The Achaemenid Empire

Question 1

Achaemenid inscriptions* sources

Answer 1

often in old persian with Elamite or Babylonian translations

Question 2

Greek Historians* sources

Answer 2

Heroduts, Ctesias, Xenophon

Question 3

Hebrew Bible* sources

Answer 3

Ezra and Nehemiah- jews are returned from deportation

Esther- negative image

Question 4

economic documents * sources

Answer 4

in Aramaic, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Elamite

Question 5

Sardis (map)

Answer 5

key war with Greeks, goes to Indus river

Question 6

Arachosia

Answer 6

becomes Camdahar (in Afghanistan)

Question 7

Persian Provinces

Answer 7

Satrapy, Satrap at the head- usually persians or medes

Question 8

Army of Achaemenid

Answer 8

better land gifts = provide better men for fighting- disjointed, easy to take over, no one wants to risk their neck

Question 9

use aramaic as bureacratic language

Answer 9

22 characters as opposed to old persian that has over 100, texts that are in old persian are only royal annals

Question 10

acheamenid dynasty

Answer 10

married siblings, had their own religion

Question 11

punishment for not paying taxes

Answer 11

deface deities or destroy temple

Question 12

helped rebuild temples

Answer 12

of conquered people, respected their cultural and religious beliefs so long as they paid taxes

Question 13

Silk road

Answer 13

Parthia, Bactria, Sogdiana

Question 14

persian kings were called

Answer 14

kings of anshan

Question 15

homeland of persians

Answer 15

Fars- SE Zagros mountains, part of Elam, known as Anshan

Question 16

Medes homeland

Answer 16

NE Zagros, Ecbatana (modern Hamadan) tribal confederation

Question 17

2 Iranian Speakers in 1st millenium

Answer 17

Medes and Persians

Question 18

Cyaxares

Answer 18

an ally of the Babylonians and attacked Assyrian cities (Assur, Nineveh, Harran)

Question 19

Cyrus takes over (550)

Answer 19

Ecbatana (550), incorporates Medes into empire, even giving them higher positions

Question 20

Cyrus II, a.k.a. “Cyrus the Great” (559-530)

Answer 20

took over Susa, successful campaigns in central and eastern Iran (Bactria, Sogdiana) and Afghanistan
controlled previous Babylonian areas

Question 21

Cambyses II (530-522)

Answer 21

created the Persian navy- to defeat Egypt, Greeks etc

Libya, Barca, Cyrene) Herodotus paints him as a dumb brute, but egyptians said he was less harsh than all that

Question 22

Darius I (522-486)

Answer 22

trilingual inscription of Darius in Bisitun (Elamite, Old Persian, Babylonian, Darius confronted the Greeks at Marathon and lost (490)
building activities at Susa and the building of a new capital (Persepolis)

Question 23

Persepolis

Answer 23

Capital Cities were composed of: temple, palace, and houses for the workers, not real cities, Persepolis is very well preserved, made by Darius I

Question 24

Xerxes (486-465)

Answer 24

king with many battles against Greeks

Question 25

Thermopylae (Leonidus)

Answer 25

Persians win vs. Greeks (Xerxes)

Question 26

straits of Salamis (480)

Answer 26

greeks defeat Persian Navy (Xerxes)

Question 27

Plataea (479)

Answer 27

greeks defeat persian infantry (Xerxes)

Question 28

Delian League

Answer 28

formed by Athenians to fight Persians in Aegean, Thracia, and Asia Minor (Anatolia)

Question 29

battle at the mouth of the Eurymedon river in Pamphylia (466)

Answer 29

after a string of persian defeats by Greeks

Question 30

Artaxerxes II (405-359)

Answer 30

his brother Cyrus tried to take the throne with troops from Asia Minor and Greek mercenaries (the Greek historian Xenophon was among the latter)

Question 31

The King’s Peace

Answer 31

the Persian king (Artaxerxes II) was able to impose a peace treaty on the Greeks (“the King’s Peace”), which placed Asia Minor (Anatolia) under Persian control

Question 32

Xenophon’s personal mercenary account

Answer 32

The Analysis (going up in sea level)

Question 33

Darius III (336-330)

Answer 33

killed by one of his generals, fought Alexander the Great in Asia Minor, Phoenicia and the Levant

Question 34

(“battle of Gaugamela,” 330)

Answer 34

Alexander takes the Persian Homeland, last battle for the persians