GCSE ancient history 1

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?

Croesus 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

When was Cyrus' conquest of Lydia?

546 BC

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

Harpagus also used which animals at the front line of the army to scare off the Lydian cavalry?

Camels

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

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.

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.

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

In which book of the bible is Cyrus referred to as a ‘Messiah’?

Ezra

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 did Cyrus offer Queen Tomyris before the battle against the Massagetae?

Cyrus offered to marry Queen Tomyris before the battle so that no one would be killed but Tomyris declined the offer

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

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 by not giving him his daughter to marry 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

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

How did Cambyses’ campaign against the Carthaginians end?

It was cancelled since the Phoenicians didn’t want to fight them (the Carthaginians were Phoenician colonists)

How did Cambyses’ campaign against the Ammonians end?

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

How did Cambyses’ campaign against the Ethiopians end?

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

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

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

What was a defining feature of the fake Smerdis?

He had no ears

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

What was the town where Cambyses was destined to die?

Agbatana

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

Who overthrew Smerdis?

Darius and six other Persian nobles

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.

How did Darius ensure that he would win the competition to become ruler?

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

What happened to rebels leaders in the revolts at the start of Darius’s reign?

They were impaled

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.

What is an Apadana?

An audience hall

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 to Scythia/Thrace?

Rafts

Who were left to guard the raft bridge into Scythia/Thrace?

The Ionians

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 wanted to let the Scythians destroy the bridge and who opposed that and why?

Miltiades wanted to let the bridge be destroyed but Histiaeus said that the Persians are the ones who are giving them any power so they should help them out in any way possible

What two things were used as a symbol of submission in the Persian empire?

Earth and water

When did the Ionian Revolt begin?

499 BC

Who started the Ionian Revolt?

Aristagoras

Where did Aristagoras rule?

The Ionian city of Miletus

Who was the ex-Athenian tyrant who helped Persia in the troubles with Greece?

Hippias

How many ships did Athens supply to Aristagoras?

20

What did the Greeks do at the beginning of the revolt?

They burnt Sardis to the ground. In doing so, they destroyed the temple of Cybele, which heavily angered the Persians.

How did the Persians beat the rebel Ionian forces?

They bribed the Greek fleets to desert at the start of the battle before winning a decisive naval Battle (Battle of Lade)

When and why did the first invasion of Greece by Darius fail?

The fleet that was sent to Greece was hit by a storm just of the coast of Mount Athos