THE FORMATION OF CLASSICAL SOCIETIES, 500 B. c. E. TO 500 c. E.

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p a r t
THE FORMATION OF
CLASSICAL SOCIETIES,
500 c. TO 500 c.
B. E. E.
Period 2 of the AP World History curriculum is often big populations they had acquired. Rulers had to create
called the "Classical" period. "Classical" used to mean huge bureaucracies (government agencies and officials
the Greco-Roman roots of western European societies, but in charge of implementing policies) to enforce laws, col
we're in World History now, and that definition doesn't lect taxes, supervise the building of public works' proj
quite work. For AP World History, "classical" means ects, and oversee diplomatic relations. And since the
something that has become traditional and has staying empires were built by conquest, there had to be large
power: it is really old but still hangs around today and still and well-organized militaries to either conquer or main
influences people in important ways. Starting around tain the borders and peace within those borders. Since
500 B.c.E., humans came up with sophisticated govern the easiest way to move an army around was on paved
ments, interregional trade networks, social structures roads, each of these classical empires spent money and
that made some people more important that others, manpower on building and maintaining road networks.
and belief systems that still exist today. ~ By c. 500 CE., For navies water routes were key, and port cities had to
the world's first empires had all collapsed, thus ending be maintained.
the so-called "Classical" period. Surprisingly, many of the Conquest was one way to get to know another cul
structures and beliefs of our modern world were created ture, but so was trade. The second major theme of Pe
in the thousand years between c. 500 B.C.E. and c. 500 c. E. riod 2 is the emergence of trade and communications
fii
In Period 2 of the AP curriculum, one of the three networks with peoples in other regions (transregional
significant themes you will investigate concerns the simi networks). You will need to know where and why cer
larities, differences, and uniquenesses of the imperial tain trade routes existed, who traveled along them, and
governments of Persia, China, India, Greece and Rome, with whom these traders did business. Pay particular
Mesoamerica and the Andean region of South America. attention when nomadic/pastoralist people are men
Each of these empires grew by taking over competing tioned. They often functioned as the "truckers" of the
states. Rulers then had to figure out how to govern, pro trade routes, and were important links in commercial
tect the borders, and exploit huge amounts of land and networks. They occasionally invaded the empires as well.
128
These routes were land-based and water-based. Des to behave personally, one's responsibilities to other peo
erts, oceans, and rivers are not barriers but gates if one ple, and what happens when people die.
has the appropriate technology. Watch for the innova Each of the classical societies or civilizations devel
tive technologies that were used and spread along the oped distinct, unique cultural traditions. A society's art,
trade routes. Watch also for unintended consequences architecture, drama, and sculpture tell historians a lot
of movement along the trade routes. Diseases hitch about a people's values, beliefs, interests, and technolog
hiked with the travelers and their goods, and wreaked ical abilities. fij These cultural "documents" sometimes
havoc periodically. .f ij Epidemics, or even pandemics, show us the human side of a long-dead society-its sense
of humor, for example, or what standards of beauty
might have been. These cultural documents also provide
examples when historians look for evidence of one so
ciety learning and adopting information or styles from
another society. We can see merchants bringing their
religious ideas to new places along their trade routes,
and then the local people combining their old beliefs
into the new ones, in a process called syncretism (blend
ing). Historians have found evidence of this syncretism in
buildings and artwork as well as written works.
What really interests historians is what happens
when two or three themes such as trade routes, reli
gion, and codification of cultural and political institu
tions are put in motion simultaneously. In Period 2, we
broke out in most of the major empires in the later years see evidence that rulers claimed to be gods or blessed
of this period, and contributed to the destruction of the (mandated) by ancestors and were therefore considered
Han, Roman, and Gupta empires. £!i] This is the Period all powerful. fij These rulers usually made their divine
when we see the beginnings of "globalization" for good status well known. It is evidenced in both writings and
and bad. on public monuments. £!i] Another trend of overlapping
People moved more than merchandise and diseases themes includes the spread of religious ideas by mission
along the trade routes. •fij Ideas traveled as well, and in aries traveling along the trade routes, which were origi
this period and the next, you will need to watch carefully nally built for the military.
