In ancient times, Persia became the center of one of the greatest empires in history, stretching from Egypt to the Indus River. It included all previous empires - Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Hittites. The later empire of Alexander the Great included almost no territory that would not have previously belonged to the Persians, while it was smaller than Persia under King Darius.
Since its inception in the 6th c. BC. before the conquest by Alexander the Great in the 4th century. BC. for two and a half centuries, Persia occupied a dominant position in the ancient world. Greek domination lasted for about a hundred years, and after its fall, the Persian state was revived under two local dynasties: the Arsacids (Parthian kingdom) and the Sassanids (New Persian kingdom). For more than seven centuries, they kept Rome in fear, and then Byzantium, until in the 7th century. AD the Sassanid state was not conquered by Islamic conquerors.
The geography of the empire.
The lands inhabited by the ancient Persians only roughly coincide with the borders of modern Iran. In ancient times, such boundaries simply did not exist. There were periods when the Persian kings were the rulers of most of the then known world, at other times the main cities of the empire were in Mesopotamia, to the west of Persia proper, and it also happened that the entire territory of the kingdom was divided between warring local rulers.
A significant part of the territory of Persia is occupied by high arid highlands (1200 m), crossed by mountain ranges with individual peaks reaching 5500 m. Zagros and Elburs mountain ranges are located in the west and north, which frame the highlands in the form of the letter V, leaving it open to the east. The western and northern borders of the highlands roughly coincide with the current borders of Iran, but in the east it extends beyond the borders of the country, occupying part of the territory of modern Afghanistan and Pakistan. Three areas are isolated from the plateau: the coast of the Caspian Sea, the coast of the Persian Gulf and the southwestern plains, which are the eastern continuation of the Mesopotamian lowland.
Directly to the west of Persia lies Mesopotamia, home to the world's most ancient civilizations. The Mesopotamian states of Sumer, Babylonia and Assyria had a significant impact on the early culture of Persia. And although the Persian conquests ended almost three thousand years after the rise of Mesopotamia, Persia was in many ways the heir to the Mesopotamian civilization. Most of the important cities of the Persian Empire were located in Mesopotamia, and Persian history is largely a continuation of Mesopotamian history.
Persia lies on the paths of the earliest migrations from Central Asia. Slowly moving westward, the settlers skirted the northern tip of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and turned south and west, where, through the more accessible regions of Khorasan, southeast of the Caspian Sea, they entered the Iranian plateau south of the Elburz mountains. Centuries later, the main trade artery ran parallel to the early route, linking the Far East with the Mediterranean and providing control of the empire and the transfer of troops. At the western end of the highlands, it descended into the plains of Mesopotamia. Other important routes connected the southeastern plains through the heavily rugged mountains with the highlands proper.
Away from a few main roads, the settlements of thousands of agricultural communities were scattered in long and narrow mountain valleys. They led a subsistence economy, due to their isolation from their neighbors, many of them remained aloof from wars and invasions, and for many centuries carried out an important mission to preserve the continuity of culture, so characteristic of ancient history Persia.
STORY
Ancient Iran.
It is known that the most ancient inhabitants of Iran had a different origin than the Persians and their kindred peoples, who created civilizations on the Iranian plateau, as well as the Semites and Sumerians, whose civilizations arose in Mesopotamia. During excavations in caves near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, skeletons of people dated to the 8th millennium BC were discovered. In the north-west of Iran, in the town of Goy-Tepe, the skulls of people who lived in the 3rd millennium BC were found.
Scientists have proposed calling the indigenous population the Caspians, which indicates a geographical connection with the peoples who inhabited the Caucasus Mountains to the west of the Caspian Sea. The Caucasian tribes themselves, as is known, migrated to more southern regions, to the highlands. The "Caspian" type, apparently, has been preserved in a greatly weakened form among the nomadic Lurs in modern Iran.
For the archeology of the Middle East, the central issue is the dating of the appearance of agricultural settlements here. Monuments of material culture and other evidence found in the Caspian caves indicate that the tribes inhabiting the region from the 8th to the 5th millennium BC. engaged mainly in hunting, then switched to cattle breeding, which, in turn, approx. IV millennium BC replaced by agriculture. Permanent settlements appeared in the western part of the highlands before the 3rd millennium BC, and most likely in the 5th millennium BC. The main settlements include Sialk, Goy-Tepe, Gissar, but the largest were Susa, which later became the capital of the Persian state. In these small villages, adobe huts crowded together along winding narrow streets. The dead were buried either under the floor of the house or in the cemetery in a crooked ("uterine") position. The reconstruction of the life of the ancient inhabitants of the highlands was carried out on the basis of a study of utensils, tools and decorations that were placed in the graves in order to provide the deceased with everything necessary for the afterlife.
The development of culture in prehistoric Iran proceeded progressively over many centuries. As in Mesopotamia, large brick houses began to be built here, objects were made from cast copper, and then from cast bronze. Carved stone seals appeared, which were evidence of the emergence of private property. Found large jugs for food storage suggest that stocks were made between harvests. Among the finds of all periods there are figurines of the mother goddess, often depicted with her husband, who was both her husband and son.
The most noteworthy is the huge variety of painted pottery, the walls of some of which are no thicker than the shell of a chicken egg. The bird and animal figurines depicted in profile testify to the talent of prehistoric artisans. Some pottery depicts the man himself, hunting or performing some rituals. Around 1200–800 BC painted pottery is replaced by one-color - red, black or gray, which is explained by the invasion of tribes from as yet unidentified regions. Pottery of the same type was found very far from Iran - in China.
Early history.
The historical era begins on the Iranian plateau at the end of the 4th millennium BC. Most of the information about the descendants of the ancient tribes who lived on the eastern borders of Mesopotamia, in the mountains of Zagros, is gleaned from the Mesopotamian chronicles. (There is no information in the annals about the tribes that inhabited the central and eastern regions of the Iranian Highlands, because they had no ties with the Mesopotamian kingdoms.) The largest of the peoples inhabiting the Zagros were the Elamites, who captured ancient city Susa, located on a plain at the foot of the Zagros, and founded the powerful and prosperous state of Elam there. The Elamite Chronicles began to be compiled c. 3000 BC and fought for two thousand years. Further to the north lived the Kassites, barbarian tribes of horsemen, who by the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. conquered Babylonia. The Kassites adopted the civilization of the Babylonians and ruled southern Mesopotamia for several centuries. Less significant were the tribes of the Northern Zagros, the Lullubei and Gutii, who lived in the area where the great Trans-Asian trade route descended from the western tip of the Iranian Highlands to the plain.
The Aryan Invasion and the Median Kingdom.
Starting from the II millennium BC. waves of invasions of tribes from Central Asia hit the Iranian plateau one after another. These were the Aryans, Indo-Iranian tribes who spoke dialects that were the proto-languages of the present-day languages of the Iranian Highlands and Northern India. They also gave Iran its name ("homeland of the Aryans"). The first wave of conquerors surged approx. 1500 BC One group of Aryans settled in the west of the Iranian Highlands, where they founded the state of Mitanni, another group - in the south among the Kassites. However, the main flow of the Aryans passed Iran, turning sharply to the south, crossed the Hindu Kush and invaded North India.
At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. along the same path, a second wave of newcomers, the Iranian tribes proper, arrived in the Iranian Highlands, and much more numerous. Part of the Iranian tribes - Sogdians, Scythians, Sakas, Parthians and Bactrians - retained a nomadic lifestyle, others left the highlands, but two tribes, the Medes and Persians (Pars), settled in the valleys of the Zagros ridge, mixed with the local population and took their political , religious and cultural traditions. The Medes settled in the vicinity of Ecbatana (modern Hamadan). The Persians settled somewhat to the south, on the plains of Elam and in the mountainous region adjacent to the Persian Gulf, which was later called Persis (Parsa or Fars). It is possible that the Persians initially settled to the northwest of the Medes, west of Lake Rezaye (Urmia), and only later moved south under the pressure of Assyria, which was then at the peak of its power. On some Assyrian bas-reliefs of the 9th and 8th centuries. BC. battles with the Medes and Persians are depicted.
The Median kingdom with its capital in Ecbatana gradually gained strength. In 612 BC the Median king Cyaxares (reigned from 625 to 585 BC) entered into an alliance with Babylonia, captured Nineveh and crushed Assyrian state. The Median kingdom stretched from Asia Minor (modern Turkey) almost to the Indus River. During just one reign, Media from a small tributary principality turned into the strongest power in the Middle East.
Persian state of the Achaemenids.
The power of Media did not last longer than the life of two generations. The Persian dynasty of the Achaemenids (named after their founder Achaemenes) began to dominate Pars even under the Medes. In 553 BC Cyrus II the Great, the Achaemenid ruler of Parsa, revolted against the Median king Astyages, son of Cyaxares, as a result of which a powerful alliance of Medes and Persians was created. The new power threatened the entire Middle East. In 546 BC King Croesus of Lydia led a coalition directed against King Cyrus, which, in addition to the Lydians, included the Babylonians, Egyptians and Spartans. According to legend, the oracle predicted to the Lydian king that the war would end with the collapse of the great state. Delighted, Croesus did not even bother to ask which state was meant. The war ended with the victory of Cyrus, who pursued Croesus all the way to Lydia and captured him there. In 539 BC Cyrus occupied Babylonia, and by the end of his reign expanded the borders of the state from the Mediterranean Sea to the eastern outskirts of the Iranian Highlands, making the capital of Pasargada, a city in southwestern Iran.
Organization of the Achaemenid state.
Apart from a few brief Achaemenid inscriptions, we draw the main information about the state of the Achaemenids from the works of ancient Greek historians. Even the names of the Persian kings entered the historiography as they were written by the ancient Greeks. For example, the names of the kings known today as Cyaxares, Cyrus, and Xerxes are pronounced in Persian as Uvakhshtra, Kurush, and Khshayarshan.
The main city of the state was Susa. Babylon and Ecbatana were considered administrative centers, and Persepolis - the center of ritual and spiritual life. The state was divided into twenty satrapies, or provinces, headed by satraps. Representatives of the Persian nobility became satraps, and the position itself was inherited. This combination of the power of an absolute monarch and semi-independent governors was salient feature political structure of the country for many centuries.
All provinces were connected by postal roads, the most significant of which, the "royal road" 2400 km long, ran from Susa to the Mediterranean coast. Despite the fact that a single administrative system, a single monetary unit and a single official language, many subject peoples retained their customs, religion and local rulers. The reign of the Achaemenids was characterized by tolerance. The long years of peace under the Persians favored the development of cities, trade and agriculture. Iran was experiencing its golden age.
The Persian army differed in composition and tactics from the previous armies, for which chariots and infantry were typical. The main striking force of the Persian troops was mounted archers, who bombarded the enemy with a cloud of arrows, without coming into direct contact with him. The army consisted of six corps of 60,000 soldiers each and elite formations of 10,000 people, selected from members of the noblest families and called "immortals"; they also constituted the personal guard of the king. However, during campaigns in Greece, as well as during the reign of the last Achaemenid king Darius III, a huge, poorly controlled mass of horsemen, chariots and foot soldiers went into battle, unable to maneuver in small spaces and often significantly inferior to the disciplined infantry of the Greeks.
The Achaemenids were very proud of their origin. The Behistun inscription, carved on a rock by order of Darius I, reads: “I, Darius, great king, king of kings, king of countries inhabited by all nations, has long been the king of this great land that stretches even further, son of Hystaspes, Achaemenides, Persian, son of Persian, Aryans, and my ancestors were Aryans. However, the Achaemenid civilization was a conglomeration of customs, culture, social institutions and ideas that existed in all parts of the world. Ancient World. At that time East and West came into direct contact for the first time, and the resulting exchange of ideas never ceased thereafter.
Hellenic dominion.
