OCR GCSE Ancient History - Persia

When did Cyrus the Great rule?

559-530 BC

When did Cyrus the Great conquer the Medes?

550 BC

Who was king of the Medes?

Astyages

What did Astyages dream about?

Mandane, his daughter, would have a son who would become king by force.

What did Astyages do after his dream?

He exiled Mandane to Persia and married her to Cambyses I

What was Astyages' second dream?

His grandson would overthrow him and take control of the Medes

Who was Astyages' advisor, who was tasked with killing Cyrus?

Harpagus

What did Harpagus do to try and kill Cyrus?

He gave Cyrus to a herdsman because he could not kill him himself

Why was Cyrus not killed at birth?

The herdsman who he was given to could not face to kill him so he raised him as his own

Why was Cyrus brought before Astyages at the age of 10?

He got into a fight with the son of a Median noble

How did Astyages realise that Cyrus was his grandson?

Cyrus acted very nobly and with dignity so Astyages realised that he could not have been a shepherd's boy

What did Astyages do to punish Harpagus?

Astyages killed Harpagus' son and made him eat him in a stew. Harpagus only found out the truth when Astyages brought out his son's head, hands, and feet on a platter and told him what he did

What did Harpagus do to help Cyrus' conquest of the Medes?

He encouraged the Median nobles to rebel against Astyages. He also became general of the Median army so that he could order them to fight Astyages and not Cyrus.

What did Cyrus do with Astyages?

He mercifully let him live and decided to not kill him

Who was king of Lydia when Cyrus conquered it?

Croesus

Who attacked first in Cyrus' conquest of Lydia?

Croesus

Why did Croesus attack first?

Because he was wary of the might of Persia so he went to the oracle at Delphi and it said that 'a great empire would fall' Croesus interpreted that as Cyrus would lose so he attacked the Persian Empire

Which river separated Lydia and Persia?

The Halys river

When was Cyrus' conquest of Lydia?

546 BC

Where was the first battle in Cyrus' conquest of Lydia?

Pteria

Which peoples did Cyrus ask help from in his conquest of Lydia and what was their response?

Cyrus asked the Ionians for help in the battle but they refused

Why did Croesus retreat after the battle of Pteria?

He had suffered many losses at the battle and it was almost winter so he decided to fall back to the capital, Sardis, to recruit more soldiers

Which peoples did Croesus intend on asking support from?

Egyptians, Babylonians, and Spartans

What aspects of the battle of Sardis were unusual and why was this bad for Croesus and the Lydians?

Cyrus decided to attack in the winter which surprised the Lydians as no one usually fought in winter. This caused them to be outnumbered and unprepared because they had asked for support in 4 months time, not immediately. Harpagus also used camels at the front line of the army to scare off the fierce Lydian cavalry

Why did Cyrus not give the Ionians and Aeolians the same terms as the had under Croesus?

He refused to give them lenient terms because they refused to rebel against Croesus at the battle of Pteria so they did not deserve a second chance.

What was Cyrus doing between 546 and 539 BC?

He was campaigning in the east

When was Cyrus' conquest of Babylon?

539 BC

What does Herodotus say about how Cyrus entered Babylon and what is the most likely story?

Herodotus says that the Euphrates was diverted and the soldiers waded into Babylon but it was most likely that there was some treachery in Babylon and the army was let in

Who was the main god in the Babylonian religion?

Marduk

How did Cyrus claim legitimacy for his conquest of Babylon?

He said that he had conquered the city by the will of Marduk

Which peoples did Cyrus free from Babylon?

The Jews

Which title is Cyrus given in the Bible and why is this important?

Cyrus is called a 'messiah' and this is important as he is the only non-Jew to be called this

What are the key features of Pasargadae?

Palaces, Pavilions, Gardens, Zendan, Long wall with a Large Gate, and Cyrus' tomb

What is the Persian word for a walled garden?

Paradaiza

Who was Cyrus' final campaign against?

The Massagetae

Who ruled over the Massagetae?

Queen Tomyris

What offer did Tomyris make for the battle and what did Cyrus' advisors say about it?