for the spread of religious traditions out of their home If you lived in a classical imperial society, you were
regions and into new areas. In the Foundations era, we identified with a specific social class, and you knew per
saw people develop religions and belief systems to ex fectly well who was above you and who was below you
plain the natural world around them-animism, shaman on the social scale. All the classical civilizations divided
ism, polytheism, ancestor worship (veneration), and the their societies into groups of landowners, unskilled
early phases of what become Hinduism and Judaism. The workers, artisans (skilled craftsmen), merchants, military
third major theme of Period 2 is the development and and government bureaucrats, and slaves. All the classical
codification (organization, writing down or solidifying societies were patriarchal, meaning that men were more
rules) of religious and cultural traditions. Judaism and important and had more rights than women. As you
Hinduism continued to mature and by the end of this pe read about each classical society, be sure you understand
riod, believers had common sets of practices, scriptures, how their social structure was organized; how religions
and beliefs. fi) Along with older belief systems, new helped to reinforce these social structures; if there was
belief systems emerged in Period 2 and remain signifi something unique about a particular society's way of or
cant until today-Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and ganizing its people into classes; and the responsibilities
Christianity. These old and new belief systems helped of and taxes owed by each social class. fij And don't for
people make sense of the natural world and often pro get to watch for conflict between the classes-it's often
vided universal answers to human questions about how partially responsible for toppling these classical empires.
129
The Empires of Persia
An enameled tile frieze created about 515 s.c.E. depicts a group of life-size Persian archers at the palace of King Darius in Susa.
The Rise and Fall of the Persian Empires Religions of Salvation
The Achaemenid Empire in Classical Persian Society
Decline and Fall of the Achaemenid Empire Zarathustra and His Faith
The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanid Empires Religions of Salvation
Imperial Society and Economy in a Cosmopolitan Society
Social Development in Classical Persia
Economic Foundations of Classical Persia
EYEWITNESS:
King Croesus and the Tricky Business
of Predicting the Future
The Greek historian Herodotus relished a good story, and he related many a tale about
the Persian empire and its conflicts with other peoples, including Greeks. One story had
to do with a struggle between Cyrus, leader of the expanding Persian realm, and Croesus,
ruler of the powerful and wealthy kingdom of Lydia in southwestern Anatolia. Croesus
noted the growth of Persian influence with concern and asked the Greek oracle at Delphi
whether to go to war against Cyrus. The oracle, which had a reputation for delivering
ambiguous predictions, responded that an attack on Cyrus would destroy a great kingdom.
Overjoyed, Croesus lined up his allies and prepared for war. In 546 B.C.E. he launched an
invasion and seized a small town, provoking Cyrus to engage the formidable Lydian cavalry.
The resulting battle was hard fought but inconclusive. Because winter was approaching,
Croesus disbanded his troops and returned to his capital at Sardis, expecting Cyrus to
retreat as well. But Cyrus was a vigorous and unpredictable warrior, and he pursued Croesus
to Sardis. When he learned of the pursuit, Croesus hastily assembled an army to confront
the invaders. Cyrus threw it into disarray, however, by advancing a group of warriors
mounted on camels, which spooked the Lydian horses and sent them into headlong flight.
Cyrus's army then surrounded Sardis and took the city after a siege of only two weeks.
Croesus narrowly escaped death in the battle, but he was taken captive and afterward
became an advisor to Cyrus. Herodotus could not resist pointing out that events proved the
Delphic oracle right: Croesus's attack on Cyrus did indeed lead to the destruction of a great
kingdom-his own.
The victory over lydia was a major turning point in the development of the Persian
empire. Lydia had a reputation as a kingdom of fabulous wealth, partly because it was the
first land to use standardized coins with values guaranteed by the state. Taking advantage
of its coins and its geographic location on the Mediterranean, Lydia conducted maritime
trade with Greece, Egypt, and Phoenicia as well as overland trade with Mesopotamia and
131
Persia. Lydian wealth and resources gave Cyrus tremendous momentum as he extended Persian authority to
new lands and built the earliest of the vast imperial states of classical times.
Classical Persian society began to take shape during the sixth century s.c.E. when warriors conquered the
region from the Indus River to Egypt and southeastern Europe. Their conquests yielded an enormous realm
much larger than the earlier Babylonian or Assyrian empires. The very size of the Persian empire created
political and administrative problems for its rulers. Once they solved those problems, however, a series of
Persian-based empires governed much of the territory between India and the Mediterranean Sea for more
than a millennium-from the mid-sixth century B.c.E. until the early seventh century c.E.-and brought
centralized political organization to many distinct peoples living over vast geographic spaces.