Weakened by endless rebellions, uprisings and civil strife, the Achaemenid state could not resist the armies of Alexander the Great. The Macedonians landed on the Asian continent in 334 BC, defeated the Persian troops on the Granik River and twice defeated huge armies under the command of the mediocre Darius III - at the Battle of Issus (333 BC) in southwestern Asia Minor and under Gaugamela (331 BC) in Mesopotamia. Having captured Babylon and Susa, Alexander went to Persepolis and set it on fire, apparently in retaliation for the burning of Athens by the Persians. Continuing to move east, he found the body of Darius III, who had been killed by his own soldiers. Alexander spent more than four years in the east of the Iranian Highlands, founding numerous Greek colonies. He then turned south and conquered the Persian provinces in what is now West Pakistan. After that, he went on a hike in the Indus Valley. Returning in 325 BC in Susa, Alexander began to actively encourage his soldiers to take Persian women as their wives, cherishing the idea of a single state of Macedonians and Persians. In 323 BC Alexander, at the age of 33, died of a fever in Babylon. The huge territory conquered by him was immediately divided between his military leaders, who competed with each other. And although the plan of Alexander the Great to merge together Greek and Persian culture was never realized, the numerous colonies founded by him and his successors for centuries retained the originality of their culture and had a significant impact on local peoples and their art.
After the death of Alexander the Great, the Iranian Highlands became part of the Seleucid state, which got its name from one of its commanders. Soon the local nobility began the struggle for independence. In the satrapy of Parthia, located southeast of the Caspian Sea in the area known as Khorasan, a nomadic tribe of Parns rebelled, expelling the governor of the Seleucids. The first ruler of the Parthian state was Arshak I (ruled from 250 to 248/247 BC).
Parthian state of the Arsacids.
The period following the uprising of Arshak I against the Seleucids is called either the Arsacid period or the Parthian period. Constant wars were waged between the Parthians and the Seleucids, ending in 141 BC, when the Parthians, under the leadership of Mithridates I, took Seleucia, the capital of the Seleucids on the Tigris River. On the opposite bank of the river, Mithridates founded the new capital of Ctesiphon and extended his dominion over most of the Iranian plateau. Mithridates II (reigned from 123 to 87/88 BC) further expanded the borders of the state and, having taken the title of “king of kings” (shahinshah), became the ruler of a vast territory from India to Mesopotamia, and in the east to Chinese Turkestan.
The Parthians considered themselves the direct heirs of the Achaemenid state, and their relatively poor culture was replenished by the influence of Hellenistic culture and traditions introduced earlier by Alexander the Great and the Seleucids. As before in the Seleucid state, the political center moved to the west of the highlands, namely to Ctesiphon, so few monuments testifying to that time have been preserved in Iran in good condition.
During the reign of Phraates III (ruled from 70 to 58/57 BC), Parthia entered into a period of almost continuous wars with the Roman Empire, which lasted almost 300 years. The opposing armies fought over a vast area. The Parthians defeated the army under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus at Carrhae in Mesopotamia, after which the border between the two empires ran along the Euphrates. In 115 AD Roman emperor Trajan took Seleucia. Despite this, the Parthian power resisted, and in 161 Vologes III devastated the Roman province of Syria. However, long years of war bled the Parthians, and attempts to defeat the Romans on the western borders weakened their power over the Iranian highlands. Riots broke out in a number of areas. The satrap of Fars (or Parsa) Ardashir, the son of a religious leader, declared himself ruler as a direct descendant of the Achaemenids. After defeating several Parthian armies and killing the last Parthian king Artaban V in battle, he took Ctesiphon and inflicted a crushing defeat on the coalition trying to restore the power of the Arsacids.
State of the Sassanids.
Ardashir (reigned from 224 to 241) founded a new Persian empire known as the Sassanid state (from the ancient Persian title "sasan" or "commander"). His son Shapur I (reigned from 241 to 272) retained elements of the former feudal system but created a highly centralized state. The armies of Shapur first moved east and occupied the entire Iranian Highlands up to the river. Indus and then turned west against the Romans. At the Battle of Edessa (near modern Urfa, Turkey), Shapur captured the Roman emperor Valerian along with his 70,000-strong army. The prisoners, among whom were architects and engineers, were forced to work on the construction of roads, bridges and irrigation systems in Iran.
Over the course of several centuries, about 30 rulers changed in the Sassanid dynasty; often successors were appointed by the higher clergy and the feudal nobility. The dynasty waged continuous wars with Rome. Shapur II, who ascended the throne in 309, fought three times with Rome during the 70 years of his reign. The greatest of the Sassanids is Khosrow I (ruled from 531 to 579), who was called the Just or Anushirvan ("Immortal Soul").
Under the Sassanids, a four-tier system of administrative division was established, a flat rate of land tax was introduced, and numerous artificial irrigation projects were carried out. In the southwest of Iran, traces of these irrigation facilities are still preserved. Society was divided into four estates: warriors, priests, scribes and commoners. The latter included peasants, merchants and artisans. The first three estates enjoyed special privileges and, in turn, had several gradations. From the highest gradation of the estate, the Sardars, governors of the provinces were appointed. The capital of the state was Bishapur, the most important cities were Ctesiphon and Gundeshapur (the latter was famous as a center of medical education).
After the fall of Rome, Byzantium took the place of the traditional enemy of the Sassanids. Violating the agreement on eternal peace, Khosrow I invaded Asia Minor and in 611 captured and burned Antioch. His grandson Khosrow II (reigned from 590 to 628), nicknamed Parviz ("Victorious"), briefly restored the Persians to their former glory of the Achaemenid times. During several campaigns, he actually defeated the Byzantine Empire, but Byzantine emperor Heraclius made a bold throw at the Persian rear. In 627 Khosrow II's army suffered a crushing defeat at Nineveh in Mesopotamia, Khosrow was deposed and slaughtered by his own son Kavad II, who died a few months later.
The powerful state of the Sassanids found itself without a ruler, with a destroyed social structure, depleted as a result of long wars with Byzantium in the west and with the Central Asian Turks in the east. Within five years, twelve half-ghostly rulers were replaced, unsuccessfully trying to restore order. In 632, Yazdegerd III restored central authority for several years, but this was not enough. The exhausted empire could not withstand the onslaught of the warriors of Islam, irresistibly rushing north from the Arabian Peninsula. They struck the first crushing blow in 637 at the battle of Kadispi, as a result of which Ctesiphon fell. The Sassanids suffered their final defeat in 642 at the Battle of Nehavend in the central part of the highlands. Yazdegerd III fled like a hunted beast, his assassination in 651 marked the end of the Sassanid era.
CULTURE
Technology.
Irrigation.
The entire economy of ancient Persia was based on agriculture. Rainfall in the Iranian Plateau is insufficient for extensive agriculture, so the Persians had to rely on irrigation. The few and shallow rivers of the highlands did not provide irrigation ditches with sufficient water, and in summer they dried up. Therefore, the Persians developed a unique system of underground canals-ropes. At the foot of the mountain ranges, deep wells dug out, passing through hard but porous layers of gravel to the underlying impermeable clays that form the lower boundary of the aquifer. The wells collected melt water from the mountain peaks, covered in winter with a thick layer of snow. From these wells erupted underground conduits the height of a man with vertical shafts located at regular intervals, through which light and air entered for the workers. Water conduits came to the surface and served as sources of water all year round.
Artificial irrigation with the help of dams and canals, which originated and was widely used on the plains of Mesopotamia, spread to a similar region. natural conditions the territory of Elam, through which several rivers flow. This area, now known as Khuzistan, is densely indented with hundreds of ancient canals. Irrigation systems reached their highest development during the Sasanian period. Numerous remains of dams, bridges and aqueducts built under the Sassanids still survive today. Since they were designed by captured Roman engineers, they are like two drops of water reminiscent of similar structures found throughout the Roman Empire.
Transport.
The rivers of Iran are not navigable, but in other parts of the Achaemenid Empire, water transport was well developed. So, in 520 BC. Darius I the Great reconstructed the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea. In the Achaemenid period, extensive construction of land roads was carried out, but paved roads were built mainly in swampy and mountainous areas. Significant sections of narrow, stone-paved roads built under the Sassanids are found in the west and south of Iran. The choice of the place for the construction of roads was unusual for that time. They were laid not along the valleys, along the banks of the rivers, but along the ridges of the mountains. Roads descended into the valleys only to make it possible to cross to the other side in strategically important places, for which massive bridges were erected.
Along the roads, at a distance of a day's journey from one another, postal stations were built, where horses were changed. A very efficient postal service operated, with postal couriers covering up to 145 km per day. Since time immemorial, the breeding center of horses has been a fertile region in the Zagros Mountains, located next to the Trans-Asian trade route. Iranians from antiquity began to use camels as beasts of burden; this “mode of transport” came to Mesopotamia from Media ca. 1100 BC
Economy.
The basis of the economy of Ancient Persia was agricultural production. Trade also flourished. All the numerous capitals of the ancient Iranian kingdoms were located along the most important trade route between the Mediterranean and Far East or on its branch towards the Persian Gulf. In all periods, the Iranians played the role of an intermediate link - they guarded this route and kept part of the goods transported along it. During excavations in Susa and Persepolis, beautiful items from Egypt were found. The reliefs of Persepolis depict representatives of all the satrapies of the Achaemenid state, offering gifts to the great rulers. Since the time of the Achaemenids, Iran has exported marble, alabaster, lead, turquoise, lapis lazuli (lapis lazuli) and carpets. The Achaemenids created fabulous stocks of gold coins minted in various satrapies. In contrast, Alexander the Great introduced a single silver coin for the entire empire. The Parthians returned to the gold monetary unit, and during the Sassanid times, silver and copper coins prevailed in circulation.
The system of large feudal estates that developed under the Achaemenids survived until the Seleucid period, but the kings in this dynasty greatly facilitated the position of the peasants. Then, during the Parthian period, huge feudal estates were restored, and this system did not change under the Sassanids. All states sought to obtain maximum income and established taxes on peasant farms, livestock, land, introduced poll taxes, and collected tolls on roads. All these taxes and fees were levied either in imperial coin or in kind. By the end of the Sassanid period, the number and magnitude of taxes became an unbearable burden for the population, and this tax pressure played a decisive role in the collapse of the social structure of the state.
Political and social organization.
All Persian rulers were absolute monarchs who ruled over their subjects according to the will of the gods. But this power was absolute only in theory, but in reality it was limited by the influence of hereditary large feudal lords. The rulers tried to achieve stability through marriages with relatives, as well as by taking as wives the daughters of potential or actual enemies, both internal and foreign. Nevertheless, the rule of monarchs and the continuity of their power were threatened not only by external enemies, but also by members of their own families.
The Median period was distinguished by a very primitive political organization, which is very typical for peoples moving to a settled way of life. Already among the Achaemenids, the concept of a unitary state appears. In the state of the Achaemenids, the satraps were fully responsible for the state of affairs in their provinces, but could be subjected to an unexpected check by inspectors, who were called the eyes and ears of the king. The royal court constantly emphasized the importance of the administration of justice and therefore constantly moved from one satrapy to another.
Alexander the Great married the daughter of Darius III, retained the satrapies and the custom of prostrating himself before the king. The Seleucids adopted from Alexander the idea of the fusion of races and cultures in the vast expanses from the Mediterranean Sea to the river. Ind. During this period, there was a rapid development of cities, accompanied by the Hellenization of the Iranians and the Iranianization of the Greeks. However, there were no Iranians among the rulers, and they were always considered outsiders. Iranian traditions were preserved in the area of Persepolis, where temples were built in the style of the Achaemenid era.
The Parthians tried to unite the ancient satrapies. They also played an important role in the fight against the nomads from Central Asia advancing from east to west. As before, satrapies were headed by hereditary governors, but a new factor was the lack of natural succession. royal power. The legitimacy of the Parthian monarchy was no longer undeniable. The successor was chosen by a council made up of the nobility, which inevitably led to an endless struggle between rival factions.
