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The Persian Empire: The Five Steps To Civilization Model

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The five steps to civilization model occur in the following order: sedentary farmers, surplus of food and technology, division of labor, urbanization (the only necessary requirement for a group of people to become a civilization, and culture.
The Persian Empire was one of the first major empires in the ancient world. This empire spanned from Egypt in the west to Turkey in the north, and through Mesopotamia to the Indus River in the east. It was established by Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC.
Sedentary Farmers: The Persians originated as agrarian villagers, nomadic horse and sheep breeders during the Bronze Age in central Asia south of the Ural Mountains and settled the Fertile Crescent. They depended on rain fed agriculture. The crops that the Persians grew include wheat, barely, chickpea, garden pea, cantaloupe, pomegranates, onions, spinach, pistachio …show more content…

An example of technology used in agriculture is the sakia. This device was used in irrigation. The sakia or The Persian Wheel was a mechanical device used to raise water from wells or pits. It consists of buckets fastened to a rope belt about the wheel. Draught animals such as bullocks, buffaloes or camels operated this device. The Persians also had qanats, which are slanted, underground canals that transfer water by using gravity.
Division of Labor: There were different positions in the Persian Empire. This includes positions such as priests, rulers, and soldiers. The Persians differed from other empires due to not having any slaves. Slavery was banned within the empire. There were also farmers, laborers, merchants, and landlords.
Urbanization: An example of urbanization in the Persian Empire is Persepolis. The city was also known as Parsa. The construction of Persepolis began at the site in 518 BCE under the rule of King Darius the Great. Darius made Parsa the new capital of the Persian

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