Persian
Empire
o
The Assyrians
rose to power by using brutality to overtake
o
By 650 BCE,
o
The Medes and
Babylonians destroyed the Assyrian Empire by 612 BCE
o
As a result,
Cyrus
o
First ruler of
the Persian Empire
o
He united
various Persian tribes
o
Overthrew the
Median Monarch by 550 BCE
o
When he took
control, he retained the framework of Median rule
o
In 539 BCE, he
overthrew the Babylonians
o
As he gained
power, he retained the culture of the people
o
In 530 BCE, his
son, Cambyses, took over as a cruel madman, but died
in 522 BCE
Darius I
o
When Cambyses died, Darius I took over and extended control to
the Indus Valley
o
Promoted
development of maritime trade routes
o
Largest empire
the world had ever seen
o
Considered to be
the second founder to the Persian Empire, after Cyrus
o
He divided the
empire into 20 provinces. Each had a governor, called a ‘satrap”
o
Allowed people
to live under their own customs and beliefs, which is why he was such an
influential ruler
o
The main
religion was Zoroastranism, which held humans to a
high ethical standard and promoted salvation (dualistic religion, with a House
of Song for good behavior, House of Pain for bad).
o
Darius
eventually took over the Ionian colonies of
