The Persian Empire The Conquerors of Everyone Start of the Persian - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Persian Empire The Conquerors of Everyone

Start of the Persian Empire • Starts with Indo-European migrations – Came to Persia around 1000 BCE – Known as modern day Iran • Land was farmable and had precious minerals for trading – Made empire rich with traded products

Leaders of the Persian Empire • 3 major leaders to the Persian Empire – Cyrus the Great – Cambyses – Darius I • Other famous Persian Leaders – Xerxes- famous from ‘ 300 ’ movie • Fights against Greeks in Persian Wars

Persia Under Cyrus & Cambyses • Rules from 550-530 BCE – Expanded empire from Anatolia to Indus river in only 12 years • Considered a military & political genius – Practiced religious tolerance • Prayed at the statues of a city ’ s gods • Allowed Jews to return to their homeland – Kept tight rules over his soldiers • Did not allow looting or burning; shows respect • Cambyses takes over when father dies – Conquers Egypt – Does not practice religious tolerance

Persia Under King Darius • Comes to power after Cambyses death – Not related to the previous leaders – Used the Ten Thousand Immortals to help • The king ’ s bodyguards (Darius was one) • Created an efficient government – Split empire in 20 sections; used satraps • Satraps- governors of a province • Expanded empire further – Could not defeat the Greeks • Built the Royal Road – Used to unite Persia for trade and travel – Also used metal coins like in Asia

Persian Religion-Zoroastrianism • Zoroaster- Persian prophet – Taught that 2 armies were fighting for a person ’ s soul • Army of good and light • Army of darkness and evil – Believed that people ’ s decisions determined their fate in the afterlife • Developed the ideas of heaven, hell and a final judgment day – Similar to the ideas of Christianity, Islam and Judaism • Religion named- Zoroastrianism

Persian Story Assignment • You will write a children's story • Your story must have the following info – Must include all 4 leaders and what they are famous for – Must have at least 1 picture on each page/slide – Must tell where the empire was located – Must discuss Zoroastrianism and its beliefs – Must have the Royal Road • It should start once upon a time • It needs to be able to be read by children