3

The Persian Empire

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES

EMPIRE BUILDING By Leaders today try to follow the • Cyrus • satrap

governing with tolerance and Persian example of tolerance • Cambyses • Royal Road
wisdom, the Persians and wise government. • Darius • Zoroaster
established a well-ordered
empire that lasted for 200 years.

SETTING THE STAGE The Medes, along with the Chaldeans and others,
helped to overthrow the Assyrian Empire in 612 B.C. The Medes marched to
Nineveh from their homeland in the area of present-day northern Iran.
Meanwhile, the Medes’ close neighbor to the south, Persia, began to expand its
horizons and territorial ambitions.

The Rise of Persia TAKING NOTES

Comparing and
The Assyrians employed military force to control a vast empire. In contrast, the Contrasting Use a
Persians based their empire on tolerance and diplomacy. They relied on a strong diagram to identify the
military to back up their policies. Ancient Persia included what today is Iran. similarities and
differences between
The Persian Homeland Indo-Europeans first migrated from Central Europe Cyrus and Darius.
and southern Russia to the mountains and plateaus east of the Fertile Crescent
around 1000 B.C. This area extended from the Caspian Sea in the north to the
Persian Gulf in the south. (See the map on page 101.) In addition to fertile farm- Cyrus Only
land, ancient Iran boasted a wealth of minerals. These included copper, lead, Both
gold, silver, and gleaming blue lapis lazuli. A thriving trade in these minerals put
Darius Only
the settlers in contact with their neighbors to the east and the west.
At first, dozens of tiny kingdoms occupied the region. Eventually two major
powers emerged: the Medes and the Persians. In time, a remarkable ruler would
lead Persia to dominate the Medes and found a huge empire.
Cyrus the Great Founds an Empire The rest of the world paid little attention
to the Persians until 550 B.C. In that year, Cyrus (SY•ruhs), Persia’s king, began
to conquer several neighboring kingdoms. Cyrus was a military genius, leading
his army from victory to victory between 550 and 539 B.C. In time, Cyrus con-
trolled an empire that spanned 2,000 miles, from the Indus River in the east to
Anatolia in the west.
Even more than his military genius, though, Cyrus’s most enduring legacy
was his method of governing. His kindness toward conquered peoples revealed a
wise and tolerant view of empire. For example, when Cyrus’s army marched into
a city, his generals prevented Persian soldiers from looting and burning. Unlike
other conquerors, Cyrus believed in honoring local customs and religions.
Instead of destroying the local temple, Cyrus would kneel there to pray.

First Age of Empires 99

 Cyrus also allowed the Jews, who had been driven from their homeland by the
Babylonians, to return to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. Under Persian rule, the Jews rebuilt
their city and temple. The Jews were forever grateful to Cyrus, whom they considered
one of God’s anointed ones. The Hebrew prophet Ezra tells of Cyrus’s kindness:

PRIMARY SOURCE
This is the word of Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord the God of heaven has given me all
the kingdoms of the earth, and he himself has charged me to build him a house at
Jerusalem in Judah. To every man of his people now among you I say, God be with him,
and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord the God of
Israel, the God whose city is Jerusalem.
EZRA 1: 2–3 (Bible)

Summarizing
Cyrus was killed as he fought nomadic invaders on the eastern border of his
What are some
empire. According to the Greek historian Arrian, his simple, house-shaped tomb examples of Cyrus’s
bore these words: “O man, I am Cyrus the son of Cambyses. I established the tolerant method of
Persian Empire and was king of Asia. Do not begrudge me my memorial.” governing?

