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Achaemenian
Dynasty
559-530 BC -- Cyrus the Great established the Persian Empire in 550
BC, the first world empire. His respect for local traditions, laws, languages,
and religions set the foundation of a relatively benevolent empire.
539 BC -- Babylonia surrendered peacefully to Cyrus the Great.
Welcomed as a liberator because of his compassionate policies, Cyrus freed the
Jews from captivity and assisted them to migrate to their homeland and to
reconstruct their temple in Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, in the Book of
Isaiah, Cyrus is hailed as the Shepherd of the Lord. I am Cyrus, King of the
World. When I entered Babylon I did not allow anyone to terrorize the land. I
kept in view the needs of its people and all its sanctuaries to promote their
well being. I put an end to their misfortune. The great God has delivered all
lands into my hand, the lands that I have made to dwell in peaceful
habitation.
522-486 BC -- The
reign of Darius the Great marked the zenith of the Persian Empire.
Upholding the tradition established by Cyrus, Darius valued the rights
of all people under his rule. The following inscription appears on
his tomb: By the favor of the great God I believe in justice and abhor
inequity. It is not my desire that the weak man should have wrong
done to him by the mighty....Darius' goal was to be a great law-giver
and organizer. He structured the empire under the satrapy system (similar
to national and local governments). He built many roads, ports, banking
houses (the word "check" comes from Old Persian), elaborate underground
irrigation systems and a canal to link the Nile to the Red Sea (an
early precursor of the Suez Canal). In the 19th century, archeologists
in Egypt discovered an inscription by Darius commemorating the completion
of the canal: I am a Persian. I commanded to dig this canal from
a river by name of Nile which flows in Egypt....After this canal was
dug, ships went from Egypt through this canal to Persia, thus as was
my desire.
Darius revolutionized mankind's economic activities by introducing one of the
earliest (certainly the first on such a massive scale) forms of common coinage
in history, the darik. This initiative, along with the standardization of
weights and measures and the codification of commercial laws, stimulated world
trade and elevated the Persian Empire's economy to new levels of prosperity.
Reflecting the wealth and the multi-cultural dimension of the Persian Empire,
Darius initiated the building of the Persepolis palace. For its construction,
artisans and materials were gathered from different corners of the empire.
Another project undertaken by Darius was the royal road, the world's longest,
extending 1,500 miles (see map). Due to an extensive network of relays, postmen
could travel the road in six to nine days, whereas normal travel time was three
months. The motto of the Persian postal service became memorable: stopped by
neither snow, rain, heat or gloom of night. The US postal service also adopted
this motto and the famous Pony Express mail delivery resembled the original
Persian design. The origins of polo date back to this time. Persian nobility
played an early form of polo for both sport and combat training.
490-479 BC --
In their wars with Persia, the Greek city-states were never a threat
to the Persian heartland. What Persia did not achieve through war,
it obtained through diplomacy. After the Persian-Greek wars ended,
Persian kings successfully played the Athenians and Spartans against
each other for 150 years. Persia's financial and naval assistance
was instrumental in Sparta's victory over Athens in the Great Peloponnesian
War. Afterwards, Persia began supporting the Athenians. The Persian
influence over the two Greek city-states was such that the Persian
King Artaxerxes II was asked to mediate between them, leading to the
King's Peace of 387 BC.
550-334 BC -- The Persian Empire became the dominant world power for
over two centuries. It made possible the first significant and continuous
contact between East and West. It was the world's first religiously tolerant
empire and consisted of a multitude of different languages, races, religions and
cultures. Prior to the rise of the Roman Empire, it set a precedent for the
importance of the rule of law, a powerful centralized army and an efficient and
systematic state administration. However, the greatest legacy of the Persian
Empire was that it demonstrated for the first time how diverse peoples can
culturally flourish and economically prosper under one central government.
Alexander to Parthian
Dynasty
334 BC -- Alexander Invaded Persia. After his victory over the Persian
army, he ordered the execution of many Persians, allowed his troops to indulge
themselves in plunder and rape and, in a drunken rage, set torch to Persepolis.