The Sasanian kings made a serious attempt to revive the spirit and the original structure of the Achaemenid state, partly reproducing its rigid social organization. In descending order were vassal princes, hereditary aristocrats, nobles and knights, priests, peasants, slaves. The state administrative apparatus was led by the first minister, to whom several ministries were subordinate, including the military, justice and finance, each of which had its own staff of skilled officials. The king himself was the supreme judge, while justice was administered by the priests.
Religion.
In ancient times, the cult of the great mother goddess, a symbol of childbearing and fertility, was widespread. In Elam she was called Kirisisha, and throughout the Parthian period her images were cast on Luristan bronzes and made in the form of statuettes of terracotta, bone, ivory and metals.
The inhabitants of the Iranian Highlands also worshiped many deities of Mesopotamia. After the first wave of Aryans passed through Iran, such Indo-Iranian deities as Mithra, Varuna, Indra and Nasatya appeared here. In all beliefs, a pair of deities was certainly present - the goddess, personifying the Sun and the Earth, and her husband, personifying the Moon and the natural elements. The local gods bore the names of the tribes and peoples who worshiped them. Elam had its own deities, primarily the goddess Shala and her husband Inshushinak.
The Achaemenid period was marked by a decisive turn from polytheism to a more universal system reflecting the eternal struggle between good and evil. The earliest inscription from this period, a metal tablet made before 590 BC, contains the name of the god Aguramazda (Ahuramazda). Indirectly, the inscription may be a reflection of the reform of Mazdaism (the cult of Aguramazda), carried out by the prophet Zarathushtra, or Zoroaster, as narrated in the Gathas, ancient sacred hymns.
The identity of Zarathushtra continues to be shrouded in mystery. He appears to have been born c. 660 BC, but possibly much earlier, and perhaps much later. The god Ahura Mazda personified the good beginning, truth and light, apparently in opposition to Ahriman (Angra Mainu), the personification of the evil beginning, although the very concept of Angra Mainu could appear later. Darius' inscriptions mention Ahuramazda, and the relief on his grave depicts the worship of this deity at the sacrificial fire. Chronicles give reason to believe that Darius and Xerxes believed in immortality. Worship of the sacred fire took place both inside the temples and in open places. Magi, originally members of one of the Median clans, became hereditary priests. They oversaw the temples, took care of strengthening the faith by performing certain rituals. Ethical doctrine based on good thoughts, good words and good deeds was revered. Throughout the Achaemenid period, the rulers were very tolerant of local deities, and starting from the reign of Artaxerxes II, the ancient Iranian sun god Mithra and the fertility goddess Anahita received official recognition.
The Parthians, in search of their own official religion, turned to the Iranian past and settled on Mazdaism. Traditions were codified, and magicians regained their former power. The cult of Anahita continued to enjoy official recognition, as well as popularity among the people, and the cult of Mithras crossed the western borders of the kingdom and spread to most of the Roman Empire. In the west of the Parthian kingdom, they tolerated Christianity, which became widespread here. At the same time, in the eastern regions of the empire, Greek, Indian and Iranian deities united in a single Greco-Bactrian pantheon.
Under the Sassanids, the succession was preserved, but at the same time there were some important changes in religious traditions. Mazdaism survived most of the early reforms of Zoroaster and became associated with the cult of Anahita. To compete on equal terms with Christianity and Judaism, the sacred book of the Zoroastrians was created Avesta, a collection of ancient poems and hymns. The Magi still stood at the head of the priests and were the keepers of the three great national fires, as well as the holy fires in all important settlements. By that time, Christians had long been persecuted, they were considered enemies of the state, since they were identified with Rome and Byzantium, but by the end of the Sassanid reign, the attitude towards them became more tolerant and Nestorian communities flourished in the country.
During the Sasanian period, other religions also arose. In the middle of the 3rd c. preached by the prophet Mani, who developed the idea of combining Mazdaism, Buddhism and Christianity, and especially emphasized the need to liberate the spirit from the body. Manichaeism demanded celibacy from priests, and virtue from believers. The followers of Manichaeism were required to fast and offer prayers, but not to worship images or perform sacrifices. Shapur I favored Manichaeism and may have intended to make it state religion, but this was sharply opposed by the still powerful priests of Mazdaism and in 276 Mani was executed. Nevertheless, Manichaeism persisted for several centuries in Central Asia, Syria and Egypt.
At the end of the 5th c. preached another religious reformer - a native of Iran Mazdak. His ethical doctrine combined both elements of Mazdaism and practical ideas about non-violence, vegetarianism and communal life. Kavad I initially supported the Mazdakian sect, but this time the official priesthood turned out to be stronger and in 528 the prophet and his followers were executed. The advent of Islam put an end to the national religious traditions of Persia, but a group of Zoroastrians fled to India. Their descendants, the Parsis, still practice the religion of Zarathushtra.
Architecture and art.
Early metalwork.
In addition to the enormous number of ceramic objects, items made of such durable materials as bronze, silver and gold are of exceptional importance for the study of ancient Iran. A huge number of so-called. Luristan bronzes were discovered in Luristan, in the Zagros mountains, during illegal excavations of the graves of semi-nomadic tribes. These unparalleled examples included weapons, horse harness, jewelry, and objects depicting scenes from religious life or ceremonial purposes. Until now, scientists have not come to a consensus on who and when they were made. In particular, it was suggested that they were created from the 15th century. BC. by 7th c. BC, most likely - by Kassites or Scythian-Cimmerian tribes. Bronze items continue to be found in the province of Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran. In style, they differ significantly from the Luristan bronzes, although, apparently, both belong to the same period. Bronze items from northwestern Iran are similar to the latest finds made in the same region; for example, the finds of the accidentally discovered treasure in Ziviya and the wonderful golden goblet found during excavations in Hasanlu-Tepe are similar to each other. These items belong to the 9th-7th centuries. BC, in their stylized ornament and the image of deities, Assyrian and Scythian influence is visible.
Achaemenid period.
No architectural monuments of the pre-Achaemenid period have been preserved, although the reliefs in the palaces of Assyria depict cities on the Iranian Highlands. It is very likely that even under the Achaemenids, the population of the highlands led a semi-nomadic lifestyle for a long time, and wooden buildings were typical for the region. Indeed, the monumental structures of Cyrus at Pasargadae, including his own tomb, resembling a wooden house with a gabled roof, as well as Darius and his successors at Persepolis and their tombs at nearby Nakshi Rustem, are stone copies of wooden prototypes. In Pasargadae, royal palaces with pillared halls and porticos were scattered over a shady park. In Persepolis under Darius, Xerxes and Artaxerxes III, reception halls and royal palaces were built on terraces raised above the surrounding area. At the same time, it was not arches that were characteristic, but columns typical of this period, covered with horizontal beams. labor force, building and finishing materials, as well as decorations were delivered from all over the country, while the style of architectural details and carved reliefs was a mixture of artistic styles then prevailing in Egypt, Assyria and Asia Minor. During excavations in Susa, parts of the palace complex were found, the construction of which was begun under Darius. The plan of the building and its decoration reveal a much greater Assyro-Babylonian influence than the palaces in Persepolis.
Achaemenid art was also characterized by a mixture of styles and eclecticism. It is represented by stone carvings, bronze figurines, figurines made of precious metals and jewelry. The best jewelry was discovered in a random find made many years ago, known as the Amu Darya treasure. The bas-reliefs of Persepolis are world famous. Some of them depict kings during ceremonial receptions or defeating mythical beasts, and along the stairs in the large reception hall of Darius and Xerxes, royal guards lined up and a long procession of peoples is visible, bringing tribute to the ruler.
Parthian period.
Most of the architectural monuments of the Parthian period are found to the west of the Iranian Highlands and have few Iranian features. True, during this period an element appears that will be widely used in all subsequent Iranian architecture. This is the so-called. iwan, a rectangular vaulted hall, open from the side of the entrance. Parthian art was even more eclectic than that of the Achaemenid period. In different parts of the state, products of different styles were made: in some - Hellenistic, in others - Buddhist, in others - Greco-Bactrian. Plaster friezes, stone carvings and wall paintings were used for decoration. Glazed earthenware, the forerunner of pottery, was popular during this period.
Sasanian period.
Many buildings of the Sasanian period are in relatively good condition. Most of them were built of stone, although burnt bricks were also used. Among the surviving buildings are royal palaces, temples of fire, dams and bridges, as well as entire city blocks. The place of columns with horizontal ceilings was occupied by arches and vaults; square rooms were crowned with domes, arched openings were widely used, many buildings had aivans. The domes were supported by four trompas, cone-shaped vaulted structures that spanned the corners of the square chambers. The ruins of palaces have been preserved in Firuzabad and Servestan, in the southwest of Iran, and in Kasre-Shirin, on the western outskirts of the highlands. The largest was considered the palace in Ctesiphon, on the river. The tiger known as Taki-Kisra. In its center was a gigantic iwan with a vault 27 meters high and a distance between supports equal to 23 m. More than 20 fire temples have survived, the main elements of which were square rooms topped with domes and sometimes surrounded by vaulted corridors. As a rule, such temples were erected on high rocks so that the open sacred fire could be seen at a great distance. The walls of the buildings were covered with plaster, on which a pattern made by the notching technique was applied. Numerous reliefs carved into the rocks are found along the banks of reservoirs fed by spring waters. They depict kings before Aguramazda or defeating their enemies.
The pinnacle of Sassanid art are textiles, silver dishes and goblets, most of which were made for royal court. Scenes of royal hunting, figures of kings in solemn attire, geometric and floral ornaments are woven on thin brocade. On silver bowls there are images of kings on the throne, battle scenes, dancers, fighting animals and sacred birds made by the technique of extrusion or appliqué. Fabrics, unlike silver dishes, are made in styles that came from the west. In addition, elegant bronze incense burners and wide-mouthed jugs were found, as well as clay items with bas-reliefs covered with brilliant glaze. The mixture of styles still does not allow us to accurately date the found objects and determine the place of manufacture of most of them.
Writing and science.
The oldest script in Iran is represented by as yet undeciphered inscriptions in the proto-Elamite language, which was spoken in Susa c. 3000 BC The much more advanced written languages of Mesopotamia quickly spread to Iran, and Akkadian was used by the population in Susa and the Iranian plateau for many centuries.
Aryans who came to the Iranian Highlands brought with them Indo-European languages, distinct from the Semitic languages of Mesopotamia. In the Achaemenid period, royal inscriptions carved on rocks were parallel columns in Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian. Throughout the Achaemenid period, royal documents and private correspondence were either written in cuneiform on clay tablets or written on parchment. At the same time, at least three languages \u200b\u200bare in use - Old Persian, Aramaic and Elamite.
Alexander the Great introduced the Greek language, and his teachers taught about 30,000 young Persians from noble families the Greek language and military science. In the great campaigns, Alexander was accompanied by a large retinue of geographers, historians and scribes who recorded everything that happened day after day and got acquainted with the culture of all the peoples they met along the way. Particular attention was paid to navigation and the establishment of maritime communications. Greek language continued to be used under the Seleucids, while at the same time, the ancient Persian language was preserved in the Persepolis region. Greek served as the language of trade throughout the Parthian period, but Middle Persian became the main language of the Iranian Highlands, which was a qualitatively new stage development of Old Persian. Over the centuries, the Aramaic script used for writing in the ancient Persian language was transformed into the Pahlavi script with an undeveloped and inconvenient alphabet.
During the Sasanian period, Middle Persian became the official and main language of the inhabitants of the highlands. Its writing was based on a variant of the Pahlavi script known as the Pahlavi-Sasanian script. The sacred books of the Avesta were recorded in a special way - first in Zend, and then in the Avestan language.
In ancient Iran, science did not rise to the heights that it reached in neighboring Mesopotamia. The spirit of scientific and philosophical research awakened only in the Sasanian period. The most important works were translated from Greek, Latin and other languages. It was then that they were born Book of Great Deeds, Book of ranks, Iran countries And Book of Kings. Other works from this period have survived only in a later Arabic translation.
