The Various Persian Empires in the Classical Era

AP World HistoryKC 2.2.I-IIA-C

Pamela Hammond, Brantley County High School, Nahunta, GA

2015

Achaemenid Empire (549–330 BC) Original Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great

• Known for religious tolerance and fair ruling under Cyrus

• Darius I– Canal in Egypt for trade– Royal Road– Expanded empire

• Divided into Satrapies• Elaborate bureaucracy• “Eyes and ears of the King”

– Greco-Persian Wars• Attempted diplomacy to annex—

“give me your earth and water”

• Xerxes– Defeated by Greeks– Able administrator

Seleucid Empire (329-151 BC)

• Begun by one of Alexander’s generals, Seleucus• Center of Hellenistic culture

– Dominated by Hellenistic aristocracy especially in the urban areas– Some resistance in Judea when ordered to erect a temple to Zeus (Maccabees)

• Declined in the 3rd century BCE due to growing threat of the Romans in the West and the Parthians in the East

Silver coin from the Seleucid Empire

Parthian Empire (247 BCE – 224 CE)• Originally from east of the Caspian Sea

– Nomads, known for the “Parthian shot” • rider twists backward at full gallop and

shoots enemies in the rear

• Conquered Seleucids in 247 BCE– Continued the satrapies/bureaucracies

established by earliest Persians

• Participants in Silk Road trade, gained great wealth as a middle man between Rome and Han China

• Hellenistic kingdom; but saw a revival of Iranian culture

• Built the first qanat tunnels for irrigation purposes in the First century BCE

• Competed with Romans over Armenia– Crassus killed in 53 BCE– Gained control over the Levant

Head of a ParthianLouvre

Sassanid Empire (226 AD – circa 650 AD) • Sassanid Persians overthrew the Parthians

and wanted to return to their Persian roots– Zoroasterian– Religious tolerance grew as Christians fled

Roman Empire

• Continued strong centralized government with satrapies and bureaurcracies

• Constant warfare with Rome over SW Asia– Both sides used Arab mercenaries– Proxy war

• Continued as middle man on the Silk Roads• Paid tribute to the Huns, so survived the

invasions that brought down the empires surrounding them.– Gained some tribute from Byzantine Empire to

pay off the Huns (would later take over the Levant from Byz Emp

– Advanced system of taxation

• Fell to Muslim Arabs—Abbasid Dynasty– Mesopotamia and Persia split into two – Iraq and IranCtesiphon the capital of the Pre-Islamic Parthian and Sassanian Empires