Persia and the Hellenistic World

Satrap

a ruler of the province of the Persian empire; similar to a governor

Overview

Persian empire encompasses massive amount of territory

- Achaemenids were the people

- Persian history was told by and written by Herodutus and Hebrew Bible

- the Greeks and Ancient romans viewed persians in negative light

- The Greeks viewed themselves as the ideal of civilization and superior, while they viewed the Persians as barbarians

- By the Greeks demonizing the Persians, it helped unite the Greeks and their defeat of the Persians seem much more victorious

Establishing empire

- Nomadic tribal people, the Aryans, settled into the iranian plateau by 5000 years ago

- their hymns, and holy teachings were bery similar to those of the vedic people of India

- warlike people; they were fighting constantly

- shot bows and arrows from horse back; the first peoples to accomplish the Parthian shot

- Medes move into the North

- ruled in small units and conquered southward into the iranian plateau

- Persians

- settled into the southern part

- settled alongside elamites

- persian culture was the dominant of that part of persia

Cyrus II (“The Great”)

• 550-530 BCE

• - was an acharemenid

  - defeats the medeans

  - controls all the iranian plateau

  - expands northwest into Armenia

  - everywhere he goes, he allows toleration of the people

  - freedom of religion

  - would use politics to keep peace

  - would use rebellion if necessary

Cambyses II

• 530-522 BCE

• son of Cyrus II

  - extends his fathers kingdom into Egypt

  - conquers Egypt in 525 BCE

  - was crowned Pharaoh in Egypt

  - allows egyptians to practice religion