Territory of Persia before formation independent state was part of the Assyrian Empire. 6th century BC. became the heyday ancient civilization that began with the kingdom of the ruler Persia Cyrus II the Great. He managed to defeat a king named Croesus of the richest country of antiquity, Lydia. It went down in history as the first state formation in which silver and gold coins were minted in the history of the world. It happened in the 7th century. BC.
Under the Persian king Cyrus, the borders of the state were significantly expanded and they included the territories of the fallen Assyrian Empire and the powerful. By the end of the period of the reign of Cyrus and his heir, Persia, which received the status of an empire, occupied an area from the lands ancient egypt to India. The conqueror honored the traditions and customs of the conquered peoples and accepted the title and crown of the king of the occupied states.
The death of the king of Persia Cyrus II
In ancient times, the Persian emperor Cyrus was considered one of the most powerful rulers, under whose skillful leadership numerous successful military campaigns were carried out. However, his fate ended ingloriously: the great Cyrus fell at the hands of a woman. Near the northeastern border of the Persian Empire lived Massagetae. Small tribes were very savvy in military affairs. They were ruled by Queen Tomyris. She answered Cyrus' proposal for marriage with a decisive refusal, which made the emperor extremely angry and he undertook a military campaign to capture the nomadic peoples. The queen's son died in the fight, and she promised to force the king of an ancient civilization to drink blood. The battle ended with the defeat of the Persian troops. The head of the emperor was brought to the queen in a leather fur filled with blood. Thus ended the time of despotic rule and conquests of the king of Persia, Cyrus II the Great.
Rise to power of Darius
After the death of the mighty Cyrus, his direct heir came to power Cambyses. Militia began in the state. As a result of the struggle, Darius I became the emperor of Persia. Information about the years of his reign has come down to our days thanks to Behistunskaya inscriptions, which contains historical data in Old Persian, Akkadian, and Elamite. The stone was found by an officer of Great Britain G. Rawlinson in 1835. The inscription testifies that during the reign of a distant relative of Cyrus II the Great Darius, Persia turned into an oriental despotism.
The state was divided into 20 administrative divisions, which were ruled by satraps. The regions were called satraps. Officials were in charge of administration and their duties included control over the collection of taxes to the main treasury of the state. The money went to the development of infrastructure, in particular, roads were built connecting areas throughout the empire. Postal posts were established to convey messages to the king. During his reign, extensive construction of cities and the development of handicrafts were noted. Gold coins - "dariki" - are introduced into monetary use.
Centers of the Persian Empire
One of the four capitals of the ancient civilization of Persia was located on the territory of the former Lydia in the city of Susa. Another center of social and political life was in Pasargada, established by Cyrus the Great. The residence of the Persians was also located in the conquered Babylonian kingdom. Emperor Darius I was put on the throne in a city specially established as the capital of Persia persepolis. Its wealth and architecture amazed the rulers and ambassadors of foreign countries, who stayed in the empire to bring gifts to the king. The stone walls of the palace of Darius in Persepolis are decorated with drawings depicting the immortal army of the Persians and the history of the existence of the "six peoples" living in the ancient civilization.
Religious representations of the Persians
In ancient times in Persia there was polytheism. The adoption of a single religion came with the doctrine of the struggle of the god of good and the generation of evil. The name of the prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster). In the tradition of the Persians, in contrast to the religiously strong Ancient Egypt, there was no custom of erecting temple complexes and altars for performing spiritual rites. The sacrifices were made on the hills, where the altars were arranged. god of light and goodness Ahura Mazda depicted in Zoroastrianism in the form of a solar disk, decorated with wings. He was considered the patron saint of the kings of the ancient civilization of Persia.
The Persian state was located on the territory of modern Iran, where ancient architectural monuments of the empire have been preserved.
Video about the creation and fall of the Persian Empire
From about 600 to 559 in Persia (at that time it was simply the territory of a more or less compact residence of a number of Iranian-speaking tribes), the rules Cambyses I, which was in vassal dependence on the Median kings.
In 558 BC. e. Cyrus II, the son of Cambyses I, became the king of the settled Persian tribes, among which the dominant role was played by pasargades. The center of the Persian state was located around the city of Pasargada, the intensive construction of which dates back to the initial period of the reign of Cyrus. About public organization Persia of that time can be judged only in the most general terms. The main social unit was a large partiarchal family, the head of which had unlimited power over all his relatives. The tribal (and later rural) community, which united a number of families, remained a powerful force for many centuries. The clans were united into tribes.
When Cyrus II became king of Persia, there were four major powers in the entire Middle East, namely, Egypt, Babylonia, and.
In 553, Cyrus raised an uprising against the Median king Astyages, in whose vassal dependence the Persians were until that time. The war lasted three years and ended in 550 with a complete victory for the Persians. Ecbatana, the capital of the former Median state, has now become one of the royal residences of Cyrus. Having conquered Media, Cyrus formally retained the Median kingdom and assumed the official titles of the Median kings: "great king, king of kings, king of countries".
From the time of the capture of Media, Persia enters the wide arena of world history in order to play a politically leading role in it for the next two centuries.
Around 549, the entire territory was captured by the Persians. In 549 - 548 years. the Persians subjugated the countries that were part of the former Median power, namely Parthia, Hyrcania and probably Armenia.
Meanwhile Croesus, the ruler of the mighty in Asia Minor, anxiously followed the rapid successes of Cyrus and began to prepare for the upcoming war. At the initiative of the Egyptian pharaoh Amasis, around 549, an alliance was concluded between Egypt and Lydia. Soon, Croesus concluded an agreement on assistance with Sparta, the most powerful state in Greece. However, the allies did not realize that it was necessary to act immediately and decisively, and in the meantime, Persia became more powerful every day.
At the end of October 547, near the river. Galis, in Asia Minor, there was a bloody battle between the Persians and the Lydians, but it ended in vain, and neither side risked immediately entering into a new battle.
Croesus retreated to his capital Sardis and, deciding to prepare more thoroughly for the war, he proposed to conclude a military alliance with the king of Babylonia Nabonidou. At the same time, Croesus sent heralds to Sparta with a request to send an army by spring (i.e., in about five months) to give the Persians a decisive battle. With the same request, Croesus turned to other allies and dismissed the mercenaries who served in his army until spring.
However, Cyrus, who was aware of the actions and intentions of Croesus, decided to take the enemy by surprise and, rapidly passing several hundred kilometers, found himself at the gates of Sardis, whose inhabitants did not at all expect such an attack.
Croesus led his cavalry, which was considered invincible, to the plain in front of Sardis. On the advice of one of his commanders, Cyrus placed all the camels following in the wagon train ahead of his army, after placing soldiers on them. Lydian horses, seeing animals unfamiliar to them and smelling their smell, fled. However, the Lydian horsemen did not lose their heads, jumped off their horses and began to fight on foot. A fierce battle took place, in which, however, the forces were unequal. Under pressure from superior enemy forces, the Lydians had to retreat and flee to Sardis, where they were besieged in an impregnable fortress.
Believing that the siege would be long, Croesus sent messengers to Sparta, Babylon, and Egypt asking for immediate assistance. Of the allies, only the Spartans more or less willingly responded to the plea of the Lydian king and prepared an army to be sent on ships, but soon received the news that Sardis had already fallen.
The siege of Sardis lasted only 14 days. An attempt to take the city by storm ended in failure. But one observant warrior from the army of Cyrus, who belonged to the mountain tribe of the Mards, noticed how a warrior descended from the fortress behind a fallen helmet along a steep and impregnable rock, and then climbed back. This part of the fortress was considered completely impregnable and therefore was not guarded by the Lydians. Mard climbed up the rock, and other warriors followed him. The city was taken and Croesus was taken prisoner (546).
Persian conquests
After the capture of Lydia, it was the turn of the Greek cities of Asia Minor. The inhabitants of these cities sent messengers to Sparta asking for help. The danger threatened all the Greeks of Asia Minor, except for the inhabitants of Miletus, who had submitted to Cyrus in advance, and the island Hellenes, since the Persians did not yet have a fleet.
When the messengers of the cities of Asia Minor arrived in Sparta and stated their request, the Spartans refused to help them. Cyrus decided to entrust the conquest of the Greeks and other peoples of Asia Minor to one of his generals. The Persian Tabal was appointed viceroy of Lydia, and Cyrus himself went to Ecbatana to consider plans for campaigns against Babylonia, Bactria, Saks and Egypt.
Taking advantage of the departure of Cyrus to Ecbatany, the inhabitants of Sardis, led by the Lydian Paktius, who was entrusted with the protection of the royal treasury, revolted. They besieged the Persian garrison led by Tabal in the fortress of Sardis and persuaded the Greek coastal cities to send their military detachments to the aid of the rebels.
To suppress the uprising, Cyrus sent an army led by a Mede Mazar, who was also ordered to disarm the Lydians and enslave the inhabitants of the Greek cities, who assisted the rebels.
Paktius, having learned about the approach of the Persian army, fled with his adherents, and this ended the uprising. Mazar began the conquest of the Greek cities of Asia Minor. Soon Mazar died of an illness, and the Mede Harpag was appointed in his place. He began to erect high mounds near the walled Greek cities and then take them by storm. Thus, Harpagus soon subjugated all of Asia Minor, and the Greeks lost their military dominance in the Aegean. Now Cyrus, in case of need in the navy, could use Greek ships.
Between 545 and 539 BC e. Cyrus subjugated Drangiana, Margiana, Khorezm, Sogdiana, Bactria, Areya, Gedrosia, the Central Asian Saks, Sattagidia, Arachosia and Gandhara. Thus, Persian domination reached the northwestern borders of India, the southern spurs of the Hindu Kush and the basin of the river. Yaksart (Syrdarya). Only after he had succeeded in reaching the furthest limits of his conquests in the northeast direction did Cyrus move against Babylonia.
In the spring of 539 BC. e. the Persian army set off on a campaign and began to advance down the river valley. Diyala. In August 539, near the city of Opis near the Tigris, the Persians defeated the Babylonian army, commanded by the son of Nabonid Bel-shar-utzur. The Persians then crossed the Tigris south of Opis and surrounded Sippar. The defense of Sippar was led by Nabonidus himself. The Persians met only insignificant resistance from the garrison of the city, and Nabonidus himself fled from it. On October 10, 539, Sippar fell into the hands of the Persians, and two days later the Persian army entered Babylon without a fight. To organize the defense of the capital, Nabonidus hurried there, but the city was already in enemy hands, and the Babylonian king was captured. On October 20, 539, Cyrus himself entered Babylon, for whom a solemn meeting was arranged.
After the capture of Babylonia, all countries to the west of it and to the borders of Egypt voluntarily submitted to the Persians.
In 530, Cyrus undertook a campaign against the Massagetae, nomadic tribes that lived on the plains north of Hyrcania and east of the Caspian Sea. These tribes repeatedly made predatory raids on the territory of the Persian state. To eliminate the danger of such invasions, Cyrus first created a series of border fortifications in the extreme northeast of his state. However, then during the battle to the east of the Amu Darya, he was completely defeated by the Massagets and died. This battle, in all likelihood, took place at the very beginning of August. In any case, by the end of August 530, the news of the death of Cyrus reached distant Babylon.
Herodotus relates that Cyrus at first seized the camp of the Massagetae by cunning and killed them. But then the main forces of the Massagetae under the leadership of the queen Tomyris inflicted a severe defeat on the Persians, and the severed head of Cyrus was thrown into a bag filled with blood. Herodotus also writes that this battle was the most cruel of all the battles in which the "barbarians" participated, i.e. non-Greeks. According to him, the Persians lost 200,000 people killed in this war (of course, this figure is greatly exaggerated).
Persian King Cambyses II
After the death of Cyrus in 530, his eldest son became the king of the Persian state Cambyses II. Shortly after his accession to the throne, he began to prepare for an attack on Egypt.
