Download File - Mr. Williams

The Persian
Emprie
The Persians
• At about the same time that the
Athenians were creating a democracy,
the Persian Empire was rising in the east.
• Persians began as an unorganized,
nomadic people who often fought other
people of Southwest Asia, sometimes
winning, sometimes losing.
• One time they lost to the Medes and
were ruled by them for about 150 years.
• In 550 BC, Cyrus II led a Persian revolt
and conquered the Medes. This was the
beginning of the Persian Empire.
• They conquered much of Southwest
Asia, almost all of Asia Minor, and
Mesopotamia.
Cyrus the Great
• By the time Cyrus died around 529 BC, he ruled
the largest empire the world had ever seen.
• One reason he was such a successful emperor
was the way he treated conquered people. He
didn’t force them to adopt Persian customs, and
he didn’t mistreat them. For example, Cyrus
allowed the conquered Babylonians to keep
worshipping their own gods. He also allowed the
Jews who had been Babylonian slaves to return
to their homeland. In return, both the
Babylonians and the Jews had great respect for
Cyrus and didn’t rebel.
• Because of this, his empire was very strong, and
he has become known as Cyrus the Great.
•
Cyrus the Great https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xveGzQsAIXs
Persian Army
• Cyrus was successful in his
conquests because his army was
strong, organized, and loyal.
• At the heart of the Persian army
were the Immortals, 10,000
soldiers chosen for their bravery
and skill.
• They also had a powerful cavalry,
or unit of soldiers who ride horses.
Cyrus used his cavalry to charge at
and shoot an enemy with arrows.
This strategy weakened the enemy
before the Immortals attacked.
Together, the cavalry and the
Immortals could defeat almost any
foe.
Darius I
• After Cyrus’s death, his son Cambyses
took over and conquered Egypt. Soon
after, a rebellion broke out, during
which Cambyses died, leaving Persia
without a clear leader.
• Within 4 years a young prince named
Darius I claimed the throne, killed all
his rivals for power, restored order,
and began improving society and
expanding the empire.
Political Organization
• Darius organized the empire by dividing
it into 20 provinces.
• He chose governors called satraps to
rule the provinces for him.
• Satraps collected taxes for Darius,
served as judges, and put down
rebellions within their territories.
Although they had great power, Darius
remained the empires real ruler.
• Darius’s officials visited each province
to make sure the satraps were loyal to
him. He called himself king of kings to
remind other rulers of his power.
Persian Society
• Darius made many improvements such as
building roads and a new capital
• Road system – connected various parts of the
empire, making travel much faster. One road,
called the Royal Road, was more than 1,700 miles
long. Even the Persians’ enemies admired this vast
road system.
• Persepolis – means “city of Persians;” new capital
city. Filled with beautiful works of art and carvings.
Statues throughout the city glittered with gold,
silver, and precious jewels.
•
•
Ruins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4T5nz-I06Q
3D Reconstruction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L4E9m27aKY
• Zoroastrianism – a new religion that rose
during this time; taught that there were 2
forces fighting for control of the universe. One
force was good, and the other evil. Priests
urged people to help the side of good in its
struggle. Was popular for many centuries.
The Persian Wars
So what does this have to do with Greece?
• In 499 BC several Greek cities in Asia Minor
rebelled against Persian rule. To help their
fellow Greeks, a few city-states in mainland
Greece sent soldiers to join the fight against
the Persians.
• The Persians put down the revolt, but Darius
was still angry with the Greeks. Although the
cities that had rebelled were in Asia, Darius
was enraged that other Greeks had given
them aid. He swore to get revenge on the
Greeks.
• 9 years later, he invaded Greece. This
invasion began a series of wars between
Persia and Greece that historians call the
Persian Wars.
The Battle of Marathon
• When Cyrus invaded Greece, he and his army
sailed to the plains of Marathon near Athens.
• The Athenian army had only about 11,000
soldiers, while the Persians had about
15,000. However, the Greeks lured the
Persians into the middle of their forces and
surrounded them. The Greeks won the
battle because they had better weapons and
clever leaders.
• According to legend, a messenger ran from
Marathon to Athens (26 miles) to bring news
of the victory. After crying out, “Rejoice! We
conquer!” the exhausted runner fell to the
ground and died.
• Athletes today recreate the Greek
messenger’s run in 26-mile races called
marathons.
•
HH Battle of Marathon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geR3BrcWSt0
Battle of Thermopylae
• 10 years later, Darius’s son Xerxes I tried to conquer
Greece again. This time they sent both their army and
their navy.
• This time Sparta, a powerful city-state in southern
Greece with the strongest army in Greece, joined
Athens.
• To slow the Persian army, the Greeks sent about 7,000
soldiers to Thermopylae, a narrow mountain pass. The
Persians had to cross through this pass to attack Greek
cities. For three days, the small Greek force held off
the much larger Persian army estimated to be
between 100,000-150,000 soldiers strong. A Greek
soldier turned traitor and led the Persians through
another pass so they could attack from behind. In
essentially a suicide mission, Greece’s soldiers blocked
the pass and held off the Persian army long enough for
the rest of the Greek army to escape. After winning
the battle, the Persians swept into Athens, attacking
and burning the city.
•
Thermopylae https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzfQzTcAGDc (stop at end of words)
Battle of Salamis
• Although the Persians won the battle in
the pass and burned Athens, a few days
later the Athenians defeated the Persian
navy through a clever plan.
• They led the larger Persian navy into the
narrow straits of Salamis. The Persians
had so many ships that they couldn’t
steer well in the narrow strait. As a result,
the smaller Athenian boats easily sank
many Persian ships. Those ships that were
not destroyed soon returned home.
• Soon after the Battle of Salamis, an army
of soldiers from all over Greece beat the
Persians at Plataea. This battle ended the
Persian Wars. Defeated, the Persians left
Greece.
Wrapping it Up
• For the Persians, this defeat was
humiliating, but it was not a major
blow.
• The Persian Empire remained
strong for more than a century
after the war. For the Greeks,
though, the defeat of the Persians
was a triumph. They had saved
their homeland, and stopped the
Persians from expanding into the
rest of Europe.
Now back to the Greeks . . .