PERSIANS

The Persians created an empire, the largest yet seen in the ancient world, extending 3,000 miles. The empire flourished for 200 years. Persia is located in present-day Iran.

Cyrus the Great

In 539 B.C., Babylon fell to the Persian armies of Cyrus the Great. Cyrus and his successors went on to conquer the largest empire yet seen. The Persians eventually controlled a wide sweep of territory from Asia Minor to India, including what is today Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

In general, the Persians were tolerant of the people they conquered. They respected the customs and religious traditions of the diverse groups in their empire.

Unification of the Empire

Persian Empire

Archers of Darius Capital of a column of the Audience chamber in the palace of Darius I

The real unification of the Persian empire was accomplished under the Persian emperor Darius, who ruled from 522 B.C. to 486 B.C. A skilled organizer, Darius set up a government that became a model for later rulers. He divided the Persian empire into provinces, each headed by a governor called a satrap. Each satrapy, or province, had to pay taxes based on its resources and wealth. Special officials, "the Eyes and Ears of the King," visited each province to check on the satraps.

Like Hammurabi, Darius adapted laws from the people he conquered and drew up a single code of laws for the empire. To encourage unity, he had hundreds of miles of roads built or repaired. Roads made it easier to communicate with different parts of the empire. Darius himself kept moving from one royal capital to another. In each, he celebrated important festivals and was seen by the people.

Economy

To improve trade, Darius set up a common set of weights & measures. He also encouraged the use of coins, which the Lydians of Asia Minor had first introduced. Most people continued to be part of the barter economy, exchanging one set of goods or services for another. Coins, however, brought merchants and traders into an early form of a money economy, replacing barter with the exchange of money. By setting up a single Persian coinage, Darius created economic links among his far-flung subjects.

A New Religion

Religious beliefs put forward by the Persian thinker Zoroaster

(soh roh AS tuhr) also helped to unite the empire. Zoroaster lived about 600 B.C. He rejected the old Persian gods. Instead, he taught that a single wise god, Ahura Mazda, ruled the world. Zoroaster taught that:

a) Ahura-Mazda was constantly fighting Ahriman, the spirit of darkness and evil.

b) Those supporting Ahura-Mazda by living virtuously will reach heaven; those following Ahriman will be punished in hell.

c) Goodness will eventually prevail, and the world will achieve eternal peace.

Zoroaster's teachings form the basis of the Persian Bible, the
Avesta or Zend-Avesta. Two later religions that emerged in the Middle East, Christianity and Islam, stressed similar ideas about heaven, hell, and a final judgement day.