READ: The Persian Empire

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Imagine having your life story written by your enemies. That's how it's been for the Persian Empire for thousands of years. Much of what we know about this great empire (559 BCE-331 BCE) came from the works of the Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon. We're grateful for their work, but they had some issues. Herodotus is known as both the "Father of History" and the "Father of Lies." And Xenophon was a mercenary soldier on the losing side of a Persian civil war. Between their work and what other conquered peoples wrote about Persia, it's no surprise they were so badly portrayed. For example, Herodotus wrote "they have no images of the gods, no temples nor altars, and consider the use of them a sign of folly." This was in stark contrast to the Greeks, who worshipped many gods in many different temples. Herodotus continued, "There is no nation which so readily adopts the foreign customs as the Persian." Today, we might think of that as being tolerant and welcoming of new ideas and cultures. But to the Greeks, it was a sign of weakness, and Herodotus was happy to call attention to it.

In the last two centuries, archaeologists, linguists, and historians have been able to find, read, and interpret new Persian sources. In some cases, what they learn aligns with other sources. Except when it doesn't. This is a reminder that when reading historical sources, we must ask who wrote them and why.

With this in mind, let's investigate the Persian Empire.

It's no surprise that the first great world empire arose in the same area that witnessed the emergence of increasingly complex societies. The Persian people were originally steppe nomads from the Iranian Plateau who settled in southwestern modern-day Iran. In the mid-sixth century BCE, the collapse of the Assyrian Empire opened the door for the Persian people to rapidly conquer competing empires. In less than a century, they conquered the Medes, Lydians, Neo-Babylonians, and eventually, the Egyptians.

At its height in 500 BCE, the population of the Persian Empire was around 50 million. This figure would have made the empire one of the largest in history, at least in terms of its percentage of the world population at the time, which was somewhere between 100 and 160 million.

"Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer." The first Persian king, Cyrus the Great, never saw the gangster film that line comes from, but he understood the concept. Highly skilled at incorporating conquered peoples into the Persian Empire, Cyrus used tolerant yet practical methods to legitimize Persian rule. First, he brought conquered kings into his government. This made the transition to Persian rule smoother and helped keep the government and conquered peoples loyal to the emperor. Cyrus and his son, Cambyses II, established the geographic boundaries of the empire. The third king, Darius, ensured that it would endure, by establishing the governing institutions that allowed continued success. The Persians were respectful of local traditions and did not exile (send away) conquered peoples. In the Hebrew and Christian Bible, Cyrus is best known for allowing the Jewish people to return home to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon. On one hand, this was a generous move, but it was also practical, as it insured a cooperative Jewish kingdom in the western reaches of the empire. However, it did not end well for Cyrus, as he attempted to subdue the horse-rich, nomadic Scythians. "[He] was killed trying to subjugate the Scythians; his head was then carried around in a skin filled with blood, said one writer, so that the thirst for power that had inspired him could now be quenched."

There is a maxim (general truth) in history that an empire's size must be limited by the distance you could travel in two weeks… by horse. Any larger, and the empire becomes simply too big to rule effectively and efficiently. But the Persians incorporated a variety of ideas to do so. First, they utilized cavalry as part of their army and had a steady supply of horses. Second, they rebuilt, and expanded a 1700 mile "Royal Road" to make it easier to communicate, travel, trade, and move their army. So instead of limiting expansion, they made it so two weeks of horse travel was a much greater distance. Third, they used the satrapy system inherited from the Assyrians. Satrapies were regional governments, each ruled by a governor the Persian king appointed. Frequently, these governors rose from the ranks of the conquered peoples. The Persians were well-known for their tolerance of local customs, traditions, and religions and generally ruled with a light touch, all of which helped support the legitimacy of their rule.