In organizing their realm, Persian rulers relied heavily on Mesopotamian techniques of administration,
which they adapted to their own needs. Yet they did not hesitate to create new institutions or adopt new
administrative procedures. In the interest of improved communications and military mobility, they also
invested resources in the construction of roads and highways linking the regions of the empire. As a result of
those efforts, central administrators were able to send instructions throughout the empire, dispatch armies
in times of turmoil, and ensure that local officials would carry out imperial policies.
The organization of the vast territories embraced by the classical Persian empires had important social,
economic, and cultural implications. High agricultural productivity enabled many people to work at tasks
other than cultivation: classes of bureaucrats, administrators, priests, craftsmen, and merchants increased
in number as the production and distribution of food became more efficient. Meanwhile, social extremes
became more pronounced: a few individuals and families amassed enormous wealth, many led simple lives,
and some fell into slavery. Good roads fostered trade within imperial borders, and Persian society itself served
as a commercial and cultural bridge between Indian and Mediterranean societies. As a crossroads, Persia served
not only as a link in long-distance trade networks but also as a conduit for the exchange of philosophical and
religious ideas. Persian religious traditions did not attract many adherents beyond the imperial boundaries,
but they inspired religious thinkers subject to Persian rule and also influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
THE RISE AND FALL sians migrated from central Asia to Persia (the southwestern
OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRES portion of the modern-day state of Iran), where they lived
in loose subjection to the Babylonian and Assyrian empires.
The empires of Persia arose in the arid land of Iran. For cen The Medes and the Persians spoke Indo-European lan
turies Iran had developed under the shadow of the wealth guages, and their movements were part of the larger Indo
ier and more productive Mesopotamia to the west while European migrations. They shared many cultural traits with
absorbing intermittent migrations and invasions of nomadic their distant cousins, the Aryans, who migrated into India.
peoples coming out of central Asia to the northeast. Dur They were mostly pastoralists, although they also practiced
ing the sixth century B.C.E., rulers of the province of Per a limited amount of agriculture. They organized themselves
sia in southwestern Iran embarked on a series of conquests by clans rather than by states or formal political institutions,
that resulted in the formation of an enormous empire. For but they recognized leaders who collected taxes and deliv
more than a millennium, four ruling dynasties-the Achae ered tribute to their Mesopotamian overlords.
menids (558-330 B.C.E.), the Seleucids (323-83 B.C.E.), the Though not tightly organized politically, the Medes and
Parthians (247 B.C.E.-224 c.E.), and the Sasanids (224-651 the Persians were peoples of considerable military power.
c.E.)-maintained a continuous tradition of imperial rule in As descendants of nomadic peoples from central Asia, they
much of southwest Asia. possessed the equestrian skills common to many steppe
peoples. They were expert archers, even when mounted on
The Achaemenid Empire their horses, and they frequently raided the wealthy lands of
Mesopotamia. When the Assyrian and Babylonian empires
The Medes and the Persians The origins of classi
weakened in the sixth century B.C.E., the Medes and the Per
cal Persian society trace back to the late stages of Mesopo
sians embarked on a vastly successful imperial venture of
tamian society. During the centuries before 1000 B.C.E., two
their own.
closely related peoples known as the Medes and the Per-
Cyrus Cyrus the Achaemenid (reigned 558-530 B.c.E.)
Achaemenid (ah-KEE-muh-nid) launched the Persians' imperial venture. In some ways
Medes (meeds) Cyrus was an unlikely candidate for that role. He came
132
Chapter 7 • The Empires of Persia 133
Achaemenid empire
Seleucid empire
- Royal road
THRACE Black Sea
' .:ceDONIA
'¢-"
~
~
c;.
EGYPT
SAHARA DESERT
ARABIA
11/rol Cotf.wul"'
Arabian Sea
P"' P'"' 9
Q l()(IU"m MAP 7.1
The Achaemenid and
Seleucid empires, 558-330
B.LE. and 323-83 B.C.E.