Tomyris offered for Cyrus to decide which side of the river Araxes to fight on. All of Cyrus' advisors said to fight on the Persia side of the river because they were used to fighting on Persian soil but Harpagus said that they should fight on the other side so that if they lost the battle then it would be very hard for Tomyris to continue onto the heart of Persia and conquer the whole empire

Who was captured in the first battle against the Massagetae?

Spargapises, Tomyris' son. He then killed himself in captivity

How does Herodotus say Cyrus was killed and how to others think he died?

Herodotus says that Cyrus was killed in battle but others say that he died peacefully of old age

What did Tomyris allegedly do to Cyrus' body?

She cut off his head and put it in a bag of blood

When did Cambyses II rule?

530-522 BC

Who was the Pharaoh during Cambyses' conquest of Egypt?

Psammetichus

Who was the Pharaoh before Psammetichus?

Amasis

Why did Cambyses invade Egypt according to Herodotus and what do others say about his motive?

Herodotus says that Cambyses wanted to invade Egypt as he had been tricked by Amasis which made him angry enough to invade. Others say that he wanted to invade because he wanted to carry out Cyrus' wishes as he had died before being able to conquer them

Which peoples allowed Persia to gain a strong navy?

The Phoenicians, the Cypriots, and the Samians

Who was the tyrant of Samos?

Polycrates

Why did Polycrates help out the Persians?

He was disliked Psammetichus as Pharaoh of Egypt so he was willing to help Cambyses overthrow him

Which peoples helped Cambyses to get to Egypt and how did they do so?

Cambyses was helped by the desert Arabs who provided water to the Persians on their travels through to Egypt

When was Cambyses' conquest of Egypt?

525 BC

Where was the first battle in Cambyses' conquest of Egypt?

Pelusium

What was the capital of Egypt at that time?

Memphis

Which peoples surrendered to Persia after the conquest of Egypt?

The Libyans, The Barcans, and the Cyrenians

Which three peoples did Cambyses decide to conquer after Egypt?

The Carthaginians, The Ammonians and the Ethiopians

How did each of these planned conquests go?

The plan to conquer Carthage failed before it even started as Carthage was a Phoenician colony so they refused to fight them.

The conquest of Ammon failed as well because all 50,000 of the Persian soldiers were trapped and killed in a sandstorm.

The conquest of Ethiopia failed too because Cambyses did not plan for adequate supplies to be brought along so some people had to resort to eating pack animals and even cannibalism before returning to Memphis

What did Cambyses do to Amasis' corpse?

He disrespected it

According to Herodotus, why did Cambyses not plan properly for the attack on the Ethiopians?

he was 'a madman'

What did Cambyses believe the Egyptians were celebrating when he returned from Ethiopia and what were they actually celebrating?

He thought that they were celebrating his failure at Ethiopia but they were actually celebrating the appearance of Ptah in the form of the Apis bull

What did Cambyses do in response to the celebrating?

He gathered some local officials to ask what was going on, but he did not believe them so he had them executed. He then demanded for the priests to be brought before him and they gave the same response.

What did Cambyses do to the Apis bull when it was brought before him?

He cut its thigh with a dagger and laughed at the fact that the god Ptah could be made from flesh and blood. The bull then later died from the injury.

What did Cambyses do with his brother and sister?

He ordered them to be killed

What other things did Cambyses do which portrayed him as mad?

He broke open tombs and examined the bodies, and he entered the temple of Hephaestus and jeered at the god's statue

Which two Magi tried to overthrow Cambyses?

Patizeithes and Smerdis

What did the two brothers do to try and gain power from Cambyses?

The magus Smerdis was told by Patizeithes to impersonate the dead Smerdis, Cambyses' brother, to try and gain power

How did Cambyses feel after realising that he had killed his brother for no reason?

Bitterly regretful

How did Cambyses die?

Cambyses died when he was stabbed by his own sword when trying to mount his horse to ride back to stop Smerdis from taking power.

How is Cambyses portrayed in others sources that are not Herodotus?

As a perfectly good Pharaoh who adhered to the religious rites of the time

Which temple's inscription talks about how Cambyses did the funeral rites for the Apis bull properly?