After a long military and diplomatic preparation, as a result of which Egypt was completely isolated, Cambyses set out on a campaign. The land army received support from the fleet of the Phoenician cities, which as early as 538 submitted to the Persians. The Persian army safely reached the Egyptian border town of Pelusium (40 km from modern Port Said). In the spring of 525, the only major battle. In it, both sides suffered heavy losses, and the victory went to the Persians. The remnants of the Egyptian army and mercenaries fled in disarray to the capital of the country, Memphis.
The victors moved into the depths of Egypt by sea and land, without meeting resistance. The commander of the Egyptian fleet, Ujagorresent, did not give an order to resist the enemy and surrendered the city of Sais and his fleet without a fight. Cambyses sent a messenger ship to Memphis demanding the surrender of the city. But the Egyptians attacked the ship and massacred its entire crew, along with the royal messenger. After that, the siege of the city began, and the Egyptians had to surrender. 2000 inhabitants were executed in retaliation for the murder of the king's herald. Now all of Egypt was in the hands of the Persians. The Libyan tribes living to the west of Egypt, as well as the Greeks of Cyrenaica and the city of Barca, voluntarily submitted to Cambyses and sent gifts.
By the end of August 525, Cambyses was officially recognized as king of Egypt. He founded a new, XXVII dynasty of the pharaohs of Egypt. According to official Egyptian sources, Cambyses gave his capture the character of a personal union with the Egyptians, was crowned according to Egyptian customs, used the traditional Egyptian dating system, took the title "king of Egypt, king of the countries" and the traditional titles of the pharaohs "descendant of [the gods] Ra, Osiris" and etc. He participated in religious ceremonies in the temple of the goddess Neith in Sais, made sacrifices Egyptian gods and gave them other signs of attention. Reliefs from Egypt depict Cambyses in Egyptian costume. To give the seizure of Egypt a legal character, legends were created about the birth of Cambyses from the marriage of Cyrus with the Egyptian princess Nitetida, the daughter of the pharaoh.
Shortly after the Persian conquest, Egypt began to live again normal life. The legal and administrative documents of the time of Cambyses testify that the first years of Persian domination did not cause significant damage. economic life countries. True, immediately after the capture of Egypt, the Persian army committed robberies, but Cambyses ordered his soldiers to stop them, leave the temple territories and compensate for the damage caused. Following the policy of Cyrus, Cambyses granted the Egyptians freedom in religious and private life. The Egyptians, like representatives of other peoples, continued to hold their positions in the state apparatus and passed them by inheritance.
Capturing Egypt, Cambyses began to prepare for a campaign against the country of the Ethiopians (Nubia). To this end, he founded several fortified cities in Upper Egypt. According to Herodotus, Cambyses invaded Ethiopia without sufficient preparation, without food supplies, cannibalism began in his army, and he was forced to retreat.
While Cambyses was in Nubia, the Egyptians, aware of his failures, rose in revolt against Persian domination. At the end of 524, Cambyses returned to the administrative capital of Egypt, Memphis, and began a harsh reprisal against the rebels. The instigator of the uprising, the former pharaoh Psammetich III, was executed, the country was pacified.
While Cambyses spent three years without a break in Egypt, unrest began in his homeland. In March 522, while in Memphis, he received news that his younger brother Bardia had raised a rebellion in Persia and became king. Cambyses went to Persia, but died en route under mysterious circumstances, before he could regain power.
According to the Behistun inscription Darius I, in fact, Bardia was killed on the orders of Cambyses even before the conquest of Egypt, and a certain magician Gaumata seized the throne in Persia, posing as the youngest son of Cyrus. It is unlikely that we will ever know for sure whether this king was Bardia or a usurper who took someone else's name.
On September 29, 522, after seven months of reign, Gaumata was killed by conspirators as a result of a sudden attack by representatives of the seven most noble families of the Persians. Darius, one of these conspirators, became king of the Achaemenid state.
Immediately after the seizure of the throne by Darius I, Babylonia rebelled against him, where, according to the Behistun inscription, a certain Nidintu-Bel declared himself the son of the last Babylonian king Nabonidus and began to reign under the name of Nebuchadnezzar III. Darius personally led the campaign against the rebels. December 13, 522 at the river. The Tigris Babylonians were defeated, and five days later Darius won a new victory in the area of Zazana near the Euphrates. After that, the Persians entered Babylon, and the leaders of the rebels were put to death.
While Darius was busy with punitive actions in Babylonia, Persia, Media, Elam, Margiana, Parthia, Sattagidia, the Saka tribes of Central Asia and Egypt rebelled against him. A long, cruel and bloody struggle for the restoration of the state began.
The satrap of Bactria Dadarshish moved against the rebels in Margiana, and on December 10, 522, the Margians were defeated. This was followed by a massacre, during which the punishers killed more than 55 thousand people.
In Persia itself, a certain Vahyazdata opposed Darius under the name of the son of Cyrus, Bardin, and found great support among the people. He also managed to capture the Eastern Iranian regions up to Arachosia. On December 29, 522, near the fortress of Kapishakanish and on February 21, 521, in the region of Gandutava in Arachosia, the troops of Vahyazdata entered into battle with the army of Darius. Apparently, these battles did not bring a decisive victory to either side, and the army of Darius defeated the enemy only in March of that year. But in Persia itself, Vahyazdata still remained the master of the situation, and the supporters of Darius won a decisive victory over him at Mount Parga in Persia only on July 16, 521. Vahyazdata was captured and, together with his closest supporters, impaled.
But in other countries, uprisings continued. The first uprising in Elam was put down rather easily, and the leader of the rebels, Assina, was captured and executed. However, soon a certain Marty raised a new uprising in Elam. When Darius managed to restore his power in this country, almost all of Media fell into the hands of Fravartish, who claimed that he was Khshatrita from the clan of the ancient Median king Cyaxares. This uprising was one of the most dangerous for Darius, and he himself opposed the rebels. On May 7, 521, a major battle took place near the city of Kundurush in Media. The Medes were defeated, and Fravartish fled with part of his adherents to the region of Raga in Media. But soon he was captured and brought to Darius, who brutally dealt with him. He cut off Fravartish's nose, ears and tongue and gouged out his eyes. After that, he was taken to Ecbatana and impaled there. Fravartish's closest assistants were also brought to Ecbatana and imprisoned in the fortress, and then they were flayed.
In other countries, the struggle against the rebels still continued. In various regions of Armenia, the commanders of Darius tried for a long time, but unsuccessfully, to pacify the rebels. The first major battle took place on December 31, 522 in the area of Izala. Then the troops of Darius evaded active operations until May 21, 521, when they took the fight in the area of Zuzakhia. Six days later, it happened at the river. Tiger new battle. But it was still not possible to break the stubbornness of the rebellious Armenians, and in addition to the troops of Darius, who was operating in Armenia, a new army was sent. After that, they managed to defeat the rebels in the battle in the Autiara area, and on June 21, 521, the Armenians near Mount Uyama suffered a new defeat.
Meanwhile, Vishtaspa, the father of Darius, who was the satrap of Parthia and Hyrcania, for many months avoided fighting the rebels. In March 521, the battle near the city of Vishpauzatish in Parthia did not bring him victory. Only in the summer, Darius was able to send a fairly large army to help Vishtaspa, and after that, on July 12, 521, the rebels were defeated near the city of Patigraban in Parthia.
But a month later, the Babylonians made a new attempt to achieve independence. Now at the head of the uprising was the Urartian Arach, who pretended to be Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabonidus (Nevuchadnezzar IV). Against the Babylonians, Darius sent an army led by one of his closest associates, and on November 27, 521, Araha's army was defeated, and he himself and his associates were executed.
This was the last major uprising, although unrest still continued in the state. Now, a little over a year after seizing power, Darius was able to consolidate his position and shortly thereafter restored the power of Cyrus and Cambyses to its old borders.
Between 519 - 512 years. the Persians conquered Thrace, Macedonia and the northwestern part of India. This was the time of the highest power of the Persian state, whose borders began to stretch from the river. Indus in the east to the Aegean in the west, from Armenia in the north to Ethiopia in the south. Thus, a world power arose, uniting dozens of countries and peoples under the rule of the Persian kings.
Economy and social institutions of Achaemenid Persia
In terms of its socio-economic structure, the Achaemenid state was distinguished by great diversity. It included the regions of Asia Minor, Elam, Babylonia, Syria, Phoenicia and Egypt, which long before the emergence of the Persian Empire had their own state institutions. Along with the listed economically developed countries, the Persians also conquered the backward nomadic Arab, Scythian and other tribes, which were at the stage of decomposition of the tribal system.
Revolts of 522 - 521 showed the weakness of the Persian state and the inefficiency of managing the conquered countries. Therefore, around 519, Darius I carried out important administrative and financial reforms, which made it possible to create a stable system of state administration and control over the conquered peoples, streamlined the collection of taxes from them and increased the contingents of the troops. As a result of the implementation of these reforms in Babylonia, Egypt and other countries, an essentially new administrative system was created, which did not undergo significant changes until the end of the Achaemenid domination.
Darius I divided the state into administrative-tax districts, which were called satrapies. As a rule, the size of the satrapies exceeded the provinces of earlier empires, and in some cases the borders of the satrapies coincided with the old state and ethnographic borders of the countries that were part of the Achaemenid state (for example, Egypt).
Satraps were at the head of the new administrative districts. The post of satrap existed from the emergence of the Achaemenid state, but under Cyrus, Cambyses and in the early years of the reign of Darius, local officials were governors in many countries, as was the case in the Assyrian and Median empires. The reforms of Darius, in particular, were aimed at concentrating leadership positions in the hands of the Persians, and Persians were now usually appointed to the position of satraps.
Further, under Cyrus and Cambyses, civil and military functions were united in the hands of one and the same person, namely, the satrap. Darius limited the power of the satrap by establishing a clear separation of the functions of satraps and military authorities. Now the satraps became only civil governors and stood at the head of the administration of their region, exercised judicial power, monitored the economic life of the country and the flow of taxes, ensured security within the borders of their satrapy, controlled local officials and had the right to mint a silver coin. In peacetime, only a small bodyguard was at the disposal of the satraps. As for the army, it was subordinate to military leaders who were independent of the satraps and reported directly to the king. However, after the death of Darius I, this requirement for the division of military and civilian functions was not strictly observed.
In connection with the implementation of new reforms, a large central apparatus was created, headed by the royal office. The central state administration was located in the administrative capital of the Achaemenid state - Susa. Many dignitaries and minor officials from various parts of the state, from Egypt to India, came to Susa on state affairs. Not only in Susa, but also in Babylon, Ecbatana, Memphis and other cities, there were large state offices with a large staff of scribes.
The satraps and military leaders were closely connected with the central administration and were under constant control of the king and his officials, especially the secret police (“the ears and the eye of the king”). The supreme control over the entire state and oversight of all officials were entrusted to the Khazarapat (“Chief of the Thousand”), who at the same time was the head of the king’s personal guard.
The satrap office exactly copied the royal office in Susa. Under the command of the satrap there were many officials and scribes, including the head of the office, the head of the treasury, who accepted state taxes, heralds who reported state orders, accountants, judicial investigators, etc.
Already under Cyrus II, the state offices in the western part of the Achaemenid state used the Aramaic language, and later, when Darius carried out his administrative reforms, this language became official in the eastern satrapies and was used for communication between the state offices of the entire empire. Official documents in Aramaic were sent from the center throughout the state. Having received these documents locally, scribes who knew two or more languages translated them into the native language of those chiefs of the regions who did not speak Aramaic.
In addition to the common Aramaic language for the entire state, scribes in various countries also used local languages to draw up official documents. For example, in Egypt, the administration was bilingual, and along with Aramaic, Late Egyptian (the language of Demotic documents) was also used to communicate with the local population.
