Rise And Fall Of The Persian Empire

The Persian Empire is considered one of the most successful empires at its time. What made the Persian Empire so unique and successful, was because of how sophisticated there government was. Like other empires the Persian Empire had a religion. This made the people of Persia freely think about their ruler and help the empire out in any way. The Persian empire compared to preceding empires, (such as the Assyrian Empire etc) were relatively less oppressive and abusive to their people. This prevented the empire from collapsing that easily. Which is one reason why they advanced their rule for another 200 years (1,429 years in Dynasty rule (1979)).

The Persians had a very good government. Before Persia became known as the largest empire in the world in its time period they were not unified. It wasn't until 522 B.C. that the Persian Empire became unified. Emperor Darius accomplished the real unification of this

Chau’s thesis that the rise and fall of empires was due to tolerance, inclusion, difference, and diversity is shown to be true of the Roman Empire because of the way that tolerance allowed and caused the empire to rise, enter its golden age, and fall. The Roman Empire was a “hyperpower” that lasted from 44 BCE to 476 CE. The empire contained Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe, along with North Africa; thus, there was an abundance of culture from many different conquered groups. Romans wanted to make these conquered nations provinces of Rome. The Roman Empire began (and the Roman Republic ended) with the assassination of Julius Caesar, who wanted to be a dictator. No longer a republic, the lands already ruled by Rome became part of an empire. The government became centralized with a single ruler, the emperor. However, even before the empire, during the Republic, there was also the similar feeling of wanting to conquer other nations was there.

The Roman empire and the Persian empire were both world powers for a reason. Both empires used very similar and different strategies to achieve all the power they accumulated over time. They both had very different views on everything from religion to human rights. Both empires both grew around the general same area, the Mediterranean Sea. They both used massive military force when conquering other empires and lands.

The Persian Empire, although disadvantaged, geographically, was still able to thrive throughout the 200 years that it reigned for, due to the Persian government’s ideas and ideals. These ideas were greatly affected by their lack of a good geography and their vicinity of geography. As Cyrus came into power in 546 BCE, he gained more territory, due to his ideals on the government being based on conquering. Due to Cyrus’ conquering, he was able to take advantage of both what the conquered land had, and tried to benefit the Persian Empire by using the geographical features that the territories provided.

In 6th century BCE the Persian Empire was the main empire dominating most of the Mediterranean Sea. It ran from part of modern Afghanistan and Pakistan in to modern day Turkey and portions of Northern Greece. The Persian Empire was a strict state with powerful kings ruling over the massive empire. The empire ruled over a vast ethnic group and proved to have success in diversity, especially with Jews, whose history have been well documented with the Persian Empire.

The day Cyrus the Great established the Persian empire in the year 550 B.C.E, soon became a place where Greece and Rome were to be influenced by in certain circumstances. A civilization enriched of local customs and advanced iron technology, the Persians had developed an early monotheistic religion- Zoroastrianism. Conquered by a Greek educator, Alexander the Great, the Sassanid empire was brought up during Rome's imperial centuries. In 1700 B.C.E, the Greeks (who are Indo-Europeans) took over the Greek peninsula. From then on, the increase of civilization began to grow during 800- 600 B.C.E all due to strong city-states; turning out to be very advantageous to the Greeks because each had their own government and their geography didn't quite

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

One point of contention between Halsall and Heather is the labeling of the Sassanid Persians. The former said pays little mind to the Persians, saying that they were not considered to be barbarians (Halsall 52). He moves on to the next people with no explanation other that “there was more to being barbarian than simply living outside the Roman Empire” (Halsall 52). The latter, on the other hand, clearly states that they were thought of as a barbarian culture (Heather, 57-58). This causes the reader to question what exactly the term “barbarian” meant to the citizens of the Roman Empire and how this related to the Sassanid Persians. The label of “barbarian” was related to the lifestyle, morality, and martial skill of a group. The Sassanid Persians

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

As a political tactic, rulers often portray themselves in a certain way in order to stabilize their reign and rule more effectively. Some take the approach of uniqueness by setting themselves apart from their subject population while others take the approach of sameness by emphasizing the similarities in which they share with the people. Not exclusively limited to apartness or sameness, some rulers have shown to employ a mix of both ruling styles. It is these versatile rulers who have experienced more successes in their reign because they are not compelled to only one ruling style, allowing them to better adapt to the needs of their ruling population. The apartness ruling style is best seen in the Safavid Empire under the rule of Shah Ismail. Shah Ismail uses religion as a political tool to control his state and does so by declaring Shi’ism, a smaller branch of Islam, as the state religion (#). After separating himself & his people from those who are not willing to abide to his ideologies, Shah Ismail can now demand the absolute loyalties from his subjects and persecute those who are deviant. This radical act further creates a deep chasm between Shi’ite Muslims and nearby Sunni Muslims neighbors. As a result, cultural flow and the exchange of beliefs between Sunni & Shi’ite states are essentially hindered. Ismail’s apartness ruling approach is taken to the extreme with social, religious, and legal systems being strictly confined to Shi’ite doctrines (@). It is noted that

The Safavid Empire was one of the most significant ruling dynasties to have existed in the Middle East. This empire was established by Shaykh Safi al-Din but it was not till Shah Abbas’s reign that this empire became stronger. He monopolized revenues collected along the major trade routes and with established a more centralized administrative structure in the new capital, Isfahan. The Safavid dynasty relied their principles heavily on religious charisma and tribal military skills. Later leader of the Safavid empire Iran, Shah Isma’il, gave guidance to the Safavid people. His leadership and character gave him a great sense of appeal that attracted many other tribes from his home region. He had many military tactics that aided him to defeat neighboring towns and because he was a very respected leader, he gained more support from other tribes.

Iran was included in the territory of what was then the ancient Persian Empire. For centuries Iran (land of the Aryans) was also referred to as Persia, which was the official name until 1935. Fourteen years had passed before the Iranian government allowed the use of both names. Few groups of people today have significant history like the Iranians, descending from the ancient Persians, who possess one of the world’s richest and oldest cultures. Historically, a variety of other cultures and groups had once occupied the ancient Iranian plateau as early as 4,000 B.C.E, with little importance. Beginning by the third millennium, Persia was ruled by some of the greatest kings of all time, from Cyrus the Great to Darius the III, who turned the

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.

The rise of the Ottoman Empire started in Turkey and spread through most of the Middle East. Their military practice and successful transition to the use of gun powder made them one of the most successful ruling bodies in the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire which ruled until modern times had great influence on the Middle Eastern world. Their political and economic abilities astonished the western world. Their religious views and fears were instilled into any non-Muslim and helped the western world to find new trade. The rise of Christianity in the western world provided new ways to preserve the dead and ended the need for frankensence, the main export of the Ottoman Empire. This