Compare the size of the
Achaemenid empire with the
from a mountainous region of southwestern Iran, and in Cyrus no doubt would
earlier Mesopotamian and
reference to the region's economy, his contemporaries often have mounted a campaign
Egyptian empires discussed in
called him Cyrus the Shepherd. Yet Cyrus proved to be a against Egypt, the largest
chapters 2 and 3.
tough, wily leader and an outstanding military strategist. and wealthiest neighboring
His conquests laid the foundation of the first Persian em state outside his control, had What role did the Royal Road
pire, also known as the Achaemenid empire because its rul he lived long enough. But and other highways play in
ers claimed descent from Cyrus's Achaemenid clan. in 530 B.c.E. he fell, mortally the maintenance of the Achae·
wounded, while protecting menid empire?
Cyrus's Conquests In 558 B.c.E. Cyrus became king his northeastern frontier
of the Persian tribes, which he ruled from his mountain from nomadic raiders. His
fortress at Pasargadae. In 553 B.C.E. he initiated a rebellion troops recovered his body
against his Median overlord, whom he crushed within three and placed it in a simple tomb, which still stands, that Cyrus
years. By 548 B.C.E. he had brought all of Iran under his had prepared for himself at his palace in Pasargadae.
control, and he began to look for opportunities to expand
his influence. In 546 B.c.E. he conquered the powerful king Darius Cyrus's empire survived and expanded during the
dom of Lydia in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Between reigns of his successors. His son Cambyses (reigned 530-
545 B.C.E. and 539 B.C.E., he campaigned in central Asia and 522 B.C.E.) conquered Egypt in 525 B.C.E. and brought its
Bactria (modern Afghanistan). In a swift campaign of 539 wealth into Persian hands. The greatest of the Achaemenid
B.c.E., he seized Babylonia, whose vassal states immediately emperors, Darius (reigned 521-486 B.C.E.), extended the em
recognized him as their lord. Within twenty years Cyrus pire both east and west. His armies pushed into northwest
went from minor regional king to ruler of an empire that ern India as far as the Indus River, absorbing the northern
stretched from India to the borders of Egypt. Indian kingdom of Gandhara, while also capturing Thrace,
134 Part 2 • The Formation of Classical Societies, 500 s.c.E. to 500 c.E.
Macedonia, and the western coast to authority in their official title
of the Black Sea in southeastern "The Great King, King of Kings,
Europe. By the late sixth century, King in Persia, King of Countries."
Darius presided over an empire Like their Mesopotamian predeces
stretching some 3,000 kilometers sors, the Achaemenids appointed
(1,865 miles) from the Indus River governors to serve as agents of the
in the east to the Aegean Sea in central administration and oversee
the west and 1,500 kilometers (933 affairs in the various regions. Dar
miles) from Armenia in the north ius divided his realm into twenty
to the first cataract of the Nile River three satrapies-administrative and
in the south. This empire embraced taxation districts governed by sa
mountains, valleys, plateaus, jun traps. Yet the Achaemenids did not
gles, deserts, and arable land, and try to push direct rule on their sub
it touched the shores of the Arabian jects: most of the satraps were
Sea, Aral Sea, Persian Gulf, Caspian Persians, but the Achaemenids re
Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, and Medi The tomb of Cyrus at Pasargadae-one of the cruited local officials to fill almost
terranean Sea. With a population few Achaemenid monuments that have survived all administrative posts below the
of some thirty-five million, Darius's to the present. level of the satrap.
realm was by far the largest empire Because the satraps often held
the world had yet seen. posts distant from Persepolis, there
Yet Darius was more important was always a possibility that they
as an administrator than as a conqueror. Governing a far might ally with local groups and become independent of
flung empire was a much more difficult challenge than con Achaemenid authority or even threaten the empire itself. The
quering it. The Achaemenid rulers presided over more than Achaemenid rulers relied on two measures to discourage that
seventy distinct ethnic groups, including peoples who lived possibility. First, each satrapy had a contingent of military of
in widely scattered regions, spoke many different languages, ficers and tax collectors who served as checks on the satraps'
and observed a profusion of religious and cultural tradi power and independence. Second, the rulers created a new
tions. To maintain their empire, the Achaemenids needed category of officials-essentially imperial spies-known
to establish lines of communication with all parts of their as "the eyes and ears of the king." These agents traveled
realm and design institutions that would enable them to tax throughout the empire with their own military forces con
and administer their territories. In doing so, they not only ducting surprise audits of accounts and procedures in the
made it possible for the Achaemenid empire to survive but provinces and collecting intelligence reports. The division
also pioneered administrative techniques that would outlast of provincial responsibilities and the institution of the eyes
their dynasty and influence political life in southwestern and ears of the king helped the Achaemenid rulers maintain
Asia for centuries to come. control over a vast empire that otherwise might easily have
split into a series of independent regional kingdoms.