However, he also considered himself a successor to Achaemenian Kings and paid
tribute to Cyrus the Great at his tomb. He emulated Persian court customs and
attempted to create a new culture, a mixture of both Persian and Hellenistic. He
married a Persian woman (Roxana) and ordered all his generals and 10,000 of his
soldiers to follow suit in a mass wedding.
323 BC -- Alexander
died. Although a masterful general, he lacked administrative skills.
Shortly after his death, his empire was divided among his contesting
generals. An important legacy of his conquest of Persia was the introduction
of the Persian imperial practices into the West. Many of these practices
particularly those relating to state administration and the
rule of law were later adopted by the Roman Empire.
323-141 BC -- The Seleucid Dynasty was established by one of
Alexander's generals.
247 BC-224 AD -- The Parthians, a tribal kingdom from northeastern
Iran, gradually defeated the Greek Seleucids and consolidated their control over
all of Persia. The name of the founder of the dynasty, Arsaces, became the title
of all Parthian kings in much the same way that the name of Caesar was later to
become the title of all Roman emperors. They fought numerous times with the
Romans. Their victory over the Romans in 53 BC elevated the Parthians into a
superpower of their era. The Romans were especially in awe of the expert mobile
Parthian archers (hence the term: the Parthian Shot) who inflicted enormous
casualties upon successive Roman armies. Although the Parthians ruled for almost
five centuries, very little of their civilization has survived, except for some
small art objects.
Sasanian
Dynasty
224 --
Ardeshir I founded the Sasanian dynasty. The Sasanians revived Persian
culture and Zoroastrianism and made a conscious effort to return to
the Achaemenian norms. They sponsored trade both with their arch-enemy,
the Romans/Byzantines, and the Chinese. Excavations in China have
unearthed gold and silver Sasanian coins covering a span of many centuries.
260 -- Shahpur I invaded the Roman Empire and took Emperor Valerian
prisoner. He also established Jondi Shahpur, a major center of higher
learning.
274 -- Mani, the
founder of Manichaeism, tried to introduce a new universal world religion,
combining elements of Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Buddhism.
528 -- Mazdak advocated abolition of private property, the division of
wealth, as well as nonviolence and vegetarianism. His ideas brought about a
major class struggle between the peasants and the nobility. He could be
considered the world's first "communist/socialist."
531-579 -- The reign of Khosrow I (Anushiravan) marked the height of
the Sasanian dynasty. He promoted scholarship and sponsored the translation of
Indian and Greek scientific and medical texts into Middle Persian or Pahlavi,
Persia's native language. By the time of Khosrow I, Jondi Shahpur's library had
amassed one of the largest collections of books in the world. He also gave
refuge and financial assistance to philosophers fleeing oppression in the
Byzantine Empire. Khosrow I was also a populist king, possibly a reflection of
Mazdak's ideology and the civil conflicts that subsequently ensued. He made
himself available to all his subjects; anyone could rattle his chain of justice
and have an audience with the king. His famous prime minister, Bozorgmehr,
reportedly invented the game of backgammon.
570 -- The Prophet
Mohammad was born.
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Western
Humanities: Greece
Mythical
Mycenean Past
| Dates
& Key Events |
|
| Form of Government
|
|
| Main Philosophical
& Religious Ideas |
|
| Aesthetic
Principles |
|
| Role of Women
|
|
| Style of Literature
|
|
| Values |
|
Archaic
Period
| Dates
& Key Events |
|
| Form of Government
|
|
| Main Philosophical
& Religious Ideas |
|
| Aesthetic
Principles |
|
| Role of Women
|
|
| Style of Literature
|
|
| Values |
|
Classical
| Dates
& Key Events |
|
| Form of Government
|
|
| Main Philosophical
& Religious Ideas |
|
| Aesthetic
Principles |
|
| Role of Women
|
|
| Style of Literature
|
|
| Values |
|
Hellenistic
| Dates
& Key Events |
|
| Form of Government
|
|
| Main Philosophical
& Religious Ideas |
|
| Aesthetic
Principles |
|
| Role of Women
|
|
| Style of Literature
|
|
| Values |
|
Dates &
Key Events: Greece
Archaic Period ( - BCE)
Classical
( - BCE)
Hellenistic
( - BCE)
|
