Why Did the Achaemenid Empire Fall? Essay

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.

For a long period of time, Rome seemed like an unstoppable empire. It conquered the majority of the land surrounding it, including Greece, Turkey, Iraq, and many of its other neighboring countries. It seemed as though Rome would conquer the entire world, as it was the center of it, until it began to decline in 476 C.E. The very aspects that made it so successful were the ones that caused its collapse. Various political, religious, and economic reasons caused its downfall. The fact that the entire economy of Rome collapsed and money became worthless was a major reason for the empire’s collapse. In addition, the loss of a common religion and lack of efficient ruling in relation to its vast territory affected the empire. The Roman

     Alexander and his men now set forth to conquer Egypt. Upon arriving, he was welcomed as a “...divinely sent liberator from Persian rule'; and was crowned

Later on in his life, Alexander continued to show his ability to accomplish many difficult tasks. "After three grueling years of warfare and three decisive battles, Alexander smashed the Persian armies at the Tigris River and conquered the mighty Persian Empire, including the legendary city of Babylon" (“Alexander the Great” ushistory.org). This was a great victory that proved Alexander had what it took to be a great leader. Defeating the Persians was something many leaders could never do, but Alexander

In the fourth century BC, rapid cultural, economic, social, and political changes were occurring in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great. In 337 BC, Alexander the Third inherited the Macedonian kingdom after his father, Philip the Second, died. Philip the Second has already taken control over all of Greece, and Alexander used the manpower and money from this to expand even further, into Persia. Beginning in 334 BC, Alexander started an intense campaign through Persia, concurring city after city. Eventually, Alexander had conquered all of Persia and forced the Persian king Darius the third to the city of Ecbatana, where he was killed. Instead of returning to Greece after his victory over the Persian

One important reason that caused the Roman empire's downfall, was it's massive size. According to document 2, Rome was too vast to take care of itself properly. Most of the problems were with money and the borders were hard to keep safe. These problems were hard to keep under control, so rome

Alexander conquered 10 places in his 11 years of being a soldier. Alexander forced his troops to marry the women in Persia because he wanted to join cultures with Persia. The background essay states that "At the time, Persia was probably the most powerful kingdom in the world. This mattered little to Alexander. Alexander returned to the Persian city of Susa, where he tried to unify his huge empire by taking Darius's daughter as his second wife and ordering his officers to marry Persian women." Alexander wants the cultures, and the two races to mix. That is why Alexander is great for spreading the Greek

Alexander III of Macedon or Alexander the Great became king of Macedonia when he was about fourteen years old, and thus began his reign of terror and destruction. Alexander’s worthiness of his title, “Alexander the Great” has been highly debated. Historians have opposing views on whether Alexander is deserving of such a hyperbolic title. Alexander was an excellent military leader who conquered many lands and created an empire, however despite his victories his empire came crashing down only ten years after his death. This begs the question how great was Alexander the Great?

Alexander the so-called ‘Great’ was a legendary conqueror who in his short lifetime was able to overthrow the Persian Empire, the most powerful kingdom at that time. He was born in 356 BCE to King Philip and Queen Olympia of Macedonia. Alexander’s warring career jumpstarted at the age of 20 in the year 336 BCE, due to the assassination of his father in which he inherited his father’s kingdom. Over the span of 11 years, Alexander and his small fleet of men of about 40,000 took over and ruthlessly conquered the Persian Empire. Sadly, this conquest was short-lived by Alexander’s sudden death in the year 323 BCE, in which his unstable kingdom with a lack of a structured governmental system quickly broke apart in the period of 10 years. Therefore, because of the cruel and the disorganized nature of the way Alexander the ‘Great’ conquered and maintained the Persian Empire, he does not deserve to be referred as ‘Great’.

The Achaemenid Empire, which arose in 550 B.C.E. and declined in 330 B.C.E., is considered the first Persian Empire. This empire expanded its rule across Asia, Africa and Europe unifying tribes and cultures by establishing networks of complex roads. The Achaemenid dynasty had fourteen rulers. There were two major influential emperors, Cyrus II the Great and Darius I the Great, who left a large impact on the empire and other empires to come. The demise of the Achaemenid Empire is due to the rise of Alexander of Macedon, also known as Alexander the Great, and his victorious battles against the Achaemenid forces.

Throughout history many civilizations have risen and fallen without so much of a second thought from historians. However there have been civilizations that climbed to the top of the metaphorical food chain and stayed there and influenced not only their region but the world for countless millennium even after they were no longer a functioning empire. Two such empires were the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire. The first factor to consider when thinking of successful empires would be geographical location. The second factor would have to be the leadership, and the third would have to be the method in which the empire expands. All of these factors are what makes a small civilization with great potential a formidable empire that lasts longer than a lifetime.

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.

During the course of his life and reign, Alexander had fought and won many battles and wars, defeating many kings and warlords throughout the ancient world. Perhaps his most recognized conquest was of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and its ‘King of Kings’ Darius III during the Battle of Issus 1. After defeating the Persians at the Battle

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

Antigonus ruled over Asia minor, Macedonia and Thrace and in 306 BC he declared himself king of the Macedonians "The Seleucids moved to control and reform the pre-existing Persian bureaucracy, installing Greek officials and switching from clay tablets to parchment and from cuneiform to Greek or Aramaic" (Stewart, 2004).. Antigonos' attempts to take control of the whole of Alexander's empire led to his death. His son, Demetrius managed to regain control of Macedon a few yeas later but lost his throne and died in prison.