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PersiaMain IdeaThe Persians formed one ofthe largest and best governedempires in the ancient worldand made great cultural

achievements.

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Focus Questions

Focus Questions

Who shaped the growth and organization

of the Persian Empire? What were the most significant Persian

achievements?

How did Darius balance the problems ofgoverning a huge empire?

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Persia under the Medes

Both Indo-Europeantribes

Medes conqueredPersians

Persians allowed to keeptheir own leaders as longas they did not rebel

Darius

Enlarged Empire to

Greatest sizeStrengthened army,

empire

Built Royal Road

Created satraps to help

Cyrus the Great Defeated Medes in 559 BC

Founded and enlargedPersian Empire

Freed Jews in Babylon

Respected by those heconquered

Persia in Decline

Rule of Darius high point

of Persian cultureSon, Xerxes, failed to

conquer Greece, laststrong ruler

Persia conquered by

Growth and Organization

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Darius Governing such a far-flung empire

would prove to be a more difficultchallenge than conquering it

Darius was an excellent administrator

He arrived at a finely tuned balancebetween central initiative and local

administration Centralization

Authority

Persepolis

Royal Road

Standardized taxes Localization

Satraps

Tolerance

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Centralization: Authority

Persian rulers held the official title ofThe Great King, King of Kings, King ofPersia, King of Countries

Kings decision on all matters of policywas final

King was commander-in-chief of the

army and ceremoniously took hisposition in the center of the formation

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Centralization: Persepolis

Soon after Dariuscame to power hebegan centralizinghis administration

About 520 hebegan building anew capital inPersepolis Would become the

nerve center of thePersian empire

Persepolis had vastreception halls, lavishroyal residences, anda well-protectedtreasury

It was designed to benot just anadministrative centerbut also a monumentto the Achaemeniddynasty

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Localization: Satraps Darius divided the kingdom

into 23 satrapies

Administrative andtaxation districtsgoverned by satraps

Satraps were royalappointees, often members

of the royal dynasty by birthor marriage

Satrapies tended tobecome virtuallyhereditary

Principal duty of the satrapwas to collect taxes anddeliver them to the centraltreasury

Before Darius, Cyrus hadaccepted irregular,periodic gifts as tributefrom subject lands andcities

Though often lavish, thesegifts did not provide aconsistent and reliablesource of income

Darius changed all that

C li i S d di d

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Centralization: StandardizedTaxes

Darius replaced theirregular paymentswith formal tax levies

Each satrapy was

required to pay a setquantity of silver andin some cases a levy ofhorses and slaves also

to the imperial court In order to expedite

payments, he issuedstandard coins

Gold coin issued byDarius, known after him

as a daric

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Localization: Legal & ReligiousTolerance

Darius did notabolish theexisting laws of

individual landsand peoples

He had no

uniform law codefor the entireempire

Now then, Tattenai,governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you, their fellow

officials of that province,stay away from there. Donot interfere with the workon this temple of God. Letthe governor of the Jews andthe Jewish elders rebuild thishouse of God on its site.

Ezra 6: 6-7 Darius also funded the

project and provided harsh

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Centralization: Royal Road The Royal Road stretched

1,600 miles from the

Aegean port of Ephesusto Sardis in Anatolia,through Mesopotamiaalong the Tigris River, toSusa in Iran, with an

extension to Pasargadaeand Persepolis

Caravans took 90 days totravel the route

Inns along the way

provided lodging

The road was well policedfor safety

Darius established 111postal stations at 25 to 30

mile intervals along theroute

Each station kept a freshsupply of horses so

couriers could travel theentire route in one week

Herodotus praised thecouriers saying, Neither

snow nor rain nor heat norgloom of night stays thesecouriers from the swiftcompletion of theirappointed rounds.

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Checks and Balances

Since the satraps were often far away fromPersepolis, there was always the possibilitythey might ally with local groups and becomeindependent of the central authority

To prevent this, Darius: Placed a contingent of military officers and tax

collectors in each satrapy to serve as a check onthe satraps power and influence

Appointed agents to serve as the eyes and ears ofthe king by traveling throughout the empireconducting surprise audits and gatheringintelligence

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End of an Empire

Ultimately the Persian Empire will fall as itcontinues to try to expand westward and goesto war with the Greeks

Falls to Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.

Alexander will have an even larger empire andhe will rely largely on established Persian

institutions such as the satrapies to govern it