How Technology Has Impacted The Political System

From 1567 to 330 B.C. humanity experienced many subsequent development as well as decline in its civilizations. Among these events emerged three colossal empires that had shaken the world and forever changed the course of human history. The Egyptian, Assyrian, and Persian Empires have been instrumental in influencing technology, religion, and ideas throughout the world. Various factors have contributed to the success and downfall of these giants. Each of the “World Powers” have similarities as well as distinctions in its government form and organization, religion, and economy that contributed to their triumph.

Have you ever wondered the difference in ancient civilizations? I am going to tell you about the differences in these civilizations; Rome, China, and Persia. Two of these places are still here, but the other was taken over and is no longer in existence. Though these places are old, they have played a big part in the growth of humanity. They have played a major part in our culture, religion, and everyday activities. Many of the things that we do today are based upon what they did way back in these times. Without Rome, China, and Persia: Do you think we would be the same as we are today? They are all different, but they have one thing in common, they helped evolve the human species.

The culture of a society, as determined by its political, social and religious structure, is a major factor in the development of its technology. Even societies that exist in the same time and environment can progress in different directions, depending on the interests and goals of the public. The ancient city-states or poleis (polis-sing.) of Athens and Sparta provide an excellent example of how cultural differences influence the development of technologies.

Persia and Greece were beautiful and prosperous empires and where the most influential of their time. In this essay I will talk about the two main empires’ political structures and their economy and I will also state similarities and differences between the two empires. The two empires’ political structures might have varied greatly but their economies were very similar. Even though they had differences and had major battles they were still the ideal empires of their time.

There were four great multicultural Empires in our world’s history Ancient Greece, The Roman Empire, Persia and China. I am going to focus on Ancient Greece and the Persian Empire, what geographical features did each region offer to help the people build these great empires, what were some of the cultures of this empires, and what changes did they have over time? Going further into details on the Persian Empire, who were two of the leaders and what contributions did they make to Persia, what methods did they use to expand the region and gain power? How did the political system change over time?

In historic times, multiple Societies of people living and collaborating together in a community is what led to the formation of many Empires. Empires were comprised of similar groups of people that were most often geographically located within close proximities. It is interesting to compare and contrast three societies which became Empires: the Egyptian, Zhou Chinese, and Persian. Each Empire is responsible for contributing to a foundational advancement that has been used in future generations. I will compare the similarities and contrasts of each and explain why I believe the Persian Empire was the most successful Empire.

Empires were different in the way they exerted power because they could affect places outside their empire in a positive or negative way. The Persians exerted their power by thinking they were superior to all other people at that time and when they heard a place had riches they would go plunder it. In document 1 it describes that since they thought they were superior they had the right to go plunder places with luxury.

Iran was now unprotected, and a new power came into being. The Arabs invaded and the quality of life changed. “People fell into poverty as the greedy court imposed ever-increasing taxes. Tyranny tore apart the social contract between ruler and ruled that Zoroastrian doctrine holds to be the basis of organized life” (21). The Iranian people couldn’t survive with a ruler who had no sympathy or respect for them. Their life was being over run by foreigners.

There were several differences and similarities within the Persian Empire that emerged under Cyrus the great and earlier Mesopotamian Empires. Not all empires flourished as well as Cyrus the great’s did due to his moral virtues and way of ruling. One king by the name of Tiglath had some similar values but his empire did not prosper in such ways as Cyrus’s. Not only were there differences and similarities between these different Empires but there were also different ways that Cyrus and his successors coopt earlier religious, political, and social traditions and i'll give several examples of them within this essay.

1. Persian Empire: The Persian Empire was one of wealth and splendor based in Iran and the Persian Gulf. From 557 to 331 B.C.E., it spanned from Egypt to the Indus River. Through conquests, 35 million people came to live under Persian rule. This empire was heavily influenced by previous civilizations, like Babylon and Assyria. Monarchs with absolute, unquestionable power ruled the empire. Ahura Mazda, a Persian god, assigned this authority to the rulers. Because The Persian Empire was so large, it shaped cultures with its taxes, translators, coins, and canals. (Political, Interaction, Cultural)

The foundations of an ancient empire are shaped by many characteristics originating in a civilization’s social, philosophical, and theological values. Collectively these will bring about an empire that has aspects which will classify them in distinctive ways. The aspects that will be compared between Persia and Rome are the motives for expansion, methods of expansion, the administration, the impact on those conquered and the original empire, and the reasons for the decline of each empire. When combined, these aspects predispose the individual overall shape of ancient Rome and Persia. Both empires began with conquering larger rulers and creating vast empires which had never been seen

The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution of 1979 took place in Iran. It is when Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi the emperor of Iran during that time, was overthrown by the revolutionary forces led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and thereafter established the Islamic National Republic of Iran. The Iranian Revolution brought a big change into the international community and how it viewed revolutions. As Iran’s revolution lacked many of the fundamental causes that were though to give rise to revolutions. It was unusual in the sense that it had no ‘agrarian’ pattern. As the traditional social structure was maintained after the revolution and it reinstated old structure as the Muslim clergy came into power. To understand what led to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, we need to look back into the Iranian history and the timeline leading up to the revolution. In doing so, we can use the psychological theories of revolution and structural- functionalist theories of revolution in order to analyses and explain the cause of the Iranian Revolution.

Similar to the Roman Empire the Persian Empire stretched across vast lands without any serious rivalry. At the height of the empire it stretched across, not only, Asia, from the Aegean to the Indus River, but also included part of the continent of Africa. We get the word, Persia, from the Greek word Parsa meaning, “Above reproach”. The Persians unlike most other Empires would be ruled under a benevolent ruler. This would bring a large amount of cultural diffusion to the Empire. The empires history is separated into three historical periods: Old Persia (600-300 B.C.E), Middle Persia (300-800 B.C.E.) and modern Persia (800-Present). The height or the Empire was reached around 500 B.C.E. (Ancient and Medieval History

It is important to note the origins of the Qajar dynasty and the factors that a Persian Shah would have had to consider when ruling. Prior to the establishment of the Qajar Shahdom in 1785, their long-time adversaries the Zand dynasty ruled over Persia who galloped into power at the head of a rival tribal federation in typical fashion of the region . It is important to note that the majority of people under the rule of the Persian Shahs were not in fact Persian but instead were multiple ethnically and culturally diverse tribes

The civilizations that I decided to elaborate on are Greece, Rome, and Persian. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast the similarities and differences of these civilizations. These civilizations will be analyzed in the area of their cultural, social, political, economic, diplomatic and military collating. Greece, Rome, and Persian are very distinctive and fascinating civilization. From the information I have learned through the semester will help me sharply juxtapose the cultures.