HH-06-Persia

The Persian Empire

Persian expansion. During the long reign of Nebuchadnezzar, some forty years, Babylon flourished, but. at his death the power he had evolved rapidly crumbled. In the latter years of his reign a new people, the Persians, began to assume the offensive. They threw off the Median yoke and captured Ecbatana in 549 B.C. The Medes apparently readily accepted their new ruler, the redoubtable Cyrus the Great. Within twenty years the Persian leader had created a great empire. His first opponent was wealthy King Croesus of Lydia, who met defeat in 546 B.C. At the same time Cyrus assumed control of the Greek Ionian cities and then turned east, establishing his power as far as the frontier of India. Babylon was next on his list, for in 539 B.C. without resistance the city capitulated to the Persian host. Following the death of Cyrus, his son Cambyses conquered Egypt. The next ruler, Darius, crossed the Hellespont and annexed Macedonia and Thrace to his empire. It now appeared as if the promising Greek city-states would also be crushed by the Persian steam roller. In 493 B.C. Darius began his first campaigns against Greece. They precipitated a bitter struggle in which the Greeks, fighting heroically, not only repelled the invasion but ultimately, under Alexander the Great, carried the war into the enemy's territory and crushed the great Persian army.

Persian imperial administration. The governmental structure designed by the Persian rulers to administer their extensive dominions was built upon the Assyrian model but was far more efficient than its predecessor. The Persian imperial system was first devised by Cyrus the Great and carried to completion by Darius. The empire was divided into twenty-one provinces, or satrapies, each under a provincial governor called a satrap. To check the satraps, a secretary and a military official representing the king were also installed in every province. Special inspectors, "the Eyes

and Ears of the King," were also sent to the satrapies to report on the administrative methods of the satraps. A great empire must possess good communications. Realizing that need, the Persians built great imperial post roads, which in the thoroughness of their construction rivaled the later Roman roads. The main highways connected the four capitals, Susa, Ecbatana, Babylon and Persepolis, which had been established in various parts of the empire. Along the Royal Road between Sardis and Susa there was a post station every fourteen miles, where fresh horses could be obtained by the king's messengers. By means of this first "pony express," royal messengers could cover a distance of 1500 miles in a little more than seven days, while ordinary travelers took three months.

Persian rulers demonstrated a high sense of responsibility toward all their subjects, alien or Persian. In fact, the Persian empire was the first attempt at governing many different racial groups on the principle of equal rights and responsibilities for all peoples. In their treatment of subject peoples there was a humaneness and spirit of consideration which had been absent in the Assyrian empire. The Persians respected the gods of all conquered people. The king made the prosperity of every part of the empire his concern, in order that all provinces would be enabled to provide the tribute levied against them. The tax burden, however, was not excessive. The introduction of a uniform system of coinage also did much to weld the empire together. .

These old men are subjects from Syria on the .other side of the Fertile Crescent, bringing gifts to the emperor at Persepolis - gold vessels, bracelets, horses, even a chariot. This relief decorated a wall of Xerxes' palace at Perspolis.

Zoroastrianism. The religion of the Persians was founded by a prophet named Zoroaster (called Zarathustra by the ancient Greeks). The date of his birth is a matter of dispute. Tradition places it about 1000 B.C., but the most recent scholarship puts his birth at 660 B.C. Zoroaster taught that there was a Continuous struggle in the world between two great cosmic forces. Mazda, or Ahura Mazda, symbolized righteousness; Ahriman was the summation of everything evil. The sayings and legends concerning Zoroaster were collected early in the Christian era and made into a sacred book called the Zend-Avesta. In it the principle of good is referred to as "Ahura Mazda, the creator, radiant, glorious, greatest and best, most beautiful, most firm, wisest, most perfect, the most bounteous spirit." The Avesta contained significant ideas on how the world would come to an end. The last days were conceived as involving a mighty battle between Mazda and Ahriman in which the forces of good should prevail. Then would come a last judgment involving a heaven for some and a hell for others. The word paradise is Persian in its origin.

The wise toleration of the Persian rulers was perhaps a result of their religion. In describing some of his victories, Darius, on the famous Behistun monument, declares: "On this account Ahura Mazda brought me help. ..because I was not wicked, nor was I a liar, nor was I a tyrant, neither I nor any of my line. I have ruled according to righteousness."

The followers of Zoroaster are sometimes called fire worshipers, because they regard fire as a symbol of the deity of light and purity. Their religion still persists among a group of about 100,000 people called Parsees, who live in and around the city of Bombay in India.

The ruined palace of Xerxes at Persepolis, showing columns and typical palace platform.

