By Alex and Zach

Hey there! I’m Clark

the camel! Lets learn about the Persians!

The Persians were a powerful nation in ancient times. They reigned from

about 550-330 BCE, succeeding the Median empire. Together the Median and Persian empires were known as Medo-Persian empire. The Persian rule ended with Darius III when the Macedonians, led by Alexander the

Great, invaded Persia.

• Cyrus II, the great- 550-530 BCE• Cambyses II- 529-522 BCE• Smerdis- 522 BCE• Darius I, the great- 521-486 BCE• Xerxes I, the great- 485-465 BCE• Artaxerxes I Longimanus- 465-424 BCE• Xerxes II- 424 BCE• Sogdianus- 424-423 BCE• Darius II Nothus- 423-405 BCE• Artaxerxes II Mnemon- 405-359 BCE• Artaxerxes III Ochus- 358-338 BCE• Artaxerxes IV Arses- 338-336 BCE• Darius III Codomannus- 336-330 BCE

Wow, those guys

sound powerful!

•Located in what is now the Middle East

•It included what is now Pakistan, Afghanistan, parts of central Asia, and Asia minor

•At it’s peak it also included Egypt and parts of the Black Sea coastal region

Wow! The Persians

sure knew how to

expand!

• The Persian Empire was governed by a monarchy.• The Empire was divided up into 23 satrapies.• The governors of these satrapies were known as satraps.• The satrapies were linked by a 25 000 kilometer highway.• Generals were in charge of military recruitment and ensuring

order while the secretary of state kept official records.• The capital of Persia was first at Pasargadae then in 518 BCE

moved to Persepolis.• Good infrastructure promoted trade.

Hey nice beard Cyrus!

• At first, Persian economy was based on herding due to poor soil.• This was until Persia acquired the fertile lands of Mesopotamia and the

grasslands of Anatolia • The Persians had access to metal rich deposits• Trade routes were numerous• Darius instituted Many economic policies: systemized taxation, standardized

weights and measures, standardized monetary system• Other aspects of the Persian economy include royal trading ships, a banking

system and the promotion of international trade

Over there is an

Achaemenid coin!

• In Persian society, the family was the basic unit• The father ruled the family absolutely• Children were desired to be heirs• Polygamy was encouraged as such• Several families formed a clan and several clans • Social classes were split into upper and lower class in order to avoid the

untouchable class problem• There were many sub-classes inside each of the two classes• Elders, rulers and religious figures belonged to the upper class• The lower class included clergy, artisans, and herdsman

• Persian society was male dominant

• Polygamy was a common practice

• The Husband was generally the ruler and the wife and children were treated like slaves

I bet it would be cool to be a noble!

• Persian art is an accumulation of many other cultures, having been conquered when the Persians invaded

• Persian artisans were most known for their stone relief carvings, metalwork, carpets and cylinder seals

• The Persian army consisted of conscripted troops from many nations such as Egyptians, Assyrians, Scythians, Bactrians and Ethiopians

• Infantry used spears, Archers used what is known as a recurved bow, Cavalry and missile troops made up the bulk of the army

• The Persians relied on speed and agility during battle• Armor was not common, normally worn by wealthy soldiers and the

immortals• Shields were common and relied upon• A variety of weapons were used, including the: thrusting spear, palta

(spear), akinakes and xiphos (both swords), kopis and akinaka (dagger like weapons), bows and axes

Sure wouldn’t want to

fight these guys!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6HkW-kGZQk&feature=related

• Two of the greatest architectural feats of the Persian Empire include when Cyrus II built the first Persian capital at Pasargadae, and then later when Darius I moved the capital to Persepolis

• The architecture of the Persian empire was a conglomerate of the nations that Persia conquered

• The Palaces were decorated with stone reliefs

Ancient ruins!

• Religiously, the Persians practiced Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic religion

• Under Zoroastrianism, there was one creator: Ahura Mazda

• The main focuses were honesty and free will• By the fifth century BCE, Zoroastrianism had

spread throughout the entire empire• Herodotus wrote (during Atraxerxes I and Darius

II) that the Perses “have no images of the gods, no temples nor altars, and consider the use of them a sign of folly.”

• He also wrote about the Persians worshiping the sun and moon, earth, fire, water, and the winds

Over there is a stone relief of Ahura

Mazda.

• http://www.iranologie.com/history/Achaemenid/chapter%20I.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism• http://www.hsc.csu.edu.au/ancient_history/societ

ies/near_east/persian_soc/persiansociety.html• http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/

PlainTextHistories.asp?historyd=aa65• http://www.angelfire.com/empire2/

unkemptgoose/Persian.html

Goodbye folks!