The Persian nobility occupied a special position in the state. She owned large land holdings in Egypt, Syria, Babylonia, Asia Minor and other countries. A vivid idea of farms of this type is given by the letters of the satrap of Egypt in the 5th century BC. BC e. Arshams and other noble Persian nobles to their managers. These letters are for the most part instructions on the management of estates. Arshama had large landholdings not only in Lower and Upper Egypt, but also in six different countries on the way from Elam to Egypt.
Huge land holdings (sometimes entire regions) with the right of hereditary transfer and with exemption from taxes were also received by the so-called "benefactors" of the king, who rendered great services to the latter. They even had the right to judge people who lived in the areas that belonged to him.
The owners of large estates had their own army and judicial and administrative apparatus with a whole staff of managers, heads of treasuries, scribes, accountants, etc. These large landowners usually lived in large cities - Babylon, Susa, etc., far from countryside, on income from land holdings that were administered by their managers.
Finally, part of the land was actually owned by the king, compared with the previous period under the Achaemenids, the size of the royal land increased dramatically. These lands were usually leased. So, for example, according to a contract drawn up in 420 near Nippur, a representative of the Murashu business house turned to the manager of the king's sowing fields, located along the banks of several canals, with a request to lease one field to him for a period of three years. The tenant undertook to pay annually as rent 220 hens of barley (1 hen - 180 liters), 20 hens of wheat, 10 hens of emmer, as well as one bull and 10 rams.
In addition, the king owned many large canals. The king's administrators usually leased these canals. In the vicinity of Nippur, the royal canals rented a house to Murash, who, in turn, sublet them to collectives of small landowners. For example, in 439, seven landowners signed a contract with three tenants of the royal canal, including Murashu's house. Under this contract, the subtenants received the right to irrigate their fields for three days a month with canal water. For this they had to pay 1/3 of the crop.
The Persian kings owned the Akes Canal in Central Asia, forests in Syria, income from fishing in Lake Merida in Egypt, mines, as well as gardens, parks and palaces in various parts of the state. About the size of the royal economy, a certain idea can be given by the fact that in Persepolis about 15,000 people were fed daily at the expense of the king.
Under the Achaemenids, such a system of land use was widely used, when the king planted his soldiers on the land, who cultivated the allotments allocated for them collectively, in whole groups, served military service and paid a certain monetary and in-kind tax. These allotments were called allotments of the bow, horse, chariot, etc., and their owners had to perform military service as archers, horsemen and charioteers.
In the most developed countries of the Persian state, slave labor was widely used in the main sectors of the economy. In addition, a large number of slaves were used to perform various types of domestic work.
When the owners could not use the slaves in agriculture or the workshop, or considered such use unprofitable, the slaves were often left to their own devices with the payment of a certain standardized quitrent from the peculia owned by the slave. Slaves could dispose of their peculium as free people, lend, mortgage or lease property, etc. Slaves could not only participate in the economic life of the country, but also have their own seals, act as witnesses at the conclusion of various business transactions by freemen and slaves. In legal life, slaves could act as full-fledged people and sue among themselves or with free people (but, of course, not with their masters). At the same time, apparently, there were no differences in the approach to protecting the interests of slaves and freemen. Further, slaves, like freemen, testified about crimes committed by other slaves and freemen, including their own masters.
Debt slavery in Achaemenid times was not widespread, at least in the most developed countries. Cases of self-mortgage, not to mention the sale of oneself into slavery, were relatively rare. But in Babylonia, Judea, and Egypt, children could be given as collateral. In case of non-payment of the debt within the prescribed period, the creditor could turn the debtor's children into slaves. However, the husband could not pledge his wife, at least in Elam, Babylonia and Egypt. In these countries, a woman enjoyed a certain freedom, had her own property, which she herself could dispose of. In Egypt, a woman even had the right to divorce, in contrast to Babylonia, Judea and other countries, where only a man had such a right.
On the whole, in relation to the number of free, there were relatively few slaves even in the most developed countries, and their labor was not able to supplant the labor of free workers. The basis of agriculture was the labor of free farmers and tenants, and the craft was also dominated by the labor of a free artisan, whose occupation was usually inherited in the family.
Temples and individuals were forced to resort on a large scale to the use of skilled labor of free workers in handicrafts, agriculture and, especially, to perform difficult types of work (irrigation, construction work, etc.). There were especially many hired workers in Babylonia, where they often worked in the construction of canals or in the fields in batches of several dozen or several hundred people. Part of the mercenaries who worked in the temple farms of Babylonia consisted of Elamites who came to this country during the harvest.
In comparison with the western satrapies of the Achaemenid state, slavery in Persia had a number of peculiar features. By the time of the emergence of their state, the Persians knew only patriarchal slavery, and slave labor was not yet of serious economic importance.
Documents in the Elamite language, compiled at the end of the 6th - the first half of the 5th century. BC e., contain exceptionally abundant information about the workers of the royal economy in Iran, who were called kurtash. Among them were men, women and adolescents of both sexes. At least some of the kurtash lived in families. In most cases, kurtash worked in detachments of several hundred people, and some documents speak of kurtash parties numbering more than a thousand people.
Kurtash worked in the royal household all year round. Most of them were employed in construction work in Persepolis. Among them were workers of all specialties (masons, carpenters, sculptors, blacksmiths, encrusters, etc.). At the same time, at least 4,000 people were employed in construction work in Persepolis, and the construction of the royal residence continued for 50 years. The scale of this work can be given by the fact that already on preparatory stage about 135,000 sq. m. of uneven rocky surface into a platform of a certain architectural form.
Many kurtash worked outside of Persepolis. These were mainly sheep herders, winemakers and brewers, and also, in all likelihood, plowmen.
As for the legal status and social status of the kurtash, a significant part of them consisted of prisoners of war who were forcibly taken to Iran. Among the kurtashas there were also a certain number of subjects of the Persian king, who were serving their labor service for a whole year. Apparently, kurtash can be considered semi-free people, planted on royal land.
Taxes were the main source of government revenue.
Under Cyrus and Cambyses, there was still no firmly established system of taxes based on the economic capabilities of the countries that were part of the Persian state. Subjugated peoples delivered gifts or paid taxes, which, at least in part, were paid in kind.
Around 519, Darius I established a system of state taxes. All satrapies were obliged to pay strictly fixed monetary taxes for each region, established taking into account the size of the cultivated land and its fertility.
As for the Persians themselves, they, as a ruling people, did not pay monetary taxes, but were not exempted from deliveries in kind. The rest of the peoples paid a total of about 7740 Babylonian talents of silver per year (1 talent was equal to 30 kg). Most of this amount was paid by the peoples of the economically most developed countries: Asia Minor, Babylonia, Syria, Phoenicia and Egypt. Only a few temples received tax exemptions.
Although the system of gifts was also retained, the latter were by no means voluntary. The amount of gifts was also set, but unlike taxes, they were paid in kind. At the same time, the overwhelming majority of subjects paid taxes, and gifts were delivered only by peoples living on the borders of the empire (kolki, Ethiopians, Arabs, etc.).
The amounts of taxes established under Darius I remained unchanged until the end of the existence of the Achaemenid state, despite significant economic changes in the countries subject to the Persians. The situation of taxpayers was especially negatively affected by the fact that in order to pay cash taxes, they had to borrow money against the security of real estate or family members.
After 517 BC. e. Darius I introduced a single monetary unit for the entire empire, which formed the basis of the Achaemenid monetary system, namely, a gold darik weighing 8.4 g. way in the Asia Minor satrapies. The image of the Persian king was placed on both the darik and the shekels.
Silver coins were also minted by the Persian satraps in their residences, and the Greek cities of Asia Minor for retribution with mercenaries during military campaigns, and autonomous cities, and dependent kings.
However, Persian minted coins were little used outside of Asia Minor and even in the Phoenician-Palestinian world of the 4th century BC. BC e. played a minor role. Before the conquests of Alexander the Great, the use of coins almost did not extend to countries far from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. For example, under the Achaemenids, minted coins did not yet circulate in Babylonia and were used only for trade with Greek cities. Approximately the same situation was in Egypt of the Achaemenid time, where silver was weighed with the “royal stone” upon payment, as well as in Persia itself, where the workers of the royal household received payment in uncut silver.
The ratio of gold to silver in the Achaemenid state was 1 to 13 1/3. The precious metal that belonged to the state was subject to minting only at the discretion of the king, and most of it was kept in ingots. Thus, the money that came as state taxes was deposited in the royal treasuries for many decades and was withdrawn from circulation, only a small part of this money came back as a salary to mercenaries, as well as for the maintenance of the court and administration. Therefore, for trade there was not enough minted coins and even precious metals in ingots. This caused great harm to the development of commodity-money relations and forced the preservation of a subsistence economy or forced them to resort to a direct exchange of goods.
In the Achaemenid state, there were several large caravan roads that connected regions that were many hundreds of kilometers away from each other. One such road began in Lydia, crossed Asia Minor and continued to Babylon. Another road went from Babylon to Susa and on to Persepolis and Pasargadae. Of great importance was also the caravan road that connected Babylon with the Ecbatans and continued further to Bactria and the Indian borders.
After 518, by order of Darius I, a canal was restored from the Nile to Suez, which existed even under Necho, but later became non-navigable. This canal connected Egypt by a short route across the Red Sea to Persia, and thus a road was also laid to India. The expedition of the navigator Skilak to India in 518 was also of no small importance for strengthening trade relations.
For the development of trade, the difference in nature and climatic conditions of the countries that were part of the Achaemenid state was also of great importance. The trade of Babylonia with Egypt, Syria, Elam and Asia Minor became especially lively, where Babylonian merchants bought iron, copper, tin, building timber and semi-precious stones. From Egypt and Syria, the Babylonians exported alum for bleaching wool and clothes, as well as for the production of glass and medical purposes. Egypt supplied grain and linen to the Greek cities, buying wine and olive oil from them in return. In addition, Egypt provided gold and ivory, while Lebanon provided cedar wood. Silver was delivered from Anatolia, copper from Cyprus, and copper and limestone were exported from the regions of the upper Tigris. Gold, ivory and fragrant wood were imported from India, gold from Arabia, lapis lazuli and carnelian from Sogdiana, and turquoise from Khorezm. Siberian gold came from Bactria to the countries of the Achaemenid state. Ceramic products were exported from mainland Greece to the countries of the East.
The existence of the Achaemenid state largely depended on the army. The core of the army was made up of Persians and Medes. Most of the adult male population of the Persians were warriors. They began to serve, apparently, from the age of 20. In the wars waged by the Achaemenids, the Eastern Iranians also played an important role. In particular, the Saka tribes supplied for the Achaemenids a significant number of horse archers, accustomed to constant military life. The highest positions in the garrisons, in the main strategic points, in the fortresses, etc., were usually in the hands of the Persians.
The army consisted of cavalry and infantry. The cavalry was recruited from the nobility, and the infantry from the farmers. The combined actions of cavalry and archers ensured victory for the Persians in many wars. Archers disrupted the ranks of the enemy, and after that the cavalry destroyed him. The main weapon of the Persian army was the bow.
Starting from the 5th c. BC e., when the position of the agricultural population in Persia began to deteriorate due to class stratification, the Persian infantry began to retreat into the background, and they were gradually replaced by Greek mercenaries, who played a large role due to their technical superiority, training and experience.
The backbone of the army was 10 thousand "immortal" warriors, the first thousand of which consisted exclusively of representatives of the Persian nobility and was the personal guard of the king. They were armed with spears. The remaining regiments of the "immortals" consisted of representatives of various Iranian tribes, as well as Elamites.
Troops were stationed in the conquered countries to prevent uprisings of the conquered peoples. The composition of these troops was motley, but they usually lacked the inhabitants of this area.
On the borders of the state, the Achaemenids planted warriors, endowing them with land plots. Of the military garrisons of this type, we know best of all the Elephantine military colony, created to carry guard and military service on the borders of Egypt with Nubia. The Elephantine garrison included Persians, Medes, Carians, Khorezmians, etc., but the main part of this garrison were Jewish settlers who served there under the Egyptian pharaohs.