Persepolis Soon after his rise to power, Darius began to
centralize his administration. About 520 B.c.E. he started to Taxes, Coins, and Laws Darius also sought to im
build a new capital of astonishing magnificence at Persep prove administrative efficiency by regularizing tax levies
olis, near Pasargadae. Darius intended Persepolis to serve and standardizing laws. Cyrus and Cambyses had accepted
not only as an administrative center but also as a monu periodic "gifts" of tribute from subject lands and cities.
ment to the Achaemenid dynasty. Structures at Persepolis Though often lavish, the gifts did not provide a consistent
included vast reception halls, lavish royal residences, and a and reliable source of income for rulers who needed to fi
well-protected treasury. From the time of Darius to the end nance a large bureaucracy and army. Darius replaced irreg
of the Achaemenid dynasty in 330 B.C.E., Persepolis served ular tribute payments with formal tax levies. He required
as the nerve center of the Persian empire-a resplendent each satrapy to pay a set quantity of silver-and in some
capital bustling with advisors, ministers, diplomats, scribes, cases a levy of horses or slaves as well-deliverable annu
accountants, translators, and bureaucratic officers of all de ally to the imperial court. Darius followed the example of
scriptions. Even today, massive columns and other ruins be the Lydian king Croesus and issued standardized coins-a
speak the grandeur of Darius's capital. move that fostered trade. In an equally important initiative
begun in the year 520 B.C.E., he sought to bring the many le
Achaemenid Administration: The Satrapies The gal systems of his empire closer to a single standard. He did
government of the Achaemenid empire depended on a not abolish the existing laws of individual lands or peoples,
finely tuned balance between central initiative and local nor did he impose a uniform law code on his entire empire.
administration. The Achaemenid rulers made great claims But he directed legal experts to study and codify the laws
Chapter 7 • The Empires of Persia 135
sion to Pasargadae and Persepolis.
Caravans took some ninety days to
travel this road, lodging at inns along
the well-policed route.
The imperial government also
organized a courier service and built
111 postal stations at intervals of
40 to 50 kilometers (25 to 30 miles)
along the Royal Road. Each station
kept a supply of fresh horses and
food rations for couriers, who some
times traveled at night as well as
during daylight hours. Scholars esti
mate that these couriers were able to
carry urgent messages from one end
of the Royal Road to the other in two
weeks' time. The Greek historian
Herodotus spoke highly of these im
perial servants, and even today the
United States Postal Service takes his
description of their efforts as a stan
dard for its employees: "Neither snow
Ruins of Persepolis, showing the imperial reception hall and palaces. nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night
The columns rise about 19 meters (62 feet) and once supported a stays these couriers from the swift
massive roof. completion of their appointed rounds." The Achaemenids
also improved existing routes between Mesopotamia and
Egypt, and they built new roads linking Persia with northern
India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt. In combina
tion, these imperial highways stretched approximately 13,000
of his subject peoples, modifying them when necessary to kilometers (8,000 miles). In addition to improving communi
harmonize them with the legal principles observed in the cations, these roads facilitated trade, which helped to inte
empire as a whole. grate the empire's various regions into a larger economy.
Decline and Fall of
Roads and Communications Alongside their admin
the Achaemenid Empire
istrative and legal policies, the Achaemenid rulers took other
measures to knit their far-flung realm into a coherent whole. The Achaemenid Commonwealth The Achaeme
They built good roads across their realm, notably the so nids' roads and administrative machinery enabled them to
called Persian Royal Road-parts of it paved with stone govern a vast empire and extend Persian influences through
that stretched about 2,575 kilometers (1,600 miles) from the out their territories. Political stability made it possible to
Aegean port of Ephesus to Sardis in Anatolia, through Meso undertake extensive public works projects such as the con
potamia along the Tigris River, to Susa in Iran, with an exten- struction of qanat (underground canals), which led to en-
hanced agricultural production and population
growth. Iron metallurgy spread to all parts of
the empire, and by the end of the Achaemenid
thinking about TRADITIONS dynasty, iron tools were common in Persian ag
ricultural communities. Peoples in the various
regions of the Achaemenid empire maintained
Sinews of the Persian Empire
their ethnic identities, but all participated in a
Maintenance of large empires depended upon elaborate net
larger Persian commonwealth.
works of transportation, communication, and administration.
