1987. , chapter 2 “Armenia from the Median Conquest to the Rise of the Artaxiads”. Harvard University Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, 1987:
Original text (English)
Page 39
By 585 B.C., the power of the Medes extended as far as the Halys River; they were thus in possession of the entire Arm. plateau and the former territories of Urartu.
...
The Armenians, as we have seen, appear to have settled in the area of Van and in the northeast, in the region of Ararat. Numerous other peoples also inhabited the plateau: Herodotus mentions the Suspyrians, Alarodians and Matieni; and Xenophon met on his march the Chaldaeans, Chalybians, Mardi, Hesperites, Phasians and Taochi.
Page 45
Armenia was divided into two satrapies, the 13th and 18th, by the Persians, and several sites mentioned in the inscriptions at Behistun have been identified in the south and west of the Armenian plateau, in the provinces of Aljnik and Korcayk.
...
The 18th satrapy included the regions around Ararat; we shall discuss below the principal sites of the Achaemenian period from that region: Arin-berd (Urartean Erebuni) and Armawir (Urartean Argistihinili).
The satrap dynasty of the Orontes sat under the Achaemenids in eastern Armenia (in the 18th satrapy, the land of the Mathien-Hurrians, Saspeyrian-Iberians and Alarodians-Urartians; however, as the name itself shows, Armenians already lived here)…
Original text (Russian)
The Colchis from time to time sent symbolic tribute to the Achaemenids in slaves, possibly captured from neighboring mountain tribes, and supplied auxiliary troops, apparently at the disposal of the satrap of Western (or proper) Armenia (13th Achaemenid satrapy, originally called Melitene; Northeastern Armenia , which continued to be called Urartu, constituted the 18th satrapy and at that time, in all likelihood, had not yet been fully Armenianized in language; along with the Armenians, Urartians-Alarodias and Hurrians-Matiens, it also included eastern proto-Georgian tribes - Saspirs)
Original text (English)
Armenia is listed as the 10th satrapy in the Persian inscriptions at Naqsh-e Rostam. In the fifth century Herodotus mentions Armenians occupying the 13th satrapy, while the remnants of the Urartians (Alarodians) lived in the 18th satrapy. Armenians soon became the dominant force in those satrapies and subjugated or assimilated the other groups.
The founder of the Persian state is Cyrus II, who is also called Cyrus the Great for his deeds.
Rise to power
Cyrus II came from a noble and ancient Achaemenid family. On his mother’s side, as evidenced by ancient Greek sources, he was the grandson of the king of Media, Astyages.
At this time (i.e. in the first half of the 6th century BC) the regions where the Persians lived were subject to the kingdoms of Media, or Elam. Herodotus, as well as another ancient Greek explorer and commander, Xenophon, have a lot of information about Cyrus’s childhood. According to their stories, Cyrus grew up at the court of Astyages and from early childhood stood out among his peers for his intelligence and courage. It is believed that Cyrus rallied the Iranian tribes around his authority and organized a revolt against the Medes and his grandfather. As a result, on the site of the kingdom of Media, a larger Persian power arose, which is also called Achaemenid after the name of the family from which Cyrus came.
Conquests of Cyrus
Having strengthened his new power, Cyrus began campaigns of conquest in all directions of his kingdom. Soon he annexed to the Persian state:
- Elam.
- Babylonia.
- Armenia.
- Lydia.
- Asia Minor and Ionian cities.
- Cilicia.
From Greek and other sources we learn that Cyrus had the following approach regarding the conquered territories: if somewhere a local ruler agreed to surrender without resistance, then he left this ruler in his place and was content only with collecting tribute. In other cases, he could appoint the son of the former ruler or someone from the local aristocracy to the supreme position. In particular, he did this with Babylonia, where the son of the king fighting against him became the governor of Cyrus. Cyrus also gave freedom of religion, which won over different peoples.
After conquering large territories in the west, the ruler sent envoys to the east of his state, where the nomadic Massagetae lived, demanding that they bow to him. However, he was refused and in the campaign against them the Achaemenid soldiers were defeated, and Cyrus himself was killed, and his tomb is located in Pasargadae.
The Persian power had a huge impact on the history of the Ancient World. The Achaemenid state, formed by a small tribal union, existed for about two hundred years. Mention of the splendor and power of the Persian country is in many ancient sources, including the Bible.
