Transcript Part 1: Persia Part 2: India

Persia
Centralization and Localization
Achaemenid Empire
(558-330 B.C.)
• Medes and Persians migrated from central
Asia to Persia before 1000 B.C.
• The Medes and Persians were
considerable military powers
• Cyrus the Achaemenid ruled from 558-530
B.C. and launched the Persians’ first
imperial venture
• Darius reigned from 521 to 486 and
expanded the empire both east and west
Darius
• Darius’ empire stretched some 1,865 miles from
the Indus River in the east to the Aegean Sea in
the west and 933 miles from Armenia in the
north to the first cataract of the Nile in the south
• Population of some 35 million people
encompassing over 70 distinct ethnic groups
– Description of the construction of the palace at Susa
testifies to the diversity of the empire
Palace at Susa
… the sun-dried brick was molded, the
Babylonian people -- it did (these tasks). The
cedar timber, this -- a mountain named Lebanon -from there was brought. The Assyrian people, it
brought it to Babylon; from Babylon the Carians
and the Ionians brought it to Susa. The yakâtimber was brought from Gandara and from
Carmania. The gold was brought from Sardis and
from Bactria, which here was wrought. The
precious stone lapis lazuli and carnelian which was
wrought here, this was brought from Sogdiana.
The precious stone turquoise, this was brought
from Chorasmia, which was wrought here. The
silver and the ebony were brought from Egypt.
Palace at Susa
The ornamentation with which the wall was
adorned, that from Ionia was brought. The ivory
which was wrought here, was brought from
Ethiopia and from Sind and from Arachosia.
The stone columns which were here wrought, a
village named Abiradu, in Elam -- from there
were brought. The stone-cutters who wrought the
stone, those were Ionians and Sardians. The
goldsmiths who wrought the gold, those were
Medes and Egyptians. The men who wrought
the wood, those were Sardians and Egyptians.
The men who wrought the baked brick, those
were Babylonians. The men who adorned the
wall, those were Medes and Egyptians.
Darius
• Governing such a far-flung empire a
more difficult challenge than conquering
it
• Darius was an excellent administrator
• A balance between central initiative and
local administration
• Centralization
– Authority
– Royal Road
– Standardized taxes
• Localization
– Satraps
– Tolerance
Authority: Centralization
• Achaemenid rulers held the official title of “The
Great King, King of Kings, King of Persia, King
of Countries”
• Darius ruled by the grace of Ahura Mazda, the
Zoroastrian god of light
– “A great god is Ahura Mazda, who created the earth,
who created the sky, who created man, who created
happiness for man, who made Darius king.”
• Zoroastrianism was a Persian religion which emphasized the
duality of good and evil and the role of individuals in
determining their own fate
Authority: Centralization
• King’s decision on all
matters of policy was
final
• King was commanderin-chief of the army and
ceremoniously took his
position in the center of
the formation
– There he was protected
by an elite royal
bodyguard
The Greeks called the bodyguard
the Ten Thousand Immortals
Persepolis: Centralization
• Soon after Darius
came to power he
began centralizing
his administration
• About 520 he
began building a
new capital in
Persepolis
– Would become the
nerve center of the
Persian empire
Palace of Darius
Persepolis: Centralization
• Persepolis had vast
reception halls, lavish
royal residences, and
a well-protected
treasury
• It was designed to be
not just an
administrative center
but also a monument
to the Achaemenid
dynasty
Gate of All Nations at
entrance to city
Persepolis: Centralization
• Persepolis was full of
advisors, ministers,
diplomats, scribes,
accountants, translators,
and other bureaucratic
officials
• Governors served as
agents of the central
administration to
oversee affairs in the
various regions
Persepolis is near modern
day Shiraz in Iran
Satraps: Localization
• Darius divided the
kingdom into 23
satrapies
– Administrative and
taxation districts
governed by satraps
• Satraps were royal
appointees, often
members of the royal
dynasty by birth or
marriage
– Satrapies tended to
become virtually
hereditary domains
Satrap receiving a visitor
Satraps: Localization
• Principal duty of the satrap was to collect taxes
and deliver them to the central treasury
• Before Darius, Cyrus had accepted irregular,
periodic “gifts” as tribute from subject lands and
cities
• Though often lavish, these gifts did not provide a
consistent and reliable source of income
– Darius changed all that
Standardized Taxes: Centralization
• Darius replaced the
irregular payments with
formal tax levies
• Each satrapy was
required to pay a set
quantity of silver– and in
some cases a levy of
horses and slaves also–
to the imperial court
• In order to expedite
payments, he issued
standard coins
Gold coin issued by
Darius, known after him
as a daric
Localization: Legal Tolerance
• Darius did not abolish the existing laws of
individual lands and peoples
• He had no uniform law code for the entire
empire
• He did direct legal experts to codify the
laws of the subject people and modify
them as necessary to harmonize them
with the legal principles observed by the
empire as a whole
Localization: Religious Tolerance
• “Now then, Tattenai, governor of TransEuphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you, their
fellow officials of that province, stay away from
there. Do not interfere with the work on this
temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews
and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God
on its site.”
– Ezra 6: 6-7
• Darius also funded the project and provided
harsh penalties for anyone who interfered
Royal Road: Centralization
• The Royal Road stretched
1,600 miles from the
Aegean port of Ephesus to
Sardis in Anatolia, through
Mesopotamia along the
Tigris River, to Susa in Iran,
with an extension to
Pasargadae and Persepolis
• Caravans took 90 days to
travel the route
• Inns along the way provided
lodging
• The road was well policed
for safety
Royal Road: Centralization
• Darius established 111 postal stations at 25 to
30 mile intervals along the route
• Each station kept a fresh supply of horses so
couriers could travel the entire route in one week
– Like the Pony Express
• Herodotus praised the couriers saying, “Neither
snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays
these couriers from the swift completion of their
appointed rounds.”
– Motto of the US Postal Service
Checks and Balances
• Since the satraps were often far away from
Persepolis, there was always the possibility they
might ally with local groups and become
independent of the central authority
• To prevent this, Darius:
– Placed a contingent of military officers and tax
collectors in each satrapy to serve as a check on the
satrap’s power and influence
– Appointed agents to serve as “the eyes and ears of
the king” by traveling throughout the empire
conducting surprise audits and gathering intelligence