Military colonies, similar to the Elephantine, were also located in Thebes, Memphis and other cities of Egypt. Arameans, Jews, Phoenicians and other Semites served in the garrisons of these colonies. Such garrisons were a strong support of Persian domination and during the uprisings of the conquered peoples remained loyal to the Achaemenids.
During the most important military campaigns (for example, the war of Xerxes with the Greeks), all the peoples of the Achaemenid state were obliged to allocate a certain number of soldiers.
Under Darius I, the Persians begin to play a dominant role at sea as well. Naval wars were conducted by the Achaemenids with the help of the ships of the Phoenicians, Cypriots, inhabitants of the islands of the Aegean Sea and other maritime peoples, as well as the Egyptian fleet.
Persian Infantry - Pickaxe Light Infantry, Line Infantry, Falangist and Standard Bearer
Conquest policies and wars of the Persian Achaemenid Empire
In the VI century. BC e. in economic and cultural terms, among the Greek regions, the leading role did not belong to the Balkan Peninsula, but to the Greek colonies that were part of the Persian Empire on the coast of Asia Minor: Miletus, Ephesus, etc. These colonies had fertile lands, handicrafts flourished in them, they were the markets of the vast Persian state are available.
In 500, an uprising took place in Miletus against Persian domination. Greek cities in the south and north of Asia Minor joined the rebels. The leader of the uprising, Aristagoras, in 499 turned to the mainland Greeks for help. The Spartans refused any help whatsoever, citing the distance. The mission of Aristagoras failed, since only the Athenians and Eretrians on the island of Euboea responded to the call of the rebels, but they also sent only a small number of ships. The rebels organized a campaign against the capital of the Lydian satrapy Sardis, captured and burned the city.
The Persian satrap Artafen, together with the garrison, took refuge in the acropolis, which the Greeks failed to capture. The Persians began to gather their troops and in the summer of 498 defeated the Greeks near the city of Ephesus. After that, the Athenians and Eretrians fled, leaving the Greeks of Asia Minor to their fate. In the spring of 494, the Persians laid siege to Miletus from the sea and land, which was the main stronghold of the uprising. The city was captured and completely destroyed, and the population was taken into slavery. In 493, the uprising was suppressed everywhere.
After the suppression of the uprising, Darius began preparations for a campaign against mainland Greece. He understood that Persian rule in Asia Minor would be fragile as long as the Greeks of the Balkan Peninsula retained their independence. At this time, Greece consisted of many autonomous city-states with different political systems, which were in constant hostility and wars with each other.
In 492, the Persian army marched and passed through Macedonia and Thrace, which had been conquered two decades earlier. But near Cape Athos on the Chalkis Peninsula, the Persian fleet was defeated by a strong storm, and about 20 thousand people died and 300 ships were destroyed. After that, the land army had to be withdrawn back to Asia Minor and re-prepare for the campaign.
In 491, Persian ambassadors were sent to the cities of mainland Greece demanding "land and water", i.e. obedience to the power of Darius. Most of the Greek cities agreed to the demands of the ambassadors, and only Sparta and Athens refused to obey and even killed the ambassadors themselves. The Persians began to prepare for a new campaign against Greece.
In early August, the Persian army, with the help of experienced Greek guides, sailed on ships to Attica and landed on the Marathon plain, 40 km from Athens. This plain stretches for a length of 9 km, and its width is 3 km. The Persian army hardly numbered more than 15 thousand people.
At this time, in the Athenian popular assembly, there were sharp disputes regarding the forthcoming tactics of the war with the Persians. After a long discussion, it was decided to send the Athenian army, which consisted of 10 thousand people, to the Marathon plain. The Spartans promised to help, but were in no hurry to send an army, referring to the old custom, according to which it was impossible to march before the full moon.
At Marathon, both sides waited for several days, not daring to fight. The Persian army was located on an open plain where cavalry could be used. The Athenians, who had no cavalry at all, gathered in a narrow part of the plain where the Persian horsemen could not operate. Meanwhile, the position of the Persian army was becoming difficult, because it was necessary to decide the outcome of the war before the arrival of the Spartan army. At the same time, the Persian cavalry could not move into the gorges where the Athenian soldiers were stationed. Therefore, the Persian command decided to transfer part of the army to capture Athens. After that, on August 12, 590, the Athenian army marched on the enemy with a swift march to give a general battle.
The Persian soldiers fought courageously, crushed the Athenian ranks in the center and began to pursue them. But on the flanks the Persians had fewer forces, and there they were defeated. Then the Athenians began to fight the Persians, who had broken through in the center. After that, the Persians began to retreat, suffering heavy losses. 6,400 Persians and their allies remained on the battlefield, and only 192 Athenians.
Despite the defeat suffered, Darius did not leave the thought of a new campaign against Greece. But the preparation of such a campaign required a lot of time, and meanwhile, in October 486, an uprising broke out in Egypt against Persian domination.
The reasons for the uprising were heavy tax oppression and the deportation of many thousands of artisans to build palaces in Susa and Persepolis. A month later, Darius I, who was 64 years old, died before he could restore his power in Egypt.
Darius I was succeeded on the Persian throne by his son Xerxes. In January 484, he succeeded in putting down an uprising in Egypt. The Egyptians were subjected to ruthless reprisals, the property of many temples was confiscated.
But in the summer of 484 a new uprising broke out, this time in Babylonia. This uprising was soon crushed, and its instigators were severely punished. However, in the summer of 482 the Babylonians rebelled again. This rebellion, which engulfed most of the country, was especially dangerous, since Xerxes at that time was already in Asia Minor, preparing for a campaign against the Greeks. The siege of Babylon lasted a long time and ended in March 481 with a brutal massacre. The city walls and other fortifications were torn down, and many houses were destroyed.
In the spring of 480, Xerxes set out on a campaign against Greece at the head of a huge army. All the satrapies from India to Egypt sent their contingents.
The Greeks decided to resist in a narrow mountain pass called Thermopylae, which was easy to defend, since the Persians could not deploy their army there. However, Sparta sent there only a small detachment of 300 soldiers, led by King Leonidas. The total number of Greeks guarding Thermopylae was 6500 people. They resisted staunchly and for three days successfully repulsed the frontal attacks of the enemy. But then Leonid, who commanded the Greek army, ordered the main forces to retreat, while he himself, with 300 Spartans, remained to cover the retreat. They fought bravely until the end, until they all died.
The Greeks adhered to such tactics that they should attack at sea and defend on land. The combined Greek fleet stood in the bay between the island of Salamis and the coast of Attica, where the large Persian fleet was unable to maneuver. The Greek fleet consisted of 380 ships, of which 147 belonged to the Athenians and were recently built to meet all requirements. military equipment. The talented and determined commander Themistocles played a large role in leading the fleet.
The Persians had 650 ships, Xerxes hoped to destroy the entire enemy fleet with one blow and thus end the war victoriously. However, shortly before the battle, a storm raged for three days, many Persian ships were thrown onto a rocky coast, and the fleet suffered heavy losses. After that, on September 28, 480, there was battle of Salamis which lasted for twelve hours. The Persian fleet was pinned down in a narrow bay, and its ships interfered with each other. The Greeks won a complete victory in this battle, and most of the Persian fleet was destroyed. Xerxes with part of the army decided to return to Asia Minor, leaving his commander Mardonius with an army in Greece.
Decisive the battle took place on September 26, 479 near the city of Plataea. Persian mounted archers began shelling the Greek ranks, and the enemy began to retreat. Mardonius, at the head of a thousand selected warriors, broke into the center of the Spartan army and inflicted great damage on it. But the Persians, unlike the Greeks, did not have heavy weapons, and in military art they were inferior to the enemy. The Persians had first-class cavalry, but, due to the conditions of the area, they could not take part in the battle. Soon Mardonius, along with his bodyguards, died. The Persian army was split into separate detachments, which acted inconsistently.
The Persian army was defeated, and its remnants crossed on ships to Asia Minor.
At the end of the autumn of the same year, 479, a major Naval Battle of Cape Mycale off the coast of Asia Minor. During the battle, the Greeks of Asia Minor betrayed the Persians and went over to the side of the mainland Greeks; The Persians were completely defeated. This defeat was the signal for the widespread uprisings of the Greek states in Asia Minor against Persian domination.
The Greek victories at Salamis, Plataea and Mycale forced the Persians to abandon the idea of capturing Greece. Now, on the contrary, Sparta and Athens transferred hostilities to the territory of the enemy, to Asia Minor. Gradually the Greeks managed to expel the Persian garrisons from Thrace and Macedonia. The war between the Greeks and Persians continued until 449.
In the summer of 465, Xerxes was killed as a result of a conspiracy, and his son Artaxerxes I became king.
In 460, an uprising broke out in Egypt led by Inar. The Athenians sent their fleet to help the rebels. The Persians suffered several defeats, and they had to leave the city of Memphis.
In 455, Artaxerxes I sent against the rebels in Egypt and their allies the satrap of Syria, Megabyzus, with a strong land army and a Phoenician fleet. The rebels, along with the Athenians, were defeated. The following year, the rebellion was completely crushed, and Egypt again became a Persian satrapy.
Meanwhile, the war of Persia with the Greek states continued. However, soon, in 449, a peace treaty was concluded in Susa, under which the Greek cities of Asia Minor formally remained under the supreme authority of the Persian king, but the Athenians received the actual right to rule them. In addition, Persia pledged not to send its troops west of the river. Galis, along which, according to this agreement, the border line was supposed to pass. For its part, Athens left Cyprus and pledged not to provide future assistance to the Egyptians in their struggle against the Persians.
The constant uprisings of the conquered peoples and military defeats forced Artaxerxes I and his successors to radically change their diplomacy, namely, to set one state against another, while resorting to bribery. When the Peloponnesian War broke out in Greece in 431 between Sparta and Athens, which lasted until 404, Persia helped one or the other of these states, being interested in their complete exhaustion.
In 424 Artaxerxes I died. After the troubles in the palace in February 423, the son of Artaxerxes Oh, who took the throne name, became king Darius II. His reign is characterized by a further weakening of the state, the strengthening of the influence of the court nobility, palace intrigues and conspiracies, as well as uprisings of conquered peoples.
In 408, two energetic military leaders arrived in Asia Minor, who were determined to quickly and victoriously end the war. One of them was Cyrus the Younger, the son of Darius II, who was the governor of several Asia Minor satrapies. In addition, he became commander of all Persian forces in Asia Minor. Cyrus the Younger was a capable general and statesman and sought to restore the former greatness of the Persian state. At the same time, the leadership of the Lacedaemonian army in Asia Minor passed into the hands of the experienced Spartan commander Lysander. Cyrus pursued a policy friendly to Sparta and began to help her army in every possible way. Together with Lysander, he cleared the Asia Minor coast and many islands of the Aegean Sea from the Athenian fleet.
In March 404, Darius II died, and his eldest son, Arsaces, became king, taking the throne name Artaxerxes II.
In 405, an uprising broke out in Egypt under the leadership of Amyrtheus. The rebels won one victory after another, and soon the entire Delta was in their hands. The satrap of Syria, Abrokom, gathered a large army to throw it against the Egyptians, but at that time, in the very center of the Persian state, Cyrus the Younger, the satrap of Asia Minor, revolted against his brother Artaxerxes II. Abrokom's army was sent against Cyrus, and the Egyptians were given a respite. Amyrtheus by the beginning of the 4th century. established his control over all of Egypt. The insurgents transferred hostilities even to the territory of Syria.
Cyrus gathered a large army to try to seize the throne. The Spartans decided to support Cyrus and assisted him in recruiting Greek mercenaries. In 401, Cyrus with his army moved from Sardis in Asia Minor to Babylonia and, without meeting any resistance, reached the area of Kunaks on the Euphrates, 90 km from Babylon. There was also the army of the Persian king. The decisive battle took place on September 3, 401. The Greek mercenaries of Cyrus were located on both flanks, and the rest of the army occupied the center.