Eventually, however, difficulties between
What were the most important elements enabling the Achae
rulers and subject peoples undermined the in
menids to hold their empire together? Consider especially the
tegrity of the Achaemenid empire. Cyrus and
roles of the imperial capital, the satrapies, the imperial bureau
cracy, the eyes and ears of the king, and the Persian Royal Road.
qanat (kah-NAHT)
136 Part 2 • The Formation of Classical Societies, 500 B.C. E. to 500 c. E.
Darius both consciously pursued a policy of toleration in ad the Greeks called them-who oversaw their affairs. In 500
ministering their vast multicultural empire: they took care to B.C.E. the Ionian cities rebelled, expelled or executed their
respect the values and cultural traditions of the peoples they governors, and asserted their independence. Their rebellion
ruled. In Mesopotamia, for example, they did not portray launched a series of conflicts that Greeks called the Persian
themselves as Persian conquerors but, rather, as legitimate Wars (500-479 B.C.E.).
Babylonian rulers and representatives of Marduk, the patron The conflict between the Ionian Greeks and the Per
deity of Babylon. Darius also won high praise from Jews in sians expanded when the cities of peninsular Greece sent
the Achaemenid empire, since he allowed them to return to fleets to aid their kinsmen in Ionia. Darius managed to put
Jerusalem and rebuild the temple that Babylonian conquer down the rebellion and reassert Achaemenid authority, but
ors had destroyed in 587 B.C.E. he and his successors became entangled in a difficult and
Darius's successor, Xerxes (reigned 486-465 B.C.E.), had ultimately destructive effort to extend their authority to the
more difficult relations with subject peoples. The burden of Greek peninsula. In 490 B.C.E. Darius attempted to forestall
Persian rule became particularly heavy in Mesopotamia and future problems by mounting an expedition to conquer
Egypt-regions with sophisticated cultural traditions and the wealthy Greek cities and absorb them into his empire.
long histories of independence-and subject peoples there Though larger and much more powerful than the forces of
frequently rose up in rebellion. Xerxes did not seek to im the disunited Greek city-states, the Persian army had to con
pose specifically Persian values in Mesopotamia and Egypt, tend with long and fragile lines of supply as well as a hos
but he harshly repressed rebellions and thereby gained a tile environment. After some initial successes, the Persians
reputation for cruelty and insensitivity to the concerns of suffered a rout at the battle of Marathon (490 B.C.E.), and
subject peoples. they returned home without achieving their goals. Xerxes
sent another expedition ten years later, but within eighteen
The Persi<:ln Wars The Achaemenids had an especially months, it too had suffered defeat both on land and at sea
difficult time with their ethnic Greek subjects. Greeks inhab and had returned to Persia.
ited many of the cities in Anatolia-particularly in the region For almost 150 years the Persian empire sparred intermit
of Ionia on the Aegean coast of western Anatolia-and they tently with the Greek cities. The adversaries mounted small
maintained close economic and commercial ties with their expeditions against each other, attacking individual cities or
cousins in the peninsula of Greece itself. The Ionian Greeks fleets, but they did not engage in large-scale campaigns. The
fell under Persian domination during the reign of Cyrus. They Greek cities were too small and disunited to pose a serious
became restive under Darius's Persian governors-"tyrants," challenge to the enormous Persian empire. Meanwhile, for
Stone carving from Persepolis showing an enthroned Darius (with his son Xerxes standing behind him) receiving a high court official, as incense burners
perfume the air. In what ways does the official's posture indicate respect and submission to the emperor?
Chapter 7 • The Empires of Persia 137
their part, the later Achaemenids had to concen cus and his successors retained the Achaeme
trate on the other restive and sometimes rebel nid systems of administration and taxation
lious regions of their empire and could not as well as the imperial roads and postal
embark on new rounds of expansion. service. The Seleucids also founded
new cities throughout the realm and at
tracted Greek colonists to occupy them.
