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Chapter 4 Section 3 Persian Empire
Persians 539 BC ò First Great complete empire
ò Present day Iran
ò Army - 300,000 - big
ò Built roads - trade
ò Treated people well
ò Tolerance and diplomacy
ò Prevents Persian soldiers from looting and burning city
ò Believed in honoring local customs and religions
ò Do not destroy temples, rather kneel and pray
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Persians 539 BC
ò Cyrus the Great #86 out of 100
ò 10,000 immortals - job is to protect their leaders
ò Control an empire that spanned 2,000 miles
ò Military genius
Persians 539 BC
ò Conquered Mesopotamia
ò Smart - used locals on their side
ò Created Uniform system of weights and measures
ò Allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem in 538 BC
ò Under Persian rule the Jews rebuild their city and temple
ò Alexander the Great defeated them
ò Cyrus is killed fighting invaders on the eastern border.
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Persians 539 BC
ò Cyrus the Great #86 out of 100
ò 10,000 immortals - job is to protect their leaders
ò Started longest reigning monarch ò 539 bc-1979AD
ò Overthrown by religious group- religious revolution (American hostages)
Persian Rule
ò Cyrus dies in 530 BC
ò Cambyses, Cyrus son takes over
ò Captures Egypt
ò Doesn’t follow fathers example and orders Egyptian gods to be burned
ò Rebellions broke out over empire
ò Empire fragile
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Persian Rule
ò Darius-
ò 10,000 immortals help Darius seize the throne in 522 BC
ò Expands kingdom into India
ò Can not conquer Greece. (Chapter 5)
Persian Rule
ò Darius-
ò Administrative genius
ò Problem of huge empire is running it
ò 20 provinces
ò Similar to homelands of counties conquered.
ò Each province can practice own religion
ò Spoke own language
ò Rules with absolute power
ò Governors called “satrap” rules locally
ò Local inspectors = “kings eyes and ears”
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Persian Rule
ò Darius-
ò Excellent roads allow communication quickly within empire “Royal Road” = Persia to Anatolia = 1677 miles.
ò Metal coins
ò Lydians of Asia Minor were first to coin money.
ò Helps Trade, helps empire grow.
Legacy
ò Fertile Crescent has endured 2,500 years of war, conquest and famine.
ò Why so much suffering and chaos exist in World?
ò Zoroaster= Persian prophet 600BC Religion???
ò Earth is a battleground where a great struggle is fought between the spirit of good and the spirit of evil.
ò Everyone is expected to take part in the struggle
ò At the end of time, we will be judged according to how well we fought the battle for good.
ò Satan = Judaism, Christianity and Islam