In front of the king's army were scythed chariots, which with their sickles cut everything that came across them on the way. But the right flank of the army of Artaxerxes was crushed by Greek mercenaries. Cyrus, seeing Artaxerxes, rushed at him, leaving his soldiers far behind. Cyrus managed to inflict a wound on Artaxerxes, but he was immediately killed himself. After that, the rebellious army, having lost its leader, was defeated. 13 thousand Greek mercenaries who served Cyrus the Younger, at the cost of great efforts and losses in the spring of 400, managed to reach the Black Sea, passing through Babylonia and Armenia (the famous "Campaign of ten thousand", described by Xenophon).
Fall of the Persian Empire
Around 360, Cyprus fell away from the Persians. At the same time, uprisings took place in the Phoenician cities and unrest began in. Soon Kariya and India fell away from the Persian state. In 358, the reign of Artaxerxes II ended, and his son Oh, who took the throne name Artaxerxes III, came to the throne. First of all, he exterminated all his brothers in order to prevent a palace coup.
The new king turned out to be a man of iron will and firmly held the reins of government in his hands, removing the eunuchs who were influential at the court. He energetically undertook the restoration of the Persian state in its former borders.
In 349, the Phoenician city of Sidon rebelled against Persia. Persian officials who lived in the city were captured and killed. The king of Sidon, Tennes, hired Greek soldiers with money willingly provided by Egypt, and inflicted two major defeats on the Persian army. After this, Artaxerxes III took command and in 345 led a large army against Sidon. After a long siege, the city surrendered and was brutally massacred. Sidon was burned and turned into ruins. None of the inhabitants escaped, because at the very beginning of the siege, they, fearing cases of desertion, burned all their ships. The Persians threw many Sidonians together with their families into the fire and killed about 40 thousand people. The survivors were enslaved.
Now it was necessary to suppress the uprising in Egypt. In the winter of 343, Artaxerxes set out on a campaign against this country, where Pharaoh Nectaneb II reigned at that time. The army of the pharaoh came out to meet the Persians, in which there were 60 thousand Egyptians, 20 thousand Greek mercenaries and the same number of Libyans. The Egyptians also had a strong navy. When the Persian army reached the border city of Pelusia, the commanders of Nectaneb II advised him to immediately attack the enemy, but the pharaoh did not dare to take such a step. The Persian command took advantage of the respite and managed to lead their ships up the Nile, and the Persian fleet was in the rear of the Egyptian army. By this time, the position of the Egyptian army stationed at Pelusium had become hopeless.
Nectaneb II retreated with his army to Memphis. But at this time, the Greek mercenaries who served the pharaoh went over to the side of the enemy. In 342, the Persians captured all of Egypt and sacked its cities.
In 337, Artaxerxes III was poisoned by his personal physician at the instigation of a court eunuch. In 336, the Armenian satrap Kodoman took the throne, taking the throne name Darius III.
While the top of the Persian nobility was busy with palace intrigues and coups, a dangerous enemy appeared on the political horizon. The Macedonian king Philip captured Thrace, and in 338, under Chaeronea in Boeotia, he defeated the combined forces of the Greek states. The Macedonians became the arbiters of the fate of Greece, and Philip himself was chosen as the commander of the united Greek army.
In 336, Philip sent 10,000 Macedonian soldiers to Asia Minor to capture the western coast of Asia Minor. But in July 336, Philip was killed by conspirators, and Alexander, who was only 20 years old, became king. The Greeks of the Balkan Peninsula were ready to revolt against the young king. By decisive action, Alexander consolidated his power. He understood that great preparations were required for the upcoming war with Persia, and withdrew the Macedonian army from Asia Minor, thereby lulling the vigilance of the Persians.
Thus, Persia received a respite for two years. However, nothing was done by the Persians to prepare for the inevitable Macedonian threat. During this crucial period, the Persians did not even strive to improve their army and completely ignored the military achievements of the Macedonians, especially in the field of siege. Although the Persian command understood all the advantages of the Macedonian weapons, it did not reform its army, limiting itself only to increasing the contingent of Greek mercenaries. In addition to inexhaustible material resources, Persia also had superiority over Macedonia in the navy. But the Macedonian warriors were equipped with the best weapons for their time and they were led by experienced generals.
In the spring of 334, the Macedonian army set out on a campaign. It consisted of 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry. The core of the army was heavily armed Macedonian infantry and cavalry. In addition, there were also Greek infantrymen in the army. The army was accompanied by 160 warships. The trip was carefully prepared. Siege engines were brought in to storm cities.
Although Darius III had a larger army, in terms of its fighting qualities it was much inferior to the Macedonian (especially heavy infantry), and the Greek mercenaries were the most persistent part of the Persian army. The Persian satraps boastfully assured their king that the enemy would be defeated in the very first battle.
The first collision took place in the summer of 334 on the banks of the Hellespont at the river. Granik. Alexander was the winner. After that, he moved inland. Of the Greek cities of Asia Minor, Halicarnassus remained loyal to the Persian king for a long time and stubbornly resisted the Macedonians. In the summer of 333, the latter rushed to Syria, where the main Persian forces were concentrated. In November 333 a new battle took place, at Issus, on the border of Cilicia with Syria. The core of the Persian army was 30 thousand Greek mercenaries. But Darius III in his plans assigned a decisive role to the Persian cavalry, which was supposed to crush the left flank of the Macedonians. Alexander, in order to strengthen his left flank, concentrated the entire Thessalian cavalry there, and he himself, with the rest of the army, struck at the right flank of the enemy and defeated him.
But Greek mercenaries broke into the center of the Macedonians, and Alexander hurried there with part of the army. The fierce battle continued, but Darius III lost his temper and, not waiting for the outcome of the battle, fled, leaving his family, who were captured. The battle ended in a complete victory for Alexander, the entrance to Syria and the Phoenician coast was opened for him. The Phoenician cities of Arad, Byblos and Sidon surrendered without resistance. The Persian fleet lost its dominant position at sea.
But the well-fortified Tire offered fierce resistance to the invaders, and the siege of the city lasted seven months. In July 332, Tire was taken and destroyed, and its population was enslaved.
Having rejected the requests of Darius III for peace, Alexander began to prepare for the continuation of the war. In the autumn of 332, he captured Egypt, and then returned to Syria and headed for the area of Gaugamela, not far from Arbela, where the Persian king was with his army. On October 1, 331, a battle took place. The center of the army of Darius III was occupied by Greek mercenaries, and Macedonian infantry was located against them. The Persians were outnumbered on the right flank and upset the Macedonian ranks. But the decisive battle took place in the center, where Alexander, together with his cavalry, penetrated into the middle of the Persian army.
The Persians brought chariots and elephants into battle, but Darius III, as in the case of Issus, prematurely considered the ongoing battle lost and fled. After that, only the Greek mercenaries resisted the enemy. Alexander won a complete victory and captured Babylonia, and in February 330 the Macedonians entered Susa. Then Persepolis and Pasargada fell into the hands of the Macedonians, where the main treasuries of the Persian kings were kept.
Darius and his associates fled from Ecbatan to Eastern Iran, where he was killed by the Bactrian satrap Bess, and the Persian state ceased to exist.
1987. , chapter 2 "Armenia from the Median Conquest to the Rise of the Artaxiads". Harvard University Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, 1987:
Original text (English)
Page 39
By 585 B.C., the power of the Medes extended as far as the Halys River; they were thus in possession of the entire Arm. plateau and the former territories of Urartu.
...
The Armenians, as we have seen, appear to have settled in the area of Van and in the northeast, in the region of Ararat. Numerous other peoples also inhabited the plateau: Herodotus mentions the Suspyrians, Alarodians and Matieni; and Xenophon met on his march the Chaldaeans, Chalybians, Mardi, Hesperites, Phasians and Taochi.
Page 45
Armenia was divided into two satrapies, the 13th and 18th, by the Persians, and several sites mentioned in the inscriptions at Behistun have been identified in the south and west of the Armenian plateau, in the provinces of Aljnik and Korcayk.
...
The 18th satrapy included the regions around Ararat; we shall discuss below the principal sites of the Achaemenian period from that region: Arin-berd (Urartean Erebuni) and Armawir (Urartean Argistihinili).
The satrap dynasty of the Orontes sat under the Achaemenids in eastern Armenia (in the 18th satrapy, the land of the Matien-Hurrians, Saspeir-Iberians and Alarodii-Urartians; however, as the name itself shows, Armenians already lived here) ...
Original text (Russian)
The Colchians from time to time sent symbolic tribute to the Achaemenids by slaves, possibly captured from neighboring mountain tribes, and supplied auxiliary detachments, apparently at the disposal of the satrap of Western (or proper) Armenia (the 13th satrapy of the Achaemenids, originally called Melitene; North-Eastern Armenia , which continued to be called Urartu, was the 18th satrapy and at that time, in all likelihood, was not yet fully Armenianized in terms of language; along with the Armenians, Urartians-Alarodies and Hurrians-matiens, it also included the eastern Proto-Georgian tribes - the Saspirs)
Original text (English)
Armenia is listed as the 10th satrapy in the Persian inscriptions at Naqsh-e Rostam. In the fifth century Herodotus mentions Armenians occupying the 13th satrapy, while the remnants of the Urartians (Alarodians) lived in the 18th satrapy. Armenians soon became the dominant force in those satrapies and subjugated or assimilated the other groups.
- OK. 1300 BC e. The Medes and Persians found their settlements.
- OK. 700-600 AD BC e. - the creation of the Median and Persian kingdoms.
- Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC);
- 559-530 BC e. - Reign of Cyrus II in Persia.
- 550 BC e. Cyrus II defeats the Medes.
- 522-486 BC e. - the reign of Darius I in Persia. Rise of the Persian Empire.
- 490-479 BC e. Persians are at war with Greece
- 486-465 BC e. - The reign of Xerxes I in Persia.
- 331-330 BC e. - Conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great. The burning of Persepolis.
- The Parthian kingdom or the Arsacid Empire (250 BC - 227 AD).
- Sassanid state or Sassanid Empire (226-651 AD). material from the site
Persia is the old name for the country we now call Iran. Around 1300 BC. e. two tribes invaded its territory: the Medes and the Persians. They founded two kingdoms: Median - in the north, Persian - in the south.
In 550 BC. e. The Persian king Cyrus II, having inflicted a defeat on the Medes, seized their lands and created a colossal power. Years later, during the reign of King Darius I, Persia becomes the largest state in the world.
For many years Persia was at war with Greece. The Persians won several victories, but in the end their army was defeated. Upon the death of Darius' son, Xerxes I, the state lost its former strength. In 331 BC. e. Persia was conquered by Alexander the Great.
Darius I
Policy
King Darius I, collecting taxes from the conquered peoples, became fabulously rich. He allowed the population to adhere to their beliefs and way of life, as long as they regularly paid tribute.
Darius divided the huge state into regions, which were supposed to be managed by local rulers, satraps. The officials who looked after the satraps ensured that the latter remained loyal to the king.
Construction
Darius I built good roads throughout the empire. Now the messengers could move faster. The royal road stretched for 2700 km from Sardis in the west to the capital city of Susa.
Darius used some of his wealth to build a magnificent palace at Persepolis. During the celebration of the New Year, officials from all over the empire came to the palace with gifts for the king. The main hall, where the king received his subjects, could accommodate 10 thousand people. Inside the front hall was decorated with gold, silver, ivory and ebony (black) wood. The top of the columns was decorated with bull heads, and the stairs were decorated with carvings. During the gathering of guests for various holidays, people brought with them gifts to the king: vessels with golden sand, golden and silver goblets, ivory, fabrics and golden bracelets, lion cubs, camels, etc. The arrivals were waiting in the courtyard.
The Persians were followers of the prophet Zarathustra (or Zoroaster), who taught that there was only one god. The fire was sacred, and therefore the priests did not allow the sacred fire to go out.
