Transcript Empire: Persians and Greeks

Mrs. Hoff
 A group of nations or peoples
ruled over by an emperor,
empress, or other powerful
sovereign or government:
usually a territory of greater
extent than a kingdom.
 All empires controlled
large areas and
populations.
 All empires were brought
together by conquest and
funded in part by taking
wealth from conquered
peoples.
 All empires stimulated
the exchange of ideas,
cultures, and values
among the people they
conquered.
 All empires tried to make
people more loyal to the
leaders than local
identities and loyalties.
 All empires ultimately
collapsed.
 Some empires tried to rule through local elites; others
sought to rule with more centralized power structures.
 Some empires are new; some draw on older traditions.
 Some last for longer periods than others.
 Some assimilated conquered peoples more quickly and
completely than others.
 In 500 BCE, it was the largest and most impressive
empire.
 Persians originated in present day Iran.
 Copied old system of government from former
Mesopotamian civilizations.
 Much larger and more splendid than past civilizations.
 Famous leaders:
 Cyrus and Darius I
expanded the
empire from Egypt
to India
 Diverse empire
with population of
around 35 million
people.
 Kingship
 King rules by the will of Ahura Mazda, the god.
 Absolute monarchy (means the king had unlimited
power)
Dualistic Battle of
Good vs. Evil
Ahura Mazda
“Holy Spirit”
Ahriman
“Destructive
Spirit”
 To keep the empire together:
 Violent punishments by the king
 Effective administration system
 Satraps governed the empire’s 23 provinces
 Local officials answer to satraps
 System of imperial spies
Persian Empire
 Respect for non-Persian
cultural traditions
 Cyrus allowed Jews to
return from Babylonian
exile and rebuild
Jerusalem temple
 Persians adopted foreign
customs readily
 Standardized coinage, predictable taxes
 Immense wealth and power
 Encouraged communication and commerce
 Royal road 1,700 miles across the empire
 Mail service for elites
 Greece begins 750 BCE, lasts about 400 years.
 Distinct culture
 Population 2-3million people
 Mountainous, causes development of hundreds of city-
states and small settlements
 City-state: sovereign state consisting of an autonomous city
with its dependencies
 Fiercely independent, frequent conflicts
 Shared a common language and common gods
 Between 750 and 500 BCE colonized around the
Mediterranean basin and Black Sea area.
 Most distinctive feature: popular participation in
politics!
 Held the first Olympics 776 BCE
 Politics
 Equality of all citizens (men) before the law
 Extent of citizenship varied depending on time and city
 Early Greek history: only wealthy and well-born were
citizens.
 Gradually expanded to middle- and lower-class men
 Important to have the ability to fight for the city-state
 Tyrants (dictators)
emerged in many areas,
supported by the poorer
classes against the rich.
 Sparta gave most political
authority to the Council
of Elders
 Athens was different,
more democratic
 Athens:
 Intense class conflict led to reforms by Solon in 594BCE.
Rights of citizens continued to expand over time.
 By 450 BCE, holders of public office were chosen by
lottery and paid
 Assembly was open to all citizens and the center of
political life
 Differences between Athenian and modern democracy
 Direct democracy, not representative
 Women, slaves, and foreigners were all excluded.
 Persians:
embarrassing, but the
failure of the Persian
invasion of Greece had
very little impact on
the Persian Empire
 Greeks:
 Defeating the Persians was a source of enormous pride
for the Greeks.
 Confirmed their view that Greek political systems were
superior, Persian despotism was inferior.
 Despot means a king or other ruler with absolute, unlimited
power.
 More men become citizens in Athens. Rowers in the
navy insisted on full citizenship.
 Golden Age of Greek culture
 Parthenon built
 Greek theatre born
 Socrates begins his career as a philosopher.
 Leads to a civil war, known as the Peloponnesian War
when Athens tries to dominate the Greek city-states.
 Eventually leads to Alexander the Great (from
Macedonia) conquering Greece.