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Persian Empire

  • Duration: c. 550-350 BCE
  • Geography & Extent: Spanned from Eastern Europe to the Upper Indus Valley, extending from Central Asia to Egypt.

Key Terminologies

  • Satrapy: A territory of the Persian Empire.
  • Satrap: The governor of a satrapy.

Major Figures

  • Cyrus the Great (ca. 550 BCE):
      - Role: Founder of the Achaemenid Empire.
      - Capital Established: Pasargadae.
      - Governance: Formalized local autonomy and religious tolerance.

  • Darius I (Reign: 522-486 BCE):
      - Role: Ruler from Persepolis.
      - Contributions:
        - Formalized the Satrapy system.
        - Introduced a centralized currency.
        - Developed the Royal Road system for efficient communication and commerce.

Athens

  • Significance: Central polity in Attica, notable as the first home of democratic governance.
  • Role in Alliances: Head of the Delian League and later the Athenian League.

Important Political Reforms

  • Cleisthenes (Archon 508-7 BCE):
      - Reforms: Introduced lasting reforms for 200 years attributing votes to a larger citizen body.
      - Outcome: This laid the foundation for democratic governance (demos).

Notable Battles

  • Battle of Salamis (480 BCE):
      - Participants: A naval battle between an alliance of Greek city-states led by Themistocles and the Achaemenid Empire under King Xerxes.

Alliances

  • Delian League:
      - Establishment: Formed in the aftermath of the Persian Wars.
      - Purpose: Military alliance against potential threats to Greeks in the Aegean region.

Punic Empire

  • Magonids (550-340 BCE):
      - Role: Royal family that established occupation in the Western Mediterranean, including Hamilcar I.
  • Punic Peoples:
      - Refers to the Phoenician peoples of the Western Mediterranean governing from Carthage.
      - Wars: Engaged in warfare with Rome (264-146 BCE).

Sicilian Wars

  • Duration: 580-265 BCE.
  • Nature of Conflict: On-and-off wars fought primarily between Greeks (often Syracuse) and other factions on Sicily.

Key Battles in the Sicilian Wars

  • Battle of Himera (480 BCE):
      - Outcome: Battle between Carthage and Syracuse leading to Syracuse control.
  • Battle of Cumae (474 BCE):
      - Outcome: Combat between the Etruscan fleet and Syracuse resulting in Syracuse's dominance over the Tyrrhenian Sea and the collapse of Etruscan power in the west.

Alexander the Great

  • Reign: 336-323 BCE.
  • Achievement: Ruler of Macedonia and the Macedonian Empire, known for consolidating Greek territories and conquering the Persian Empire.

Hellenistic Period

  • Definition: Pertaining to Hellenic (Greek) culture, especially reflecting cultural influences in the Mediterranean during the two centuries following Alexander the Great's death.