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    The Rise of Persia

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    Jeferich Rodriguez
    The Persian Empire began around 550 BCE when Cyrus the Great conquered the Median Empire and went on to take the Lydian and Babylonian kingdoms. [1] Under Cyrus and later kings, the empire grew to control regions from Turkey to Egypt and Israel, spanning over 3,000 miles at its height. [2] Unlike previous empires, the Persians allowed conquered peoples to maintain their cultures and religions so long as they paid taxes and obeyed Persian rule. [3] The empire was connected by roads and had a postal system, but it fell to Alexander the Great starting in 334 BCE.

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    The Rise of Persia

    Uploaded by

    Jeferich Rodriguez
    166 views14 pages
    The Persian Empire began around 550 BCE when Cyrus the Great conquered the Median Empire and went on to take the Lydian and Babylonian kingdoms. [1] Under Cyrus and later kings, the empire grew to control regions from Turkey to Egypt and Israel, spanning over 3,000 miles at its height. [2] Unlike previous empires, the Persians allowed conquered peoples to maintain their cultures and religions so long as they paid taxes and obeyed Persian rule. [3] The empire was connected by roads and had a postal system, but it fell to Alexander the Great starting in 334 BCE.

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    The Rise of Persia (2)

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    The Persian Empire began around 550 BCE when Cyrus the Great conquered the Median Empire and went on to take the Lydian and Babylonian kingdoms. [1] Under Cyrus and later kings, the empire grew to control regions from Turkey to Egypt and Israel, spanning over 3,000 miles at its height. [2] Unlike previous empires, the Persians allowed conquered peoples to maintain their cultures and religions so long as they paid taxes and obeyed Persian rule. [3] The empire was connected by roads and had a postal system, but it fell to Alexander the Great starting in 334 BCE.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPSX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppsx, pdf, or txt
    166 views14 pages

    The Rise of Persia

    Uploaded by

    Jeferich Rodriguez
    The Persian Empire began around 550 BCE when Cyrus the Great conquered the Median Empire and went on to take the Lydian and Babylonian kingdoms. [1] Under Cyrus and later kings, the empire grew to control regions from Turkey to Egypt and Israel, spanning over 3,000 miles at its height. [2] Unlike previous empires, the Persians allowed conquered peoples to maintain their cultures and religions so long as they paid taxes and obeyed Persian rule. [3] The empire was connected by roads and had a postal system, but it fell to Alexander the Great starting in 334 BCE.

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    The Rise of Persia

    PERSIA (550 BCE- 360 BCE)

    • The first Persian Empire took control of the


    Middle East after the fall of the Babylonian
    Empire. It is also called the Achaemenid
    Empire.
    PERSIA

    Map of the First Persian Empire


    Cyrus the Great
    • The empire was founded by Cyrus the
    Great. Cyrus first conquered the Median
    Empire in 550 BC and then went on to
    conquer the Lydians and the Babylonians.
    Under later kings, the empire would grow
    to where it ruled Mesopotamia, Egypt,
    Israel, and Turkey. Its borders would
    eventually stretch over 3,000 miles from
    east to west making it the largest empire on
    Earth at the time.
    Different Cultures

    • Under Cyrus the Great, the Persians


    allowed the people they conquered to
    continue their lives and cultures. They
    could keep their customs and religion as
    long as they paid their taxes and obeyed
    the Persian rulers. This was different
    from how earlier conquerors such as the
    Assyrians had ruled.
    Government

    • In order to maintain control of the large


    empire, each area had a ruler called a
    satrap. The satrap was like a governor of
    the area. He enforced the king's laws and
    taxes. There were around 20 to 30 satraps
    in the empire.
    Government (Continued)

    • The empire was connected by many roads


    and a postal system. The most famous road
    was the Royal Road built by King Darius
    the Great. This road stretched around 1,700
    miles all the way from Sardis in Turkey to
    Suza in Elam.
    Religion

    • Although each culture was allowed to keep


    their own religion, the Persians followed
    the teaching of the prophet Zoroaster. This
    religion was called Zoroastrianism and
    believed in one main god called Ahura
    Mazda.
    Fighting the Greeks

    • Under King Darius the Persians wanted to


    conquer the Greeks who he felt were
    causing rebellions within his empire. In
    490 BC Darius attacked Greece. He
    captured some Greek city-states, but when
    he attempted to take the city of Athens, he
    was soundly defeated by the Athenians at
    the Battle of Marathon.
    Fighting the Greeks (Cont.)
    • In 480 BC Darius' son, Xerxes I, attempted
    to finish what his father started and
    conquer all of Greece. He amassed a great
    army of hundreds of thousands of warriors.
    This was one of the largest armies
    assembled during ancient times. He
    initially won the Battle of Thermopylae
    against a much smaller army from Sparta.
    However, the Greek fleet defeated his navy
    at the Battle of Salamis and he was
    eventually forced to retreat.
    Fall of the Persian Empire
    • Kings became isolated and focused on
    obtaining luxuries, following Darius
    • Struggles over the throne weakened the
    monarchy
    • Family problems
    • The Persian Empire was conquered by the
    Greeks led by Alexander the Great. Starting
    in the year 334 BC, Alexander the Great
    conquered the Persian Empire from Egypt
    all the way to the borders of India.
    Interesting Facts About the Persian Empire
    • The name "Persian" comes from the
    people's original tribal name Parsua. This
    was also the name they gave the land they
    originally settled which was bounded by
    the Tigris River to the west and the Persian
    Gulf to the south.
    • The longest reigning Persian King was
    Artaxerxes II who ruled 45 years from 404-
    358 BC. His reign was a time of peace and
    prosperity for the empire.
    Interesting Facts… (Continued)
    • The Persian culture held the truth in high
    esteem. Telling a lie was one of the most
    disgraceful things a person could do.
    • The capital of the empire was the great city
    of Persepolis. This name is Greek for
    "Persian City".
    • After Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon,
    he allowed the Jewish people to return to
    Israel and to rebuild their temple at
    Jerusalem.
    The End!!!

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