imperial connectivity Flashcards
roads connecting empire
susa to sardis (persepolis fortification archive indicates it extended north to Parthia and east to India)
Herodotus mentions the stretch between Sardis and Susa
postal relay system
pirradazis (elamite term)
allocation of rations at persepolis for these riders - all identified as either going to or from the. king / having royal documents with them
evidence of travel rations
persepolis fortification archive - referring to travel destinations or points of origin far beyond Susa and Persepolis - only accessible to those at the top
refer to road counters - possibly maintanence purposes, possibly administration?
arshama archive - authorisation document for steward to receive rations
Den Bozan
between susa and excavating - station along road
courtyard with small supply rooms surrounding its edge
couldn’t have catered to many people, but not everyone would be claiming rations along the road - organised system probably reserved for those at higher levels
memphis customs account
ionian cities with Achaemenid empire
logging ship inspections and taxation of products / passage
was the redistribution of resources sponsored by the state or independent merchants moving goods weigh empire taking money off the top?
Canal of Darius
Darius I construction of canal linking the nile with the red sea - several stele celebrating the achievement of its construction in 4 languages - elamite, old persian, akkadian, hieroglyphs
who had access to the royal roads?
no material distinction between the royal and normal roads in the sense that they were not paved over in most places - maintenance of a system and the size. is probably what distinguished them
official travellers - don’t have much evidence of other people using the royal road or how they did that - but then if they did use it would likely bring their own rations etc - seems only official travellers could access provisions along the road (official authorisation documents in arshama archive)