Start
The first mention of the Persians is found in Assyrian sources. In an inscription dated to the 9th century BC. e., contains the name of the land Parsua. Geographically, this area was located in the Central Zagros region, and during the mentioned period the population of this area paid tribute to the Assyrians. The unification of tribes did not yet exist. The Assyrians mention 27 kingdoms under their control. In the 7th century the Persians apparently entered into a tribal union, since references to kings from the Achaemenid tribe appeared in the sources. The history of the Persian state begins in 646 BC, when Cyrus I became the ruler of the Persians.
During the reign of Cyrus I, the Persians significantly expanded the territories under their control, including taking possession of most of the Iranian plateau. At the same time, the first capital of the Persian state, the city of Pasargadae, was founded. Some Persians were engaged in agriculture, some led
The emergence of the Persian Empire
At the end of the 6th century. BC e. The Persian people were ruled by Cambyses I, who was dependent on the kings of Media. Cambyses' son, Cyrus II, became ruler of the settled Persians. Information about the ancient Persian people is scanty and fragmentary. Apparently, the main unit of society was the patriarchal family, headed by a man who had the right to dispose of the lives and property of his loved ones. The community, first tribal and later rural, was a powerful force for several centuries. Several communities formed a tribe, several tribes could already be called a 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 actually a fragile tribal union. Thanks to the victories of King Cyaxares, Media conquered the state of Urartu and the ancient country of Elam. The descendants of Cyaxares were unable to retain the conquests of their great ancestor. The constant war with Babylon required the presence of troops on the border. This weakened the internal politics of Media, which the vassals of the Median king took advantage of.
Reign of Cyrus II
In 553, Cyrus II rebelled against the Medes, to whom the Persians had been paying tribute for several centuries. The war lasted three years and ended with a crushing defeat for the Medes. The capital of Media (Ektabani) became one of the residences of the Persian ruler. Having conquered the ancient country, Cyrus II formally preserved the Median kingdom and assumed the titles of the Median rulers. Thus began the formation of the Persian state.
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 549-548. the newly formed state conquered Elam and subjugated 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 ruler of powerful Lydia, realized what a dangerous enemy the Persian power was. A number of alliances were concluded with Egypt and Sparta. However, the Allies did not have the chance to begin full-scale military operations. Croesus did not want to wait for help and acted alone against the Persians. In the decisive battle near the capital of Lydia - the city of Sardis, Croesus brought his cavalry, which was considered invincible, onto the battlefield. Cyrus II sent soldiers riding camels. The horses, seeing 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 the city of Sardis was besieged by the Persians. Of the former allies, only the Spartans decided to come to the aid of Croesus. But while the campaign was being prepared, the city of Sardis fell, and the Persians subjugated Lydia.
Expanding boundaries
Then it was the turn of the Greek city-states, which were located in the territory. After a series of major victories and suppression of rebellions, the Persians subjugated the city-states, thereby acquiring the opportunity to use them in battles.
At the end of the 6th century, the Persian power expanded its borders to the northwestern regions of India, to the cordons of the Hindu Kush and subjugated the tribes living in the river basin. Syrdarya. Only after strengthening the borders, suppressing rebellions and establishing royal power did Cyrus II turn his attention to powerful Babylonia. On October 20, 539, the city fell, and Cyrus II became the official ruler of Babylon, and at the same time the ruler of one of the largest powers of the Ancient World - the Persian Kingdom.
Reign of Cambyses
Cyrus died in battle with the Massagetae in 530 BC. e. His policy was successfully carried out by his son Cambyses. After thorough preliminary diplomatic preparation, Egypt, another enemy of Persia, found itself completely alone and could not count on the support of its allies. Cambyses carried out his father's plan and conquered Egypt in 522 BC. e. Meanwhile, discontent was brewing in Persia itself and a rebellion broke out. Cambyses hurried to his homeland and died on the road under mysterious circumstances. After some time, the ancient Persian power provided the opportunity to gain power to the representative of the younger branch of the Achaemenids - Darius Hystaspes.
Beginning of the reign of Darius
The seizure of power by Darius I caused discontent and grumbling in 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 rebellions arose in Media, Elam, Parthia and other areas. It took the new ruler more than a year to pacify the country and restore the state of Cyrus II and Cambyses to its former borders.
Between 518 and 512, the Persian Empire conquered Macedonia, Thrace and part of India. This time is considered the heyday of the ancient kingdom of the Persians. A state of global importance united dozens of countries and hundreds of tribes and peoples under its rule.
Social structure of Ancient Persia. Darius' reforms
The Achaemenid Persian state was distinguished by a wide variety of social structures and customs. Babylonia, Syria, Egypt, long before Persia, were considered highly developed states, and the recently conquered tribes of nomads of Scythian and Arab origin were still at the stage of a primitive way of life.