The Serapeum Temple

What was the name of the Egyptian advisor to Cambyses who has a statue that presents Cambyses in a good light?

Udjahorresne

What did Cambyses do when Udjahorresne asked him to remove his soldiers from the temple of Neith?

He ordered them to leave the temple and proceeded to purify it

Who did Herodotus most likely get his account of Cambyses from and why were they so resentful?

Herodotus probably got his 'facts' from the priests and administrators of the temples because Cambyses removed their tax exemption status which made them angry with him

When did Darius reign from?

522-486 BC

What were the names of the seven conspirators?

Otanes, Intaphernes, Gobyras, Megabyzus, Aspathines, Hydarnes, and Darius

What was the name of Otanes' daughter who was married to the magus Smerdis?

Phaidymie

What aroused Otanes' suspicion about the real identity of the magus Smerdis?

Phaidymie never interacted with the magus Smerdis' other wives which was very unusual for the time

What defining feature made it obvious that the magus Smerdis was not the real one?

The magus Smerdis had had his ears cut off by Cyrus many years earlier and the real one had not had his ears cut off so Phaidymie knew that the magus Smerdis was not the real one as she felt her husband's ears and realised the truth

How was the new king decided among the seven conspirators?

The first man's horse the neigh after sunrise would be declared king of Persia. Herodotus says that Darius won by using trickery of making his horse smell some cloth which had been smeared all over a female horse's genitals which made his horse neigh immediately

What is the name of the inscription that details Darius' ascent to power?

The Bisitun/Behistun Inscription

What is the name of the greatest Persian god?

Ahuramazda

Who led the revolt against Darius in Babylon?

Nidintu-Bel

Who led the second revolt against Darius in Babylon

Arakha

Which regions does the Bisitun inscription say rebelled?

Persia, Elam, Media, Assyria, Egypt, Parthia, Margiana, Sattagydia, and Saka

What happened to the rebels in Babylon after the revolt

Both of the leaders, Nidintu-Bel and Arakha, were beheaded and their heads were placed on spikes with another 49 Babylonian heads each

What happened to the rebellious leader Phaortes?

He had his nose, ears and tongue cut off, and he had one of his eyes impaled. He was then kept outside the gate for a while before being impaled at Ecbatana

How many battles and how many peoples did Darius fight and quell in the first year of his reign?

19 battles and nine peoples

What was the name of the man that Darius claimed to be the founder of his dynasty?

Achaemenes of the Achaemenid dynasty

How did Darius try to legitimise his rule over Persia?

He linked himself to Cyrus' family, even though the family tree that he states may be made up, and he married two of Cyrus' daughters, Atossa and Artystone

What are the words for 'truth' and 'lie' in Persian?

Arta and Drauga

How many satrapies did Darius create?

20

What were the three mounds in Susa called?

The Apadana mound, the Royal City mound, and the Acropolis mound

What were the main features of Susa

The Apadana and the Gate of Darius

What building works did Darius work on during his reign?

Rebuilding Susa, Building Persepolis, Creating the Royal Roads, and digging a canal from the Red Sea to the Nile

What is depicted on the Apadana staircase in Persepolis?

All of the 23 nations of the empire bringing tributes to the king, each wearing their own native dresses.

Who was Atossa repaying a favour for when she told Darius to send a reconnaissance mission to Greece?

Democedes, her doctor, who treated her for a abscess on her breast

What did Atossa say were the two reasons why Darius should have conquered some land?

To show the people of the empire that their king was capable and to make sure that the people were too occupied to revolt

Where did Darius conquer first?

The Indus Valley

Where did Darius conquer after the Indians?

Thrace and the Scythians

What did Darius use to bridge the Bosphorus?

Rafts

What did the Scythians do to annoy Darius?

They ran away whenever Darius tried to attacked them and attacked Darius whenever he began to retreat

Why did the Persians fare badly in Scythia?

The Scythians had talented horse-archers so whenever the Persians were foraging they would just shoot them with arrows and ride off. They would also set up cattle as bait and then attack any Persians that took it

Who were the leaders of the Greek who were guarding the bridge over the Ister (Danube)?

Miltiades and Histiaeus