Education, History
Persian state: history of origin, way of life and culture
The Persian state had a great influence on the history of the Ancient World. The Achaemenid state formed by a small tribal union lasted about two hundred years. Mention of the splendor and power of the Persian country is in many ancient sources, including the Bible.
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For the first time the mention of Persians is found in Assyrian sources. In the inscription, dated IX in BC. E., Contains the name of the land Parsua. Geographically, this area was in the area of Central Zagros, and in the mentioned period the population of this region paid tribute to the Assyrians. Unification of the tribes did not yet exist. The Assyrians mention the 27 kingdoms under their control. In the VII century. Persians, apparently, entered into a tribal alliance, since sources mentioned references to kings from the Achaemenid tribe. The history of the Persian state begins with 646 BC, when the ruler of the Persians became Cyrus I.
The emergence of the Persian empire
At the end of the VI. BC. E. The Persian people ruled Cambyses I, who was dependent on the kings of Media. The son of Cambyses, Cyrus II, became the ruler of the settled Persians. Information about the ancient Persian people is scarce and scrappy. Apparently, the main unit of society was a patriarchal family, headed by a man who had the right to dispose of the life and property of his loved ones. The community, first generic, and later - rural, for several centuries was a powerful force. Several communities formed a tribe, several tribes could already be called people.
The emergence of the Persian state occurred at a time when the entire Middle East was divided between four states: Egypt, Media, Lydia, Babylonia.
Even in its heyday, Media was in fact an unstable tribal alliance. Thanks to the victories of King Kiaksar of Media, the state of Urartu and the ancient country of Elam surrendered. The descendants of Kiaksar could not keep the conquests of their great ancestor. The constant war with Babylon required the presence of troops on the border. This weakened the domestic policy of Media, than the vassals of the Median king and took advantage.
The reign of Cyrus II
In 553, Cyrus II raised an uprising against the Medes, to whom the Persians had paid tribute for several centuries. The war lasted three years and ended in a devastating defeat of the Medes. The capital of Media (Ettabana) became one of the residences of the ruler of the Persians. Having conquered the ancient country, Cyrus II formally preserved the Median kingdom and assumed the titles of the Median masters. Thus began the formation of the Persian Empire.
After the capture of Media, Persia declared itself as a new state in world history, and for two centuries played an important role in the events taking place in the Middle East. In the years 549-548. The newly-formed state conquered Elam and subdued a number of countries that were part of the former Median state. Parthia, Armenia, Hyrcania began to pay tribute to the new Persian rulers.
War with Lydia
Croesus, the lord of the mighty Lydia, was aware of what a dangerous enemy the Persian state was. A number of alliances were concluded with Egypt and Sparta. However, the Allies did not have the chance to launch full-scale military operations. Croesus did not want to wait for help and spoke alone against the Persians. In the decisive battle near the capital of Lydia - Sardis, Crees led his cavalry on the battlefield, which was considered invincible. Cyrus II set the warriors on horseback on camels. The horses, seeing the unknown animals, refused to obey the riders, the Lydian horsemen were forced to fight on foot. The unequal battle ended with the retreat of the Lydians, after which Sardis was siegeed by the Persians. Of the former allies, only the Spartans decided to come to the Crèze for help. But while the expedition was preparing, Sarda fell, and the Persians controlled Lydia.
Expanding borders
Then came the turn of the Greek policies, which were in the territory of Asia Minor. After a series of major victories and the suppression of insurrections, the Persians controlled their policies, thereby acquiring the opportunity to use Greek ships in battles.
At the end of the 6th century the Persian state expanded its borders to the northwestern regions of India, to the Hindu Kush cordons and subjugated the tribes living in the basin of the river. Syr Darya. Only after the strengthening of the borders, the suppression of insurrections and the establishment of royal power, did Cyrus pay attention to the powerful Babylonia. October 20, 539, the city fell, and Cyrus II became the official ruler of Babylon, and at the same time the lord of one of the largest powers of the Ancient World - the Persian kingdom.
The Board of Cambyses
Cyrus was killed in battle with the Massagets in 530 BC. E. His policy was successfully carried out by the son of Cambyses. After a thorough preliminary diplomatic training, Egypt, another opponent of Persia, was completely alone and could not count on the support of the Allies. Cambyses carried out his father's plan and subdued Egypt in 522 BC. E. Meanwhile, discontent was developing in Persia itself and a rebellion broke out. Cambyses hurried to his homeland and died on the road under mysterious circumstances. After a while, the ancient Persian empire gave the opportunity to get power to the representative of the younger branch of the Achaemenids, Darius Gistaspu.
The beginning of Darius
The seizure of power by Darius I caused discontent and grumbling in the enslaved Babylonia. The leader of the rebels declared himself the son of the last Babylonian ruler and began to be called Nebuchadnezzar III. In December 522 BC. E. Darius I won. The rebel leaders were publicly executed.
Punitive actions distracted Darius, and in the meantime the riots rose in Media, Elam, Parthia and other areas. The new ruler took more than a year to tame the country and restore the state of Cyrus II and Cambyses in its former borders.
Between 518 and 512 years, the Persian state conquered Macedonia, Thrace and part of India. This time is considered the primeval of the ancient kingdom of the Persians. The state of world importance united under its authority dozens of countries and hundreds of tribes and peoples.
