Persians Flashcards
Herodotus
Greek scholar, traveler, & writer, wrote a multi-volume book titled History, wrote about the Greco-Persian Wars of 492-449 BCE, some say he was the father of Western historiography, had major influence on how Western civ. thinks about East
shah
a title of the former monarch of Iran; Persian word for king or emperor
satrap
a provincial governor in the ancient Persian empire
satrapy
a province governed by a satrap
Iran or Persia?
“Iran” comes from the word “Aryan.” (Yes, the same Aryans who invaded India ca 1500 BCE.), “Persia” comes from “Fars,” which is a region in Iran. “Fars” gets changed to “Pars” in European languages. Fars Long story short, “Persia” means “the lands of the Parsi-s.”
The language of Iran is “Farsi,” a fact which further complicates the matter.
Achaemenid Dynasty
inheritors of Mesopotamian traditions of kingship & empire BUT Achaemenids were first great Persian empire, built & maintained excellent bureaucracy (civil service), usually religiously tolerant, especially in their early years, built roads, standardized weights & measures, created first major imperial coinage & cash economy, had tradition of giving heirs to the throne on-the-job training as satraps of Babylonia
Cyrus the Great
took Achaemenids from kingdom to empire, united Medes & Persians – religiously tolerant, mentioned in Bible (Ezra 1:1-4) because he freed Jews from Babylonian Exile, praised by friend & foe alike as ideal emperor, major cultural figure in Persia/Iran to the present
Cyrus Cylinder
some say it is 1st declaration of human rights in history
Cambyses II
got on-the-job training as satrap of Babylonia, added Egypt to Achaemenid Empire, Greeks said he committed atrocities in Egypt, but archaeology suggests otherwise
Darius I
distant relative of Cambyses – won civil war& took throne, expanded to Indus R. Valley in east, Central Asia & Caucasus in north, took control of Black Sea grain trade = conflict with Greeks, invaded mainland Greece, but was defeated at Marathon in 490 BCE, also religiously tolerant: gave money to Egypt to rebuild their temples; allowed Jews to rebuild Temple in Jerusalem
Xerxes I
satrap of Babylonia; became shah at 35, revolts in Egypt & Babylonia early in his reign, broke with Achaemenid policy of religious tolerance; e.g. destroyed statue of Marduk at Babylon, favored Zoroastrianism, MIGHT be the Ahaseurus mentioned in the Book of Esther (although that might be Artaxerxes II instead)
Xerxes I (invasion of Greece)
invaded Greece with large army in 480, lost to Spartans @ Thermopylae & then to Athenians @ Salamis, retired to Persepolis after his defeat at Salamis, spent time & resources building up cities of Susa & Persepolis, The Greek sources say that his lust ended up getting him killed BUT the sex makes for better stories, Xerxes was assassinated in 465 BCE. An image of his tomb is to the left.
Marduk
chief god of Babylon to 484
Zoroastrianism
founded by the prophet, Zoroaster (fl. ca 1200 BCE), monotheistic: Ahura Mazda was the only God, scriptural: Avesta is sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism, major theme: eternal struggle between good & evil, major themes: savior figure & apocalypse (eshcaton), influenced other West Asian/Middle Eastern religions, e.g. Judaism & Christianity
Alexander The Great
from Macedon, which other Greeks considered a backwater or “country”, built on foundation laid by his father Philip II of Macedon, eventually conquered Greece, Anatolia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, & reached India, wanted to create a world culture that borrowed best of all cultures, this vision became something of a reality with the spread of Hellenism