Chain of uprisings 522-520. showed the ineffectiveness of the previous government scheme. Therefore, Darius I carried out a number 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 Achaemenid rulers for more than one generation.
An effective administrative apparatus is a clear example of how Darius ruled the Persian state. The country was divided into administrative-tax districts, which were called satrapies. The size of the satrapies was much larger than the territories of early states, and in some cases coincided with the ethnographic boundaries of ancient peoples. For example, the satrapy of Egypt territorially almost completely coincided with the borders of this state before its conquest by the Persians. The districts were led by government officials - satraps. Unlike his predecessors, who looked for their governors among the nobility of the conquered peoples, Darius I appointed exclusively nobles of Persian origin to these positions.
Functions of governors
Previously, the governor combined both administrative and civil functions. The satrap of the time of Darius had only civil powers; the military authorities were not subordinate to him. Satraps had the right to mint coins, were in charge of the country's economic activities, collected taxes, and administered justice. In peacetime, satraps were provided with a small personal guard. The army was subordinate exclusively to military leaders independent of the satraps.
The implementation of government reforms led to the creation of a large central administrative apparatus headed by the royal office. State administration was carried out by the capital of the Persian state - the city of Susa. The large cities of that time, Babylon, Ektabana, and Memphis also had their own offices.
Satraps and officials were under the constant control of the secret police. In ancient sources it was called “the ears and eye of the king.” Control and supervision of officials was entrusted to the Khazarapat - the commander of a thousand. State correspondence was conducted on which almost all the peoples of Persia owned.
Culture of the Persian Empire
Ancient Persia left its descendants a great architectural heritage. The magnificent palace complexes at Susa, Persepolis and Pasargadae made a stunning impression on their contemporaries. The royal estates were surrounded by gardens and parks. One of the monuments that has survived to this day is the tomb of Cyrus II. Many similar monuments that arose hundreds of years later took as their basis the architecture of the tomb of the Persian king. The culture of the Persian state contributed to the glorification of the king and the strengthening of royal power among the conquered peoples.
The art of ancient Persia combined the artistic traditions of Iranian tribes, intertwined with elements of Greek, Egyptian, and Assyrian cultures. Among the objects that have come down to descendants there are many decorations, bowls and vases, various cups, decorated with sophisticated paintings. 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.
Economic development of Persia during the time of Darius
The nobility occupied a special position in the Persian kingdom. The nobles owned large land holdings in all conquered territories. Huge areas were placed at the disposal of the tsar’s “benefactors” for personal services to him. The owners of such lands had the right to manage, transfer the plots as an inheritance to their descendants, and they were also entrusted with the exercise of judicial power over their subjects. A land tenure system was widely used, in which plots were called allotments of a horse, bow, chariot, etc. The king distributed such lands to his soldiers, for which their owners had to serve in the active army as horsemen, archers, and charioteers.
But as before, huge tracts of land were in the direct possession of the king himself. They were usually rented out. The products of agriculture and livestock breeding were accepted as payment for them.
In addition to the lands, canals were under direct royal authority. The managers of the royal property rented them out and collected taxes for the use of water. For irrigation of fertile soils, a fee was charged, reaching 1/3 of the landowner's harvest.
Persian labor resources
Slave labor was used in all sectors of the economy. The bulk of them were usually prisoners of war. Bail slavery, when people sold themselves, did not become widespread. Slaves had a number of privileges, such as the right to have their own seals and participate in various transactions as full partners. A slave could redeem himself by paying a certain rent, and also be a plaintiff, witness or defendant in legal proceedings, of course, not against his masters. The practice of hiring hired workers for a certain amount of money was widespread. The work of such workers became especially widespread in Babylonia, where they dug canals, built roads, and harvested crops from royal or temple fields.
Darius' financial policy
The main source of funds for the treasury was taxes. In 519, the king approved the basic system of state taxes. Taxes were calculated for each satrapy, taking into account its territory and land fertility. The Persians, as a conquering people, did not pay tax, but were not exempt from the tax in kind.
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 medium of exchange was a silver shekel, which was worth 1/20 of a darik and served in those days. The reverse of both coins featured the image of Darius I.
Transport routes of the Persian state
The spread of the road network facilitated the development of trade between the 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.
The sea expeditions of the ancient Persians are also known, for example, the journey of the sailor Skilak to the Indian shores in 518 BC. e.
Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, was born into the family of the daughter of the Median king, Astyages. After the boy was born, the king had a dream that his grandson overthrew him from the throne and became king himself. Astyages, considering the dream prophetic, ordered the chief nobleman, Harpagus, to kill little Cyrus and bring the body to the palace. Kira's mother could not do anything and the nobleman took the boy. But Harpagus felt sorry for the baby and gave the boy to one of the shepherds. The nobleman did not bring the boy’s body, saying that Cyrus was torn to pieces by wolves, and the king calmed down.
Cyrus grew up in a shepherd's family as a strong and intelligent boy. He shot a bow well, rode a horse and was excellent with a sword. He loved to ride a horse across the expanses of Media.
And then one day the children began to play king. Cyrus was chosen as king, and he, in turn, appointed guards, armorers and servants. One boy, the son of a noble nobleman, refused to carry out the royal order and the king (Cyrus) ordered him to be scourged. The boy was scourged. He complained to his father, and he complained to the king of Media. Cyrus was brought to the king.
How dare you raise your hand against this Mede? - asked Astyages.
- I did this because, according to the rules of the game, I was the king, and the king must punish the disobedient. “If I’m wrong, then I’m in your power,” Cyrus answered boldly.
This answer confused the king and he suspected that this was his grandson, whom he had once ordered to be killed. He found out that the nobleman saved the boy’s life and that the guilty person was his grandson. Astyages ordered Harpalus to be punished. The nobleman’s son was killed, and Cyrus was sent to Persia to his real parents. This is how the boy learned about his past.
Cyrus grew up, and one day he received a letter from Harpalus, which said that if Persia rebels against the power of Astyages, then all the nobles will support him. The future king (Cyrus) thought about how to persuade the Persians to rebel against Media and finally came up with an idea. He asked the Persians to submit to him for two days. On the first day, he ordered them to mow the meadow. On the second day he ordered them to eat meat and drink wine as much as they wanted. And on the morning of the third day I asked which of these days was better, everyone unanimously said that the second. At the end, Cyrus said: “Whoever wants to live as on the first day, let him continue to obey the Medes, and whoever decides to live like yesterday, let him prepare for battle. After all, we are no worse than the Medes, and as warriors we are even braver and stronger. Let’s win our freedom!”
The Persians listened to Cyrus and, having gathered an army, moved to the capital of Media - Ecbatana. Astyages sent an army led by Harpalus, but he betrayed his king, going over to the side of Cyrus. Astyages himself led the second army and suffered a crushing defeat.
So Cyrus became king of Media and Persia. He managed to unite many peoples into the Persian Empire. Babylon and Lydia, dissatisfied with the removal of the throne of their ally, the former king of Media, began to threaten Cyrus. But Cyrus did not hesitate; without waiting for his neighbors, he himself led the army and defeated them.
So the Persians became the rulers of a huge power, stretching from the Indus River to the Mediterranean Sea. King Cyrus also wanted to conquer the lands of the nomadic Massagetae who lived on the shores of the Caspian Sea, but died in battle with them.
Cyrus was a brave warrior and an experienced strategist. His battle tactics, the siege of a fortress, went down in history for a long time, and in their time they were used by Alexander the Great and even Gaius Julius Caesar. The name Cyrus went down in history as the name of the founder of the great Persian Empire.
3 But I2013
Ancient Persians: fearless, determined, unyielding. They created an empire that for centuries was a symbol of greatness and wealth.
The creation of such a huge empire as the Persian is impossible without military superiority.
The empire of all-powerful, ambitious kings stretched from northern Africa to central Asia. was one of the few who can rightfully be called great. The Persians created amazing, unprecedented engineering structures - luxurious palaces in the middle of a barren desert, roads, bridges and canals. Everyone has heard about the Suez Canal, but who Darius channel?
But clouds were gathering on the horizon. The age-old struggle with Greece resulted in a clash that turned the course of history and determined the face of the Western world for millennia to come.
Water transfer
330 BC
While they were nomadic, they had no time to seize territory, but with the transition to agriculture they became interested in fertile lands and, naturally, water.
The ancient Persians would have left no trace in history if they had not been able to find sources and most importantly, a way to transfer water to their fields. We admire their engineering genius because they took water not from rivers and lakes, but in the most unexpected place - in the mountains.
Persia arose from nothing solely thanks to human persistence.
Three thousand years ago, ancient Persians roamed the Iranian plateau. Sources of water were rare. Makhandi - engineers, geologists and at the same time - figured out how to give water to the people.
