Duplicate of Life in the Ancient Persian Empire

King Leonidas of Sparta & his 300 men bottlenecked Xerxes at the narrow pass

The last battle where the Greeks led by Spartan hoplites defeated the army of the Persians

All will wade through a river of molten metal in which the righteous will not burn.

Taught that people would have to chose between good & evil as preparation for a final judgment

He brought harmful emotions chaos, death, disease, and other ills into the world

Persians quickly adopted the Lydian innovative concept of coinage & issued the gold daric coin

Saoshyant will be born to a virgin impregnated by the seed of Zoroaster while bathing in a lake

Smaller faster Athenian navy destroyed the Persian/Phoenician navy while Xerxes sat & watched

Persian ruler from 522-486 BC-reorganized empire after winning civil war-Expanded empire terr.

They wrote great poetry, essays, works of geography, stories, dictionaries, etc.-many now lost

He had qualities both as a conqueror who was tolerant & magnanimous as well as brave & daring.

Buildings gave feeling for space and scale-more so than other ancient civilizations

Much of Empire is high-elevation Mts. & dry-Persians engineered terrain for water irrigation

Saoshyant will raise the dead – including those in both heaven and hell – for final judgment

Why did Xerxes attack Greece?

Persian religious beliefs encourage rulers to practice good reflection, good word, & good deed.

Also irrigation of crops by digging of canals & ditches to get water from year around rivers

Conqueror, tolerant & capable monarch who founded ancient Persian Empire. Liberator of the Jews

Embroidery, first Beer-making techniques, first public postal system, 1st satraps of regions

Wicked sent to hell to be purged of bodily sin

Persian Empire obtained its wealth as a result of its prolific crops such as barley & grapes

Persians had consistently 98-99% pure gold coins for 185 years with the king engraved running

They had many melodies & instruments which were important in religious affairs & court life

Cyrus the Great successfully rebels against Medes-establishes Achaemenid Empire of Persia.

They had standardized weights & measures plus improved and circulated coins

They played chess, backgammon, 20 Squares, 58 Holes, Merels, used various types of dice, etc.

Evil's last war-sun & moon will darken & people will lose respect for religion, family, elders.

Systems of sustainable taxation, communication network based on good roads, single language

Name for god of evil & darkness in Zoroastrianism-force behind anger, greed, envy, etc.

Great importance on personal hygiene, public health and the prevention of contagious diseases.

Taught people were training for a future life with world torn by struggle between good & evil.

Imposed a 20 percent tax on all agriculture, manufacturing & religious institutions

It took Persian couriers about nine days to cover the 1,500 miles of the Persian Royal Road

Croesus’ rule of Lydia came to abrupt end-Persian king Cyrus defeated him, 546 BC, at Halys

Columned audience halls, colonnaded porticoes, square towers, terraces, double flights of steps

Which explains why Darius I was important?

Taught that when the final judgement happened all earthly existence would disappear.

They also used holy words, poetry, music & prayers to cure, console & heal the patient.

What is the historical importance of the Greeks winning the second war with Persia?

Voyages to seek new trading partners & encouraged the development of ports on the Persian Gulf

Theirs was one of great writings of history-one of the four main bodies of world literature

Irrigation of crops by a systematic digging of a specialized network of canals known as Qanat.

Agriculture was main source of wealth in the Persian empire. Trade was the 2nd major source.

The art had improvisation & composition based on memorized a series of modal scales & tunes

Built & maintained a superior system of roads that linked Persia with its major trade partners.

Why was the Battle of Marathon important and famous?

Men & women had equal rights, slavery abolished & the very first human & animal bill of rights

They had a Great Assembly+Popular Assembly, courts of justice, police, rights for children...

Very first stadium, lavish floor coverings i.e. carpets, qanats-underground irrigation systems

The Persians themselves paid no taxes.

They used medicinal herbs including basil, chicory, sweet violet, and peppermint.

Name for creator & sole god of Zoroastrianism-uncreated spirit, wholly wise, benevolent & good

Persians diverted course of Euphrates. During festival, Persian army came under walls unnoticed

Heavenly forces will ultimately triumph over evil rendering it forever impotent. Eternal life!

People had freedom & King could not violate law. The king was required to give good government

Which explains why Darius was unsuccessful at conquering Greece?