Chapter 5 I.d Flashcards
Third ruler of the Persian Empire (r. 521–486 B.C.E.). He crushed the wide-spread initial resistance to his rule and gave all major government posts to Per-sians rather than to Medes. He established a system of provinces and tribute, began construction of Persepolis, and expanded Persian control in the east (Pakistan) and west (northern Greece).
Darius ll
Founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Between 550 and 530 B.C.E. he conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylon. Revered in the traditions of both Iran and the subject peoples, he employed Persians and Medes in his administration and respected the institutions and beliefs of subject peoples
Cyrus
The governor of a province in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, often a
relative of the king. He was responsible for protection of the province and for forwarding tribute to the central administration. Satraps in outlying provinces enjoyed considerable auton
Satrap
A complex of palaces, reception halls, and treasury buildings erected
by the Persian kings Darius I and Xerxes in the Persian homeland. It is believed that the New Year’s festival was celebrated here, as well as
the coronations, weddings, and funerals of the Persian kings, who were buried in cliff-tombs nearby.
Persepolis
A religion originating in ancient Iran that became the official religion of the Achaemenids. It centered on a single benevolentdeity, Ahuramazda, who engaged in a struggle with demonic forces before
prevailing and restoring a pristine world. It emphasized truth-telling, purity, and reverence for nature.
Zoroastrianism
The Greek term for a city-state, an urban center and the agricultural territory under its control. It was the characteristic form of political organization in southern and central Greece in the Archaic and Classical periods. Of the hundreds of _____ in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions settled by Greeks, some were oligarchic, others
democratic, depending on the powers delegated to the Council and the Assembly.
Polis
A heavily armored Greek infantryman of the Archaic and Classical peri- ods who fought in the close packed phalanx formation. \_\_\_\_ armies—militias composed of middle- and upper-class citizens supplying their own equipment—were for centuries superior to all other military force
Hopilite
The term the Greeks used to describe someone who seized and held power in violation of the normal procedures and traditions of the community. \_\_\_ appeared in many Greek city-states in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E., often taking advantage of the disaffection of the emerging middle class and, by weakening the old elite,unwittingly contributing to the evolution of democracy
Tyrants
gift given to a deity, often with the aim of creating a relationship, gain-
ing favor, and obligating the god to provide some benefit to the sacrificer, sometimes in order to sustain the deity and thereby guarantee the continuing vitality of the
natural world.
Sacrifice
System of government in which all “citizens” (however defined)
have equal political and legal rights, privileges, and protections, as in the Greek city-state of Athens in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E.
Democracy
Heir to the technique of historia (“investiga-tion/research”) developed
by Greeks in the late Archaic period. He came from a Greek community in Anatolia and traveled extensively, collecting information in western Asia and the Mediterranean lands. He traced the antecedents and chronic lined the wars between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire, thus originating the Western tradition
of historical writing.
Herodotus
Aristocratic leader who guided the Athenian state through the transfor-
mation to full participatory democracy for all male citizens, supervised construction of the Acropolis, and pursued a policy of imperial
expansion that led to the Peloponnesian War. He formulated a strategy of attrition but died from the plague
early in the war.
Pericles
Conflicts between Greek city-states and the Persian Empire, ranging from the Ionian Revolt (499–494 B.C.E.) through Darius’s punitive expedition that failed at Marathon (490 B.C.E.) and the defeat of Xerxes’ massive invasion of Greece by the Spartan-led Hellenic League (480–479 B.C.E.). This first major setback for Persian
arms launched the Greeks into their period of greatest cultural productivity.
Persian wars
Greek and Phoenician warship of the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E. It was sleek and light, powered by 170 oars arranged in three vertical tiers. Manned by skilled sailors, it was capable of short bursts of speed
and complex maneuvers.
Trireme
Athenian philosopher (ca. 470–399 B.C.E.) who shifted the emphasis of philosophical investigation from questions of natural science to ethics and human behavior. He attracted young disciples from elite families but made enemies by revealing the ignorance and pretensions of others, culminating in his trial and execution by the Athenian state.
Socrates