Primitive Mahandi tools laid the first stone in the foundation of the Persian Empire - underground canal system, so-called ropes. They used gravity and the natural slope of the area from to.
First, they dug a vertical shaft and laid a small section of the tunnel, then the next one about a kilometer from the first and drove the tunnel further.
The water source could be 20 or 40 kilometers away. It is impossible to build a tunnel with a constant slope so that it flows into the mountains continuously without knowledge and skills.
The slope angle was constant throughout the entire length of the tunnel and not too large, otherwise the water would erode the base, and naturally, not too small so that the water would not stagnate.
2 thousand years before the legendary Roman aqueducts, the Persians transferred huge masses of water over considerable distances in dry, hot climates with minimal losses due to evaporation.
- founder of the dynasty. This dynasty reached its peak under the Tsar.
To create an empire, Cyrus needed the talents of not only a commander, but also a politician: he knew how to win the favor of the people. Historians call him a humanist, Jews called him Mashiach- anointed, the people called him father, and the conquered - a just ruler and benefactor.
Cyrus the Great came to power in 559 BC. Under him the dynasty becomes great.
History changes course, and a new style appears in architecture. Among the rulers who had the greatest influence not on the course of history, Cyrus the Great was one of the few who deserves this epithet: he worthy to be called Great.
The empire that Cyrus created was largest empire of the ancient world, if not the largest in human history.
By 554 BC. Cyrus crushed all his rivals and became sole ruler of Persia. All that remained was to conquer the whole world.
But first of all, it befits a great emperor to have a brilliant capital. In 550 BC. Cyrus embarks on a project the likes of which the Ancient World has never known: builds the first capital of the Persian Empire in what is now Iran.
Cyrus was innovative builder and very talented. In his projects, he skillfully applied the experience accumulated during his campaigns of conquest.
Like the later Romans, Persians borrowed ideas from conquered peoples and based on them they created their own new technologies. In Pasargadae we find motifs inherent in the cultures of, and.
Stonemasons, carpenters, brick and relief craftsmen were brought to the capital from all over the empire. Today, two and a half thousand years later, ancient ruins are all that remains of Persia's first magnificent capital.
The two palaces in the center of Pasargadae were surrounded by flowering gardens and extensive regular parks. This is where they arose "paradisias"– parks with a rectangular layout. In the gardens, canals with a total length of a thousand meters were laid, lined with stone. There were swimming pools every fifteen meters. For two thousand years, the best parks in the world were created on the model of the “paradises” of Pasargadae.
In Pasargadae, for the first time, parks appeared with geometrically regular rectangular areas, with flowers, cypress trees, meadow grasses and other vegetation, as in current parks.
While Pasargadae was being built, Cyrus annexed one kingdom after another. But Cyrus was not like other kings: he did not turn the vanquished into slavery. By the standards of the Ancient World, this is unheard of.
He recognized the right of the vanquished to have their own faith and did not interfere with their religious rites.
In 539 BC Cyrus took Babylon, but not as an invader, but as a liberator who rescued the people from under the yoke of a tyrant. He did the unheard of - he freed the Jews from captivity, in which they had been since he destroyed. Cyrus freed them. In today's parlance, Cyrus needed a buffer state between his empire and his enemy, Egypt. So what? The main thing is that no one had done anything like this before him, and very few since. It’s not for nothing that in the Bible he is the only non-Jew called Moshiach - .
As one eminent Oxford scholar said: “The press spoke well of Cyrus.”
But, not having time to turn Persia into the only superpower of the Ancient world, in 530 BC Cyrus the Great dies in battle.
He lived too little and did not have time to prove himself in peaceful conditions. The same thing happened with, he also defeated his enemies, but was also killed before he could consolidate the empire.
By the time of the death of Cyrus, Persia had three capitals:, and. But He was buried in Pasargadae, in a tomb befitting his character.
Cyrus did not pursue honors, he neglected them. His tomb does not have elaborate decorations: it is very simple, but elegant.
The tomb of Cyrus was built using the same technology that was used in the West. Using ropes and embankments, hewn blocks of stone were stacked one on top of the other. Its height is 11 meters.
- a very simple, deliberately modest monument to the creator of the largest empire of its time. It is perfectly preserved, considering that it was built 25 centuries ago.
Persepolis - a monument to the greatness and glory of Persia
For three decades, no one and nothing could resist Cyrus the Great. When the throne was empty, the power vacuum plunged the Ancient World into chaos.
In 530 BC, Cyrus the Great, the architect of the greatest empire of the Ancient World, dies. The future of Persia is shrouded in darkness. A fierce struggle begins between the contenders.