The social structure of ancient Persia. Reforms of Darius
The Persian Achaemenid state was distinguished by a great variety of social orders and customs. Babylonia, Syria, Egypt long before Persia were considered highly developed states, and recently conquered tribes of nomads of Scythian and Arab origin were still at the stage of primitive way of life.
The chain of uprisings of 522-520 years. Showed the ineffectiveness of the previous scheme of government. Therefore, Darius I conducted a series of administrative reforms and created a stable system of state control over the conquered peoples. The result of the reforms was the first effective administrative system in history, which served the rulers of the Achaemenids for more than one generation.
An effective management apparatus is a clear example of how the Persian power of Darius ruled. The country was divided into administrative-tax districts, which were called satrapies. The size of the satrapies was much larger than that of the early states, and in some cases coincided with the ethnographic boundaries of the ancient peoples. For example, the satrapy of Egypt territorially almost completely coincided with the borders of this state until its conquest by the Persians. State officials, the satraps, supervised the districts. Unlike their predecessors, who sought their governors among the nobility of conquered peoples, Darius I put exclusively noblemen of Persian origin in these posts.
Functions of governors
Earlier, the governor united both administrative and civil functions. The satrap of the times of Darius had only civil authority, the military authorities did not obey him. The satraps had the right to coin coins, controlled the economic activities of the country, collected taxes, and executed the court. In peacetime, the satraps were provided with a small personal guard. The army was subordinate exclusively to military commanders, independent of the satraps.
The implementation of state reforms led to the creation of a large central administrative apparatus headed by the tsarist chancellery. Public administration led the capital of the Persian state, the city of Susa. The large cities of that time Babylon, Ektaban, Memphis also had their own chancery.
The satraps and officials were under the vigilant control of the secret police. In ancient sources it was called "the ears and the eye of the king." Control and supervision of officials was entrusted to the Hazarapat - the commander-in-chief. State correspondence was conducted in the Aramaic language, which was owned by almost all the peoples of Persia.
Culture of the Persian Empire
Ancient Persia left a great architectural heritage to the descendants. Magnificent palace complexes in Susa, Persepolis and Pasargadae made a stunning impression on contemporaries. The royal estates were surrounded by gardens and parks. One of the monuments that have survived to this day is the tomb of Cyrus II. Many similar monuments that arose in hundreds of years, based on the architecture of the tomb of the Persian king. The culture of the Persian empire promoted the glory of the king and the strengthening of royal power among the conquered peoples.
The art of ancient Persia combined the artistic traditions of the Iranian tribes, intertwined with elements of Greek, Egyptian, Assyrian cultures. Among the items that have survived to descendants there are many ornaments, bowls and vases, various cups decorated with exquisite painting. A special place in the finds is occupied by numerous seals with images of kings and heroes, as well as various animals and fantastic creatures.
The economic development of Persia from the time of Darius
A special position in the Persian kingdom was occupied by the nobility. The nobles owned large landed estates on all the conquered territories. Huge plots were placed at the disposal of the "benefactors" of the tsar for personal services to him. The owners of such lands had the right to manage, transfer of allotments to their descendants, and they were also entrusted with exercising judicial power over their subjects. Widely used land use system, in which the sites were called horse, bow, chariot and so on. The tsar gave such lands to his soldiers, for which their owners were to serve in the army as riders, archers, charioteers.
But still huge tracts of land were in the direct possession of the king himself. They usually rented out. As a payment for them the products of agriculture and cattle breeding were adopted.
In addition to lands, there were channels in the immediate royal power. The managers of the tsar's property rented them and collected them for the use of water. For irrigation of fertile soils, a fee was raised, reaching 1/3 of the crop of the landowner.
Labor Resources of Persia
The labor of slaves was used in all branches of the economy. The bulk of them were usually prisoners of war. Collateral slavery, when people sold themselves, did not spread. Slaves had a number of privileges, for example, the right to have their seals and participate in various transactions as full partners. The slave could redeem himself, paying a certain rent, and also be a plaintiff, a witness or a defendant in legal proceedings, of course, not against his masters. The practice of recruiting hired workers for certain money was common. The work of such workers was particularly widespread in Babylonia, where they dug canals, arranged roads and harvested crops from royal or temple fields.
Darius's financial policy
The main source of income to the treasury were taxes. In 519, the tsar approved the basic system of state taxes. The taxes were calculated for each satrapy, taking into account its territory and the fertility of the land. The Persians as a people-conqueror did not pay money, but they were not exempt from the natural tax.
The various monetary units that continued to exist even after the unification of the country, brought a lot of inconvenience, so in 517 BC. E. The king introduced a new gold coin, called the darik. The means of exchange was silver silk, which cost 1/20 of the gift and served as a bargaining chip in those days. On the reverse of both coins there was an image of Darius І.
The transport routes of the Persian state
The spread of the road network promoted the development of trade between various satrapies. The royal road of the Persian state began in Lydia, crossed Asia Minor and passed through Babylon, and from there to Susa and Persepolis. The sea routes laid by the Greeks were successfully used by the Persians in trade and for the transfer of military force.
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