The horses, roads, and regional governments of the Persian Empire united distant lands both politically and economically. The Persians' administrative innovations also linked Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and Central Asian societies into a long-distance trading network. The Persian emperor, Darius, also facilitated trade by standardizing the gold coin that bore his name, the daric. This meant that merchants now had a common measure of value wherever they went in the empire.

In the Persian Empire the roles and experiences of women had much in common with other ancient societies, like the Greeks and Romans. Being a mother, especially to sons, was a priority for most women and an absolute must for royal women. Only males from one of the king's wives were eligible to inherit the throne.

However, Persian women weren't as restricted as in the Ancient Greek and Roman world. In fact, Persian women had responsibilities and freedoms that more closely resembled what women in Egypt had. Royal women, in particular, had great power in the Persian Empire because their society used a rigid social hierarchy. The king was always at the top of this pyramid-like structure. Under the king were male and female nobles. That meant the king's mother, wife, sisters, and daughters were one step from the top of the social ladder. The non-aristocratic members of society were ranked by occupation. Women could gain high positions in their professions and many were managers who were paid more than their male workers. Women could also own property and businesses. Some of these women had large estates and they directly managed this property and their workers. These women were also free to move about the empire on their own in order to attend to their estates. By contrast, in the Ancient Greco-Roman world, women often needed a male escort to leave the home and could only own property in limited circumstances${}^1$‍. This last point is important to consider when reading Greek writers commenting on Persian gender roles. The freedoms enjoyed by Persian women seemed very foreign to the Greeks, and this greatly influenced their often negative portrayal of Persians.

Historical sources are also a challenge when studying the emergence of the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism. This religion is named after the sage (wise man) Zardusht to the Persians, but better known as Zoraster by Herodotus, (also known as Zarathsutra.) Zoraster took one god, Ahuramazda, (and yes, this is where the Mazda car company derived its name) from the many the Persian people had worshipped and declared him to be the supreme god. He claimed Ahuramazda created people, and gave them free will, leading to the eternal struggle between truth and lies, good and evil. There was a belief in a judgment day, where the good went to paradise, and the evil went to hell. Although Zoroastrianism eventually became a prominent religion, it never became the "official" religion of the state.${}^2$‍ And contrary to Greek writers (and Hollywood) Persian kings were never considered divine, nor did they demand worship. However, like many rulers around the world throughout history, they attempted to legitimize their rule by claiming divine favor. So they were less "I'm a god" and more "God likes me best."

Why were the Greeks so critical of the Persians? Many Greeks had migrated from the various Greek city-states and set up colonies in Asia Minor (now Turkey) or settled in cities of earlier empires. As the Persian empire expanded, those Greek cities came under Persian rule. Like many non-Persians, Greeks were respected and served many roles in the Persian empire, including as soldiers and as physicians to Persian kings. But Athens and some Greek city-states persuaded one of these colonies, Ionia, to revolt against the Persians. Understandably, the Persians retaliated with an invasion of Greece. This led to a surprising Greek victory at Marathon (490 BCE), some 25 miles from Athens. The Persians did eventually put down the Ionian Revolt. Then ten years later (480 BCE) Xerxes I, son of Darius, returned to Greece to settle the score. Initial Persian success at the battle of Thermopylae was followed by a naval disaster at Salamis. The Greeks defeated the stranded Persian army at Plataea. Persian attacks on Greece were over.

Some one hundred fifty years later (334 BCE), the legendary Macedonian king, Alexander the Great, invaded Persia with his army of Macedonians and Greeks. Alexander smashed the Persians in battle after battle over a ten-year period. Ultimately, the land controlled by the Persians fell under the control of Alexander's generals, setting up a 300-year Hellenistic (Greek influence) period, prior to Roman expansion.

Mike Burns holds an M.A. in Global History, and loves teaching World History and Big History. An AP World History Consultant for the College Board, Burns has also served on the Executive Council of the World History Association. As an international educator, he has taught in Qatar, China, and Vietnam, and led workshops in Asia, Europe and Africa.