In the end, comes to power distant relative of Cyrus, an outstanding commander. He restores law and order in the Persian Empire with an iron fist. His name is . He will become the greatest king of Persia and one of the greatest builders of all time.
He immediately gets down to business and rebuilds the old capital of Susa. Builds palaces lined with glazed tiles. The splendor of Susa is even mentioned in the Bible.
But the new king needed a new official capital. 518 BC Darius begins to implement the most ambitious project of the Ancient World. Not far from the present one he is building, which in Greek means "City of the Persians". All palaces are built on a single stone platform to emphasize the inviolability of the empire.
A gigantic area of one hundred and twenty-five thousand square meters. He had to change the terrain: tear down elevations and erect retaining walls. He wanted the city to be visible from afar, so he placed it on a platform. It gave the city a unique, majestic appearance.
Persepolis – unique engineering structure with walls 18 meters long and 10 meters thick and halls with fancy columns.
Workers were brought from all corners of the empire. Most ancient empires were built on slave labor, but Darius, like Cyrus, preferred to pay those who built the palaces.
Workers set production standards, women also worked here. The norm was set depending on strength and qualifications, and they were paid accordingly.
He spent not in vain: Persepolis became monument to the greatness and glory of Persia.
We must not forget about the origin of the Persians: their ancestors were nomads and lived in tents. When leaving the parking lot, they took the tents with them. Tents have firmly become a tradition.
The palaces of Persepolis are tents clad in stone. Abadan- this is nothing more than a stone tent. Abadana is the name given to the front hall of Darius.
The monumental stone columns are inspired by the memory of wooden poles that supported the canvas roofing of the tents. But here, instead of canvas, we see exquisite cedar. The nomadic past influenced the architecture of the Persians, but not only it.
The palaces were decorated with gold and silver, carpets and glazed tiles. The walls were covered with reliefs, on them we see peaceful processions of conquered countries.
But the engineering structures of Persepolis were not limited to the city limits. It contained water supply and sewerage system, the first in the ancient world.
Darius' engineers started by creating drainage system, laid the sewer pipes and only then built the platform. Clean water came through the ropes, and waste water left through the sewer. The entire system was underground and not visible from the outside.
"Royal Way" and Darius Canal
The implementation of grandiose projects for the glory of the empire did not prevent Darius from expanding its borders. Under Darius, the Persian Empire reached mind-boggling proportions: Iran and Pakistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Central Asia all the way to India.
Two projects of Darius made the empire unified: one, two and a half thousand kilometers long, connected remote provinces, the second - the Red Sea with the Mediterranean.
Under Darius the Great Persian the empire reached enormous proportions. He decided to strengthen its unity by connecting distant provinces with each other.
515 BC Darius orders to build a road which will pass across the empire from Egypt to India. The road, two and a half thousand kilometers long, was named.
An outstanding piece of engineering, the road through mountains, forests and deserts was built to last. They didn’t have asphalt, but they knew how to compact gravel and crushed stone.
Hard surfaces are especially important where groundwater is not deep. To prevent feet from slipping and carts from getting stuck in the mud, the road was laid along an embankment.
First, a “cushion” was laid, which either absorbed or drained groundwater away from the road.
On the “Royal Route” there were 111 outposts every 30 kilometers, where travelers could rest and change horses. The entire length of the road was guarded.
But that is not all. Darius needed to control such a remote territory as northern Africa, so he decided to pave the way there too. Its engineers developed the project channel between the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
The builders of Darius, experts in hydrology, first dug a canal using tools made of bronze and iron, then cleared it of sand and lined it with stone. The way was open for the ships.
The construction of the canal lasted 7 years, and it was built mainly by Egyptian diggers and masons.
In some places, the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea was, in fact, not a waterway, but a paved road: ships were dragged across the hills, and when the terrain became lower, they were launched again.
The words of Darius are known: “I, Darius, King of Kings, conqueror of Egypt, built this canal.” He connected the Red Sea to the Nile and proudly declared: “Ships went along my channel.”
By the beginning of the fifth century BC, Persia had become the greatest empire in history. Its grandeur surpassed that of Rome in its heyday four centuries later.. Persia was invincible, its expansion caused alarm among a young culture that had entered a phase of expansion - the Greek city-states.
Black Sea. The strait is a narrow strip of water that connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean. On one side of the coast is Asia, and on the other is Europe. In 494 BC. An uprising broke out on the Turkish coast. The rebels were supported by Athens, and Darius decided to teach them a lesson - to go to war against them. But how? Athens across the sea...