Persian Rule
The task of unifying conquered territories fell to rulers who followed Cyrus. They
succeeded by combining Persian control with local self-government.
Cambyses and Darius Cyrus died in 530 B.C. His son Cambyses (kam•BY•seez),
named after Cyrus’s father, expanded the Persian Empire by conquering Egypt.
However, the son neglected to follow his father’s wise example. Cambyses scorned
the Egyptian religion. He ordered the images of Egyptian gods to be burned. After
ruling for only eight years, Cambyses died. Immediately, widespread rebellions
broke out across the empire. Persian control had seemed strong a decade earlier. It
now seemed surprisingly fragile.
Cambyses’s successor, Darius (duh•RY•uhs), a noble of the ruling dynasty, had
begun his career as a member of the king’s bodyguard. An elite group of Persian
soldiers, the Ten Thousand Immortals, helped Darius seize the throne around 522
B.C. Darius spent the first three years of his reign putting down revolts. He spent
▼ Sculpted figures
bring gifts to the next few years establishing a well-organized and efficient administration.
Darius. The relief Having brought peace and stability to the empire, Darius turned his attention to
sculpture, located conquest. He led his armies eastward into the mountains of present-day
in the ancient
Afghanistan and then down into the river valleys of India. The immense Persian
Persian capital of
Persepolis, dates Empire now extended over 2,500 miles, embracing Egypt and Anatolia in the west,
from around the part of India in the east, and the Fertile Crescent in the center. Darius’s only failure
sixth century B.C. was his inability to conquer Greece.

100
 Persian Empire, 500 B.C. Persian Empire under Cyrus, 530 B.C.
Persian Empire under Cambyses, 522 B.C.
Aral Persian Empire under Darius, 500 B.C.
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The Royal Road

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GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Maps

1. Region What part of the ancient world did Cambyses add to the Persian Empire?
2. Region Compare the map of the Persian Empire with that of the Assyrian Empire on
page 96. What areas did the Persians rule that the Assyrians did not?

Provinces and Satraps Although Darius was a great warrior, his real genius lay
in administration. To govern his sprawling empire, Darius divided it into 20
provinces. These provinces were roughly similar to the homelands of the different
groups of people who lived within the Persian Empire. Under Persian rule, the peo-
ple of each province still practiced their own religion. They also spoke their own
language and followed many of their own laws. This administrative policy of many
groups—sometimes called “nationalities”—living by their own laws within one
empire was repeatedly practiced in Southwest Asia.
Although tolerant of the many groups within his empire, Darius still ruled with
absolute power. In each province, Darius installed a governor called a satrap
(SAY•TRAP), who ruled locally. Darius also appointed a military leader and a tax
collector for each province. To ensure the loyalty of these officials, Darius sent out
inspectors known as the “King’s Eyes and Ears.”
Two other tools helped Darius hold together his empire. An excellent system of
roads allowed Darius to communicate quickly with the most distant parts of the
empire. The famous Royal Road, for example, ran from Susa in Persia to Sardis in
Anatolia, a distance of 1,677 miles. Darius borrowed the second tool, manufactur-
ing metal coins, from the Lydians of Asia Minor. For the first time, coins of a
standard value circulated throughout an extended empire. People no longer had to
weigh and measure odd pieces of gold or silver to pay for what they bought. The
network roads and the wide use of standardized coins promoted trade. Trade, in
turn, helped to hold together the empire.

