You Persians they constituted one of the most important civilizations of antiquity.
Persia was located mainly east of Mesopotamia, in the current territory occupied by Iran, which was called Persia until 1935, when it changed its name.
the Persian Empire
The Persians spread over a wide territory. Among its conquests we highlight: Babylon, Egypt, the Kingdoms of Lydia, Phoenicia, Syria, Palestine and the Greek regions of Asia Minor.
The beginning of the Persian Empire was Ciro the Great (560 a. C - 529 a. Ç). However, the development of civilization is mainly due to Darius I the Great.
This was responsible for large constructions, mainly the Estrada Real, whose objective was to maintain the hegemony of the conquered peoples. Darius I, Xerxes I, Artaxexes I followed until the last emperor, Darius III, defeated by Alexander the Great.
Persian politics and sovereign power
The expansion of Persia was only possible thanks to the entrepreneurship of the emperors who were in its power.
All peoples conquered by the Persian Empire had to pay tax, but they were not obliged to set aside their customs or their language.
The Persians were one of the first peoples to carry out political and administrative reform. It was necessary to organize the population that had been conquered. Thus, the administrative reform carried out in the government of Darius gave rise to satrapias - provinces ruled by satraps. These were considered the “eyes and ears of the king”, trusted persons charged with watching over the satraps.
Thus, the political and administrative system of the Persian civilization had a higher level of complexity compared to other societies of the period.
Persian economy
The Persians lived off farming, mining, handicrafts and taxes levied on subjugated peoples.
The construction of the Estrada Real enabled the development of commerce, as it made travel faster and safer. In order to be able to trade with all the regions of their vast empire, the Persians instituted a currency, the daric.
Persian Culture, Art and Religion
The Persians built great architectural works and their palaces, in addition to being large, were quite luxurious. Mosaics and paintings depict the deeds of emperors as well as gods.
Even today, Persian culture is famous for the beautiful Persian rugs recognized around the world. His elaborate drawings form a geographic labyrinth or with elements of nature.
Zoroastrianism or Masdeism is the name of the ancient religion of this people, which originated in the fusion of beliefs of the Persian peoples, made by its founder, the prophet Zoroaster or Zarathustra – hence the name origin.
It is a dualistic religion, that is, one that believes in the principle of Good versus Evil (Mazda, the god of good, and Sister, the god of evil).
We have more texts on this subject:
- Phoenicians
- Hebrews
- Alexander, the Great