He's building across the strait pontoon bridge. writes that 70 thousand soldiers entered Greece over this bridge. Fantastic!
Persian engineers placed many boats side by side across the Bosphorus, they became the basis of the bridge. And then they laid a road on top and connected Asia with Europe.
Probably, for reliability, a layer of compacted earth and even, possibly, logs was laid under the plank flooring. To prevent the boats from rocking on the waves and being carried away, they held by anchors strictly defined weight.
The flooring was solid, otherwise it would not have withstood the weight of many warriors and the blows of the waves. An amazing structure for an era when there were no computers!
Darius the Great
In August 490 BC. Darius captured Macedonia and walked up to Marathon, where he was met by the united army and under the command.
The Persian army numbered 60, 140 or 250 thousand people - depending on who you believe. In any case, there were 10 times fewer Greeks, they needed reinforcements.
The legendary messenger ran the distance from Marathon to in 2 days. Have you heard about?
The two armies stood face to face on a wide plain. In an open battle, the outnumbered Persians would simply crush the Greeks. This was the beginning of the Persian wars.
Part of the Greek troops launched an attack on the Persians; it was not difficult for the Persians to defeat them. But the main army of the Greeks was divided into two detachments: they attacked the Persians from the flanks.
The Persians fell into a meat grinder. After suffering heavy losses, they retreated. For the Greeks this was a great victory, for the Persians it was just an unfortunate bump in the road to world domination.
Darius decided to return home to his beloved capital Persepolis, but never returned: in 486 BC. on the march to Egypt Darius dies.
He left behind an empire that redefined what glory and greatness were. He prevented chaos by naming a successor in advance - his son.
Xerxes - the last of the Achaemenid dynasty
To stand on par with the innovator Cyrus and the expansionist Darius is no easy task. But Xerxes had a remarkable quality: he knew how to wait. He suppressed one uprising in Babylon, another in Egypt, and only then went to Greece. The Greeks were a bone in his throat.
Some historians say that he launched a preemptive strike, others that he wanted to complete the work begun by his father. Be that as it may, after Battle of Marathon The Greeks no longer feared the Persians. Therefore, I enlisted support, this is in the current situation, and decided attack the Greeks from the sea.
480 BC. The Persian Empire is at the peak of its glory, it is huge, strong and incredibly rich. Ten years have passed since the Greeks defeated Darius the Great at Marathon. Power is in the hands of Darius’ son, Xerxes, the last great monarch of the Achaemenid dynasty.
Xerxes wants revenge. Greece is becoming a serious opponent. The union of city-states is fragile: they are too different - from democracy to tyranny. But they have one thing in common - hatred of Persia. The ancient world is on the verge Second Persian War. Its outcome will lay the foundation of the modern world.
The Greeks traditionally called everyone except themselves barbarians. The rivalry between East and West began with the confrontation between Persia and Greece.
In the Persian invasion of Greece, more than ever before in military history, it was used to solve a strategic problem. engineering. The operation, which combined land and sea operations, required new engineering solutions.
Xerxes decided to enter Greece along the isthmus near Mt. Athos. But the sea was too stormy, and Xerxes ordered build a canal across the isthmus. Thanks to considerable experience and labor reserves, the canal was built in just 6 months.
To this day, their decision remains in military history. one of the most outstanding engineering projects. Taking advantage of his father’s experience, Xerxes ordered to build pontoon bridge through the Hellespont. This engineering project was much larger than the bridge built by Darius on the Bosphorus.
674 ships were used as pontoons. How to ensure the reliability of the design? A challenging engineering challenge! The Bosphorus is not a quiet harbor; the waves there can be quite strong.
The ships were held in place using a special system of ropes. The two longest cables stretched from Europe to Asia itself. At the same time, we must not forget that many soldiers, perhaps up to 240 thousand, had to cross the bridge.
The ropes made the structure quite flexible, which is necessary during waves. Each section of the bridge consisted of two ships connected by a platform. Such a bridge held the shock of waves and absorbed their energy.
Persian engineers connected the ships with a platform, and the road itself was laid on top of it. Gradually, plank by plank, a reliable road grew across the Hellespont on supports made of warships.
We should not forget that the road supported the weight of not only foot soldiers, but also tens of thousands of horsemen, including heavy cavalry. The reliability of the floating structure allowed Xerxes to transfer troops to Europe and back as needed: the bridge was not dismantled.
For some time, Europe and Asia were one.
After 10 days the bridge was ready. Xerxes entered Europe. A huge number of foot soldiers and heavy cavalry passed across the bridge. It withstood not only the weight of the army, but also the pressure of the waves of the Bosphorus.
Xerxes' plan was simple: use numerical superiority on land and at sea.
And again the army of the Greeks headed by Themistocles. He understood that he could not defeat the Persians on land, and he decided lure the Persian fleet into a trap.
Secretly from the Persians, Themistocles withdrew the main forces, leaving a detachment of 6 thousand Spartans for cover.
In August 480 BC. the opponents converged in a space so narrow that two chariots could not pass each other in it.
A huge Persian army was stuck in the gorge for several days, which is what the Greeks were counting on. They outwitted Xerxes like his father before.
At the cost of huge losses, the Persians broke through Thermopylae, destroying the Spartans whom Themistocles sacrificed, and let's go to Athens.
But when Xerxes entered Athens, the city was empty. Xerxes realized that he had been deceived and decided to take revenge on the Athenians.
For centuries, mercy to the vanquished was the hallmark of Persian kings. But not this time: it’s not at all Persian burned Athens to the ground. And right there repented.
The next day he ordered Athens to be rebuilt. But it’s too late: what’s done is done. Two centuries later, his anger brought disaster to Persia itself.
But the war was not over. Themistocles prepared a new trap for the Persians: he lured the Persian fleet into a narrow bay near and suddenly attacked the Persians.
Numerous Persian ships interfered with each other and could not maneuver. The heavy Greeks rammed the light Persians one after another.
This the battle decided the outcome of the war: defeated Xerxes retreated. From now on, the Persian Empire was no longer invincible.
He decided revive the "golden days" of Persia. He returned to the project started by his grandfather, Darius. Four decades after its founding, Persepolis was still unfinished. Artaxerxes personally oversaw the construction of the last great engineering project of the Persian Empire. Today we call it "Hall of a Hundred Columns".
The hall, measuring sixty by sixty meters, represented in plan almost perfect square. The most amazing thing about the columns of Persepolis is that if you mentally continue them upward, they will go tens and hundreds of meters into the sky. They are perfect, not the slightest deviation from the vertical. And they had only primitive tools at their disposal: stone hammers and bronze chisels. That's all! Meanwhile the columns of Persepolis are perfect. Real masters of their craft worked on them. Each column consists of seven to eight drums stacked one on top of the other. Scaffolding was erected near the column, and the drums were lifted using a wooden crane like a well crane.”
Any satrap, any ambassador of a given country, and indeed any person came to admiration at the sight of a forest of columns stretching into the distance as far as the eye could see.”
Engineering structures that were unheard of by the standards of the Ancient World were built throughout all empires.
In 353 BC. The wife of the ruler of one of the provinces began building a tomb for her dying husband. Her creation became not only a miracle of engineering, but also one of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. , mausoleum.
The height of the majestic marble structure exceeded 40 meters. Stairs rose along the pyramidal roof - steps “to heaven”.
Two and a half thousand years later, a mausoleum was built on the model of this mausoleum in New York.
Fall of the Persian Empire
By the 4th century BC. The Persians remained the best engineers in the world. But the foundation under the ideal columns and luxurious palaces began to shake: the enemies of the empire were at the doorstep.
Athens supports uprising in Egypt. Greeks are included in Memphis. Artaxerxes starts the war, throws the Greeks out of Memphis and restores Persian rule in Egypt.
It was last major victory of the Persian Empire. In 424 BC Artaxerxes dies. Anarchy in the country has continued for no less than eight decades.
While Persia is busy with intrigue and civil strife, the young king of Macedonia studies Herodotus and the chronicles of the reign of the hero of Persia - Cyrus the Great. Even then it begins to dawn on him dream of conquering the whole world. His name is .
In 336 BC, a distant relative of Artaxerxes comes to power and takes the royal name. He will be called the King Who Lost the Empire.
Over the next four years, Alexander and Darius the Third met more than once in fierce battles. Darius's troops retreated step by step.
In 330 BC, Alexander approached the jewel in the imperial crown of Persia - Persepolis.
Alexander received from the Persians policy of mercy to the vanquished: He forbade his soldiers to plunder conquered countries. But how to keep them after defeating the greatest empire in the world? Maybe they got too excited, maybe they showed disobedience, or maybe they remembered how the Persians burned Athens?
Be that as it may, in Persepolis they behaved differently: they celebrated the victory, and what is a holiday without robbery?
The celebrations ended with the most famous arson in history: Persepolis was burned.
Alexander was