First Age of Empires 101

 The Persian Legacy
By the time of Darius’s rule, about 2,500 years had passed since the first Sumerian
city-states had been built. During those years, people of the Fertile Crescent had
endured war, conquest, and famine. These events gave rise to a basic question: Why
should so much suffering and chaos exist in the world? A Persian prophet named
Zoroaster (ZAWR•oh•AS•tuhr), who lived around 600 B.C., offered an answer.
Zoroaster’s Teachings Zoroaster taught that the earth is a battleground where a
great struggle is fought between the spirit of good and the spirit of evil. Each per-
son, Zoroaster preached, is expected to take part in this struggle. The Zoroastrian
religion teaches a belief in one god, Ahura Mazda (ah•HUR•uh MAZ•duh). At the
end of time, Ahura Mazda will judge everyone according to how well he or she
fought the battle for good. Traces of Zoroastrianism—such as the concept of Satan
and a belief in angels—can be found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
After the Muslim conquest of Persia in the A.D. 600s, the Zoroastrian religion
declined. Some groups carried the faith eastward to India. Zoroastrianism also was
an important influence in the development of Manichaeism (MAN•ih•KEE•IHZ•uhm),
a religious system that competed with early Christianity for believers. The followers
of Mithra, a Zoroastrian god, spread westward to become a popular religion among
the military legions in the Roman Empire. Today, modern Zoroastrians continue to
Comparing observe the religion’s traditions in several countries including Iran and India, where
What ideas and its followers are called Parsis.
world view did
Political Order Through their tolerance and good government, the Persians
Zoroastrianism
share with other brought political order to Southwest Asia. They preserved ideas from earlier civi-
religions? lizations and found new ways to live and rule. Their respect for other cultures
helped to preserve those cultures for the future. The powerful dynasty Cyrus estab-
lished in Persia lasted 200 years and grew into a huge empire. As you will learn in
Section 4, great empires also arose in China and dominated that region.

SECTION 3 ASSESSMENT

TERMS & NAMES 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
• Cyrus • Cambyses • Darius • satrap • Royal Road • Zoroaster

USING YOUR NOTES MAIN IDEAS CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING

2. Which of the differences 3. How did Cyrus treat the 6. MAKING INFERENCES What do the words that appeared
between Cyrus and Darius do peoples he conquered? on Cyrus’s tomb suggest about his character?
you consider most important? 4. What methods and tools did 7. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS How did the Royal Road help
Why? Darius use to hold together his Darius maintain control over his people?
empire? 8. DEVELOPING HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE What events led
5. What did Zoroaster teach? to the development of Zoroastrianism?
Cyrus Only
9. WRITING ACTIVITY EMPIRE BUILDING Write an expository
Both essay explaining how Darius’s methods of administration
Darius Only gave stability to the Persian Empire. In your essay,
consider such topics as the structure of the empire, the
policy of tolerance, and the role of the satrap.

INTERNET ACTIVITY
Use the Internet to find information on modern Zoroastrianism. INTERNET KEYWORD
Create a chart to present your findings. Zoroastrianism

First Age of Empires 103

The Royal Road
One of the ways in which societies build and maintain empires is by
establishing systems of communication and transportation. The
Royal Road, built by the rulers of the Persian Empire,
connected Susa in Persia to Sardis in Anatolia.
▲

This four-horse chariot dates

from the 6th to 4th centuries B.C.
It is the type of vehicle that would
have traveled the Royal Road in
the time of Darius. The studs on
the wheels were designed to help
prevent the chariot from slipping.

A Ride Along the Royal Road

ASIA

EUROPE The Road

Black Sea The road was 1,677 miles in length. There were 111
post or relay stations spaced about 15 miles apart
along the road. Other roads branched off the main
Sardis ANATOLIA road to distant parts of the empire.
M
ed
ite
rra
nean
Sea Susa
The Ride
Relay stations were equipped with fresh horses for
AFRICA
SOUTHWEST the king’s messengers. Royal messengers could cover
ASIA the length of the Royal Road in seven days. Normal
travel time along the road was longer. A caravan, for
Arabian
Sea example, might take three months to travel the
0 500 Miles
whole distance.
0 1,000 Kilometers

Patterns of Interaction video series

Building Empires: The Rise of the Persians and the Inca
Strong road networks like the Royal Road enabled empires to expand and
maintain control over people and places. Like the Persians, the Inca of South 1. Recognizing Effects How would the
America created a road system thousands of miles long. These roads allowed Royal Road enable a ruler to
the Inca to extend their rule over as many as 16 million people. Empires maintain power in the empire?
throughout history have shared characteristics such as efficient See Skillbuilder Handbook, Page R6.
communication systems, effective leaders, and powerful armies.
2. Comparing What systems of
communication and transportation
102 Chapter 4 today might be compared to the
Royal Road of the Persians?