University:
California State University, Northridge
Course:
HIST 110 | World History to 1500
Academic year:

2024
Views:

456

Pages:

2
Author:

embolondop

Persian Empire o The Assyrians rose to power by using brutality to overtake Judah, Israel, and Egypt o By 650 BCE, Assyria was the greatest Mesopotamian power, which spurred much hatred, mostly by the Medes and Babylonians o The Medes and Babylonians destroyed the Assyrian Empire by 612 BCE o As a result, Babylon became the greatest power in the post-Assyrian Empire, forming the basis of the Neo-Babylonian, or Chaldean, empire. 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 Greece because they resisted Persian control