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When did Cyrus the Great rule?
559-530 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
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
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 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
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 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
What was the capital of Egypt at that time?
Memphis
How did the conquest of Ammon fail?
All 50,000 of the Persian soldiers were trapped and killed in a sandstorm.
How did the conquest of Ethiopia fail?
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 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 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
What did two scheming magi 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
What was the name of the Egyptian advisor to Cambyses who has a statue that presents Cambyses in a good light?
Udjahorresne
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
What defining feature made it obvious that the magus Smerdis was not the real one?
He had no ears
How was the new king decided among the seven candidates?
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
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
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 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
Who started the ionian revolt
Aristagoras
Who was the ex-Athenian tyrant who helped Persia in the troubles with Greece?
Hippias
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.
Why did Darius’s first attempt at conquering Greece fail?
The fleet was wiped out by a storm
Who was the leader of the Athenians at Marathon?
Miltiades
What formation did the Athenians use at Marathon
The phalanx
What did Xerxes add to Persepolis?
The Gate of All Nations
What is the Greek word for arrogance/pride?
hubris
What is the Greek word for divine retribution?
nemesis
Who helped Xerxes become king and what logic did he use?
Demaratus, ex-king of Sparta, argued that because Xerxes was Darius' first son to be born after he became king then Xerxes should be king according to the Spartan customs
Which peoples did Xerxes have to quell a revolt from in his first year as king?
The Egyptians
What engineering feats did Xerxes have to complete before his invasion of Greece?
He built a canal through the Athos peninsula to make sure his fleet did not sink like Darius', and he built two bridges across the Hellespont
Why did Xerxes have to build two bridges and what happened in the time in between?
The first bridge was destroyed so Xerxes ordered for the Hellespont to be whipped 300 times, branded, and have a pair of chains thrown into it
What were the imperial guard called and how many of them were there?
The Immortals were comprised of 10,000 men
What was a heavily armoured Greek soldier called?
A hoplite
What was the typical warship of the time called?
A trireme
Who was the leader of the Greeks at Thermopylae?
Leonidas
Who was the Greek who told Xerxes how to get around the mountains at Thermopylae?
Ephialtes
What did Xerxes do with Leonidas' body?
He decapitated him and put his head on a spike to rot. This was unusual as the Persians usually respected the bodies of the dead
Which battle happened at the same time as Thermopylae?
The sea-battle at Artemisium
When was the Battle of Salamis?
480 BC
Who was the leader of the Greeks at the battle of Salamis?
Themistocles
What did the Persians do to Athens?
They burned it down
Everyone of Xerxes' generals agreed to fight at Salamis except who?
Artemisia of Halicarnassus
Why did the Persians struggle at Salamis?
Their ships were top heavy so they capsized in the unfamiliar currents around Attica. They also had a large number of ships so it was too crowded for them to effectively fight in the narrow straight of Salamis
What was the alliance led by Athens called?
The Delian League
Where was the final battle between the Persians and Greek?
Eurymedon
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