Art. The art of the Persians is not very original. They borrowed from their predecessors in the Fertile Crescent, especially the Assyrians. Their most important work was in palace architecture. The royal residences at Persepolis are the best remaining evidence of Persian building. Here a high terrace, or platform, was constructed, reached by a grand stairway, the face of which was covered with beautiful relief sculptures. The practice of raising the palace on a platform originated as a protection 'against disease from the swamps. Other features were brilliantly colored enameled bricks, entrances flanked by huge human headed bulls, and numerous columns to support the roof. The columns were topped by large heads of bulls, used for capitals as the Egyptians had used lotus motifs. Upon the terrace stood a number of palaces and halls used for audience chambers. The walls of the buildings were covered with brilliant enameled tiles. The arch was not copied from Babylonia; doors were capped with horizontal blocks of stone in the Egyptian fashion.

Summary

The evolution of human affairs in the Ancient Near East from primitive culture to civilization has now been recounted. The principal areas concerned were Egypt at the western terminus of the Fertile Crescent, Syria-Palestine, forming the western band of the Crescent, and Assyria and Babylonia, constituting the eastern bow. Civilization rose about the same time in the western and eastern ends of the Fertile Crescent, that is, in Egypt and in the plain of Shinar, later to be called Babylonia. Both those civilizations were river-made, one by the Nile, the other by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Natural barriers forming a defense for Egypt explain the almost uninterrupted continuity of its civilization. Along the Fertile Crescent, however, there were constant fighting and movements of people, owing to the absence of any such barriers. The history of that region, then, is a rather complex account of the rise and fall of numerous nations.

The story of Old Babylonia is primarily concerned with the significant achievements of the Sumerians and the later adoption of their civilization by Semitic invaders. The most important of the Semitic states was Babylon, created by the great Semitic leader Hammurabi. Following an era of brilliant civilization in Old Babylonia, attention was focused on Syria-Palestine. There the duel between Egypt and the Hittite empire, which weakened both contestants, gave small nations, Phoenicia, the Arameans, and the Hebrews, a chance to enjoy a brief period of independence. Political diversity was ended by the rise of the Assyrian empire, which had a span of about three hundred years (900-600 B.C.). The fall of Assyria left four peoples to contest for the crumbs of empire: the Egyptians, the Lydians, the Medes and Persians, and the Chaldeans. At the outset New Babylonia, or Chaldea, under the great Nebuchadnezzar was the center of a brilliant and powerful civilization, but the expansion of Persia quickly terminated its' independence. Persia became the greatest empire the world had yet seen; it even endeavored to extend its power over ancient Greece.

If the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods represent the first great chapter of progress in human history, the .accomplishments in the Ancient Near East represent a second. There metals were first used on an extensive scale and the wheeled vehicle, the plow, and irrigation introduced. Seagoing ships were built first by the Egyptians. the use of coinage was spread by the Lydians. and busil;1ess contractual instruments were developed by the Babylonians. In engineering, the Egyptians demonstrated remarkable skill in transporting tremendously heavy blocks of stone over long distances and then elevating them to great heights. During this early period in the history of man. warfare was put on a firm basis by the Sumerians and then developed to a high degree of efficiency by the Assyrians. Great political states were created in which there were remarkable centralization al;1d coordination in administration. Writing was evolved as early as 4000 B.C. later the Phoenicians made a notable contribution in devising an alphabet. In architecture the Egyptians evolved many of the basic features which were later developed to perfection by the Greeks. Sculpture was used with regard to its architectural setting, and Egyptian mural painters were highly skilled.

In the Tigris and Euphrates valley the outstanding artistic contributions were in palace building and sculpture. In the building of palaces some of the Mesopotamian , peoples used the arch and narrow vault successfully though not extensively. The Assyrian use of the arch may have influenced the Romans, and certainly some of their decorative animal motifs influenced later heraldry. In sculpture there were some beautiful wall decorations, especially in the Assyrian period. The greatest gift in literature was the Hebrew Bible, but mention should also be made of the Mesopotamian epics of the flood and creation and the Persian holy Zend-Avesta. Finally in religion, the Ancient Near East contributed some notable religious concepts.

Such is the role of the Ancient Near East in world history. But after several thousand years of advance, progress seemed to level off and almost entirely cease. One great bar to progress was that in all the countries of the N ear East there was no thought of political liberty or the right of the individual to have a part in the affairs of government. Coupled with the despotism of kings was the tyranny of priests. The old gods had to be obeyed, old customs and mores implicitly accepted. There was little opportunity for speculation, and society tended to become more and more static.