history chapter 4 things!!!

iranian plateau

flat, elevated piece of land located btw. Persian Gulf + Caspian Sea, settled by Medes + Parsa

Medes

settled in NW part of modern day Iran, allied with Chaldeans to defeat Assyrians

Assyrians

very cruel, located in N. Mespotomia

Parsa

an indo-european people, settled Persis, became known as the persians, defeated medes

Indo-european

language family, pastoral

Caucasus

mountains btw. Black + Caspian Sea

Persis

sw. part of Iran

Zarathustra

known as Zoroaster to the Greeks, prophet who reformed Persian religion, moved religion towards ethics

prophet

teacher inspired by god

ethics

conduct based on a system of moral principals

dualism

idea that the world was divided by the opposing forces of good vs evil

monotheism

belief in only one deity

deity

god or goddess

Avesta

holy book for Zoroastrianism

zoroastrianism

Persian religion, based on dualism, believed to have shaped Abrahamic reiglions, ideas of heavel/hell and judgement day

Ahura-Mazda

“lord of wisdom” who was all good

Ahriman

Ahura-Mazda’s rival who was all evil

Babylonian Exile

ideas exposed to Jews when Persians freed them, at the time when the Hebrew Bible was being compiled

Cyrus II

member of achaemenid dynasty, “king of kings”, conquered most of Persian empire, tolerated other peeople’s beliefs and practices

Acheamenid dynasty

an ancient Persian dynasty that ruled from 550 to 330 BCE

“king of kings”

cyrus II’s title

tribute

taxes collected from a conquered people

tributary

people or nations who pay tribute to another state or ruler

Lydians

settled in W. Anatolia, developed money system

money system

uses medium of exchange with standard values

alloy

combination of metals

barter system

trading goods/services for other goods/services

Cambyses II

son and successor of Cyrus II, continued conquests of Cyrus, added Egypt+ Libya to empire, overthrown by Darius

Egypt

gets defeated by the Persians b/c of Persians putting cats in front of the army

Libya

referred to the area W. of Egypt

coup

sudden overthrow of government

Darius I

imperial royal guard to Cambyses, distant cousin to Cyrus, expanded the empire to its greatest height, continues toleration of different cultures, affectively organizes Persian Empire

toleration

acceptance

golden age

period of great cultural achievement

Persepolis

built by Darius, became splendor of empire, decorated with palaces and beautiful monuments

satrapy

province

satrap

governors that govern each satrapy

“eyes and ears of the king”

inspectors, made unannounced visits to monitor straps

Royal Road

1,500 miles from Sardis to Susa, linked satrapies to capitol, improved communication

Herodotus

greek historian, born in Greek city conquered by Persians (Ionia), known for extensive travel, did most of his writings in Athens

historian

someone who studies history

Ionia

w. coast of Asia minor

Athens

place where Herodotus spent most of his life

Darius I

crushed the Ionian revolt, used involvement of Athens to invade greece

Histories

written by Herodotus, dealt w/ the rise of persians + greco-persian wars, contained many errors, often exaggerated 

Cyrus II GP

conquered Ionia

Athenians

supported + helped Ionians in the Ionian Revolt

Marathon

plain located 25 miles N. of Athens, site where Persian army landed in Greece - greatly outnumbered Greeks

plain

flat or gently rolling area without much relief

Pheidippides

athenian runner, sent to Sparta to request assistance, sent back to fight in Marathon, then sent back to inform Athenians of their victory, but died of exhaustion upon arrival

Sparta

accepted Athens’ request for support but wouldn’t help right away because of their Holiday for Ares, god of war

Battle of Marathon

Persians grew tired of waiting for Atneians, Greeks surprised Persians after Persians sent their cavalry back, Persians defeated

cavalry

soldiers fighting mounted on horses

Militiades

commander of Athenians during battle of marathon

phalanx

formation of tightly packed Greek soldiers, usually 200 men wide and 8 deep

decade

period of ten years (years btw. the two greco-persian wars)

Xerxes I

son and successor of Darius, sought to avenge father, sent ambassadors

ambassadors

people that represent nation as a whole

Thermopylae

narrow mountain pass N. of Athens, named after sulfur springs

Leonidas

spartan king in charge of the defenses at the battle of thermopylae

Battle of thermopylae

located in Thermopylae,Greeks greatly outnumbered, Greeks repelled several Persian attacks, had to retreat, Leonidas stayed with 300 soldiers and all died but killed 20000 persians

Ephialtes

greek traitor, informs Xerxes of of another mountain pass

immortals

elite Persian army of 10000 men

salamis

narrow strait near athens

strait

narrow waterway connecting two bodies of water

scorched earth policy

retreating Greeks used the strategy, strategy where they destroy the land around them so that the Persians cannot use any of it to feed their army

Themistocles

athenian commanding Greek naval forces during the battle of salamis

triremes

most feared ship in ancient Greece, three tiers of of oars, used battering rams to slam into enemy ships and sink them

Battle of salamis

persian ships have trouble manuevering, Greek ships swarm the Persians, Persian fleet retreats, lost 300 ships to 40 Greek ships

battle of plataea

final battle of greco-persians wars, wars crippled persian empire

alexander the great

came from Macedonia, conquers persians

macedonia

located just n. of greece

parthians

came from NE region of modern day Iran, rival to Roman empire

roman empire

rival to parthians

sasanians

also came from persis like achaemenids, rival to Byzantine empire

byzantine empire

rival to sasanians