the official language of the empire. He further worked on establishment projects throughout the empire. Darius also formulated a codification of laws for Egypt. He order the carving of the cliff-face Behistun Inscription, an autobiography of great modern linguistic significance. Darius also started many massive architectural projects including magnificent palaces in Persepolis, and Susa.
Cyrus the Great and King Ashoka were successful rulers because they both developed laws to protect their kingdom, valued their citizen’s rights and religions, and had a strong military. While they both had a thriving empire, they developed them in different ways. In order to be a good ruler, he must be liked by your subjects. Cyrus the Great as well as King Ashoka had strong leadership skills that enabled them to lead their people with confidence and power. They both wanted their kingdom to grow continuously. Historians today often refer to Cyrus the Great and King Ashoka as the most powerful rulers of their time.
The ancient civilizations had very different ways of running their empires throughout their time. The Persians and Greeks held very true to this statement. They both had different sources that contributed to the power they held. The Persians had a very large empire and had a specific way of controlling it. First lets see how the Persians came to be. Cyrus, the son of the Assyrian king, was supposed to be killed as a baby. He was instead taken to a village that soon became called Persia. As Cyrus matured, the people could tell he had the characteristics of a king. He soon became just that. He didn’t want to be just a ruler though, he wanted to be different. His tactics were based on mercy, forgiveness, and compassion. Cyrus did go to war still
Cyrus the Great’s(C. 600-530 BCE) expansion started in Persia, located on the southern portion of the Iranian peninsula, Cyrus conquered the Medes, led by King Astyages, circa 559 BCE in the northern part of the peninsula. From there, he moved into Ecbatana to take over the Medes. He united the them with
To commence, Cyrus the Great, who ruled most of Persia during the 500s, and King Ashoka , emperor of the Maurya Dynasty from 268 to 232 BCE, both shared similar characteristics that made them great rulers, yet had their differences that made them unique in their own way. Furthermore, both Ashoka and Cyrus the Great were both knowledgeable, respectable, and tolerated by their own people, making them extraordinary leaders. Although, in comparison Ashoka was much more aggressive due to his extreme fear factor on everyone and his strong Buddhist beliefs. In comparison, Cyrus was much more lovable, understandable, and did anything possible for his people. To conclude, both King Ashoka and Cyrus the Great, were both powerful and intrepid leaders
Cyrus, typically known as Cyrus the Great, was the king of the Persians that lived from 576 to 530 B.C. He became the king of the Persians in 559 B.C. and reigned until 530 B.C. During this time, people were fighting for power and control of the Fertile Crescent and of Asia Minor. Cyrus was mainly known for his large respect and tolerance to other religions and his highly peaceful actions to people he conquered. He was also known for being one of the few people able to control and hold control one of the biggest empires, even after death.
After the Assyrian Empire fell to the Chaldeans, later, the Chaldeans then surrendered to the Persian Empire. The Persians were a nomadic people that obtained the Indo-European tongue. Cyrus the Great was a Persian ruler that created the Persian state even more powerful with the introduction of satrapies, provinces when they continued to expand their nation. Je was a ruler with great wisdom and restraint that Babylonians experienced when Cyrus took them over. Cyrus, a merciful leader, allowed the Jews to return to their home city, Jerusalem, with all their sacred objects and could rebuild their Temple. He was a respected king for he allowed the practices of Assyria, Babylonia, Egyptian, and Lydia to occur in his palace. Even after he died,
A form of government that allowed people, called satraps, selected by the ruler to govern smaller areas, similar to states and governors.
The third ruler of the Persian Empire was known as Darius I. He was the creator of the twenty provinces, in addition to starting the assembly of Persepolis and bestowing government titles to Persians, rather than to Medes.
In The Education of Cyrus, Xenophon addresses a critical query immediately in questioning how one can rule over human beings without opposition or revolt. Xenophon initially reasons that no regime can effectively do that, but after seeing the education and life of Cyrus, he argues that ruling all others without revolution is not only plausible, but “not even difficult if done with knowledge.” Through his education and virtues, Cyrus acquired the knowledge to not only be a successful king, but rule over the entire known world, effectively proving to Xenophon that it is possible to rule over all human beings successfully. Cyrus was more than a king, but rather the founder of an
Cyrus the Great became ruler of the Persians because he did not want to be controlled by the meads and along with his nomadic warriors, he overtook them. Previously, the Medes had an Iranian religion of whom the Magi were like the priests of Persia and with their great architectural knowledge, they build fire temples which were used by the Magi to perform ceremonies & rituals. This religion derived from magic and astrology, principles of dualism (good & Evil) and resurrection. This religion is one of the causes for which Cyrus the great, rebelled against the Medes. With his army, he conquered most of Asia and remained in power because of the type of ruler that he was. Cyrus allowed the people to keep their customs and practice their own religions, worship their own gods and carry their separate rituals,
Darius I, also known as Darius the Great, was the third king who reigned from 550-486 BCE during the Achaemenid Empire. While he lived, Darius held the empire at its peak, which stretched from the river Nile and parts of Northern Greece to the Indus River Valley. One of the most major events in Darius 's life was his expedition to discipline Athens and Eretria for their support in the Ionian Revolt. He made his empire larger by vanquishing Thrace and Macedonia, and occupying Scythia. He also arranged his empire, by splitting it into provinces and placing governors to rule over it. Darius organized a new financial system, along with making Aramaic the official language of the empire. He followed religious tolerance that created peace within the empire. Darius order the carving of the cliff-face Behistun Inscription, an autobiography of great modern linguistic significance.
Long before the great king, Cyrus’ death the Persian Empire had reached the milestone that allowed it to be the first empire that was so large. Cyrus had a son, who took over the throne in 530 B.C.E., named Cambyses II. Cambyses would show the same ambition we saw in his father. In 525 B.C.E he added Egypt to the Persian Empire. His victory was not to be enjoyed for long. He died in 522 B.C.E. and it is assumed that he may have died from a sword wound. This wound is believed to be accidental. Although, his death was not mourned for like that of his father. This may have been due to his
For the next few years he would lay siege and conquer many cities and countries and gains control of a vast majority of Asia Minor and Egypt. After Alexander had conquered Babylon he set his sights on Persia. He took Susa, one of the capitals and Persepolis the ceremonial capital. Alexander had set his sights on taking Darius III and pursed him into Media then Parthia. In the year 330BC, Darius was taken prisoner by the Bactrian Satrap Bessus who had Darius stabbed as Alexander approached, He declared himself the new king under the name of Artaxerxes V. Alexander gave Darius a proper burial next to his Achaemenid ancestors and proclaims himself the rightful successor. Though Bessus proclaims himself as King of the Empire, he had no relations to anyone of the royal family, therefore it is generally accepted that the death of Darius the III marked the end of Achaemenid Empire. Much of the remaining Empire falls to Alexander or gains independence for themselves. Alexander succeeded in conquering the Achaemenid Empire because of his great tactical prowess on the battlefield making him and his army a formidable enemy for the generals of the Empire. He conquers many cities and state swiftly, many were willing to submit after seeing what they had done to other armies. In conquering the cities he began to merge Greek language, Greek Culture and Greek population with these conquered areas making the original culture of Persia decline.