Alexander of Macedon The stand
The migrants, who represented only a
off ended with the rise of Alexander of
small fraction of the whole population
Macedon, often called Alexander the
of the empire, largely adapted to their
Great (discussed more fully in chap-
new environment. Nonetheless, the estab
ter 10). In 334 B.c.E. Alexander invaded
lishment of cities greatly stimulated trade
Persia with an army of some forty-eight
and economic development both within the
thousand tough, battle-hardened Macedo
Seleucid empire and beyond.
nians. Though far smaller than the
As foreigners, the Seleucids faced
Persian army in numbers, the well
opposition from native Persians and
disciplined Macedonians carried heavier
especially their ruling classes. Satraps
arms and employed more sophisticated A silver coin from the early Hellenistic
often revolted against Seleucid rule, or
military tactics than their opponents. period depicting the conqueror Alexander
at least worked to build power bases
As a result, they sliced through the of Macedon.
that would enable them to establish
Persian empire, advancing almost at
their independence. The Seleucids soon
will and dealing their adversaries a se-
lost their holdings in northern India,
ries of devastating defeats. In 331 B.C.E.
and the seminomadic Parthians progressively took over Iran
Alexander shattered Achaemenid forces at the battle of Gau
during the third century B.c.E. The Seleucids continued to
gamela, and within a year the empire founded by Cyrus the
rule a truncated empire until83 B.C.E., when Roman conquer
Shepherd had dissolved.
ors put an end to their empire.
Alexander led his forces into Persepolis, confiscated the
wealth stored in the imperial treasury there, paid his respects
at the tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae, and proclaimed himself The Parthians Meanwhile, the Parthians established
heir to the Achaemenid rulers. After a brief season of cel themselves as lords of a powerful empire based in Iran that
ebration, Alexander and his forces ignited a blaze-perhaps they extended to wealthy Mesopotamia. The Parthians had
intentionally-that destroyed Persepolis. The conflagration occupied the region of eastern Iran around Khurasan since
was so great that when archaeologists first began to explore Achaemenid times. They retained many of the customs and
the ruins of Persepolis in the eighteenth century, they found traditions of nomadic peoples from the steppes of central
layers of ash and charcoal up to 1 meter (3 feet) deep. Asia. They did not have a centralized government, for exam
The Achaemenid empire had crumbled, but its legacy ple, but organized themselves politically through a federa
was by no means exhausted. Alexander portrayed himself tion of leaders who met in councils and jointly determined
in Persia and Egypt as a legitimate successor of the Achae policy for all allied groups. They were skillful warriors, ac
menids who observed their precedents and deserved their customed to defending themselves against constant threats
honors. He retained the Achaemenid administrative struc from nomadic peoples farther east.
ture, and he even confirmed the appointments of many As they settled and turned increasingly to agriculture,
satraps and other officials. As it happened, Alexander had the Parthians also devised an effective means to resist no
little time to enjoy his conquests, because he died in 323 madic invasions. Because they had no access to feed grains,
B.C.E. after a brief effort to extend his empire to India. But nomadic peoples allowed their horses to forage for food on
the states that succeeded him-the Seleucid, Parthian, and the steppes during the winter. The Parthians discovered
Sasanid empires-continued to employ a basically Achae that if they fed their horses on alfalfa during the winter,
menid structure of imperial administration. their animals would grow much larger and stronger than the
small horses and ponies of the steppes. Their larger animals
The Seleucid, Parthian, could then support heavily armed warriors outfitted with
and Sasanid Empires metal armor, which served as an effective shield against the
arrows of the steppe nomads. Well-trained forces of heavily
The Seleucids After Alexander died, his chief generals
armed cavalry could usually put nomadic raiding parties to
fought among themselves and struggled to take over the con
flight. Indeed, few existing forces could stand up to Par
queror's realms. In Persia the victor was Seleucus, formerly
thian heavy cavalry.
commander of an elite guard corps in Alexander's army, who
dominated the territories of the former Achaemenid empire
and ruled them from 305 to 281 B.C.E. Like Alexander, Seleu- Seleucids (sih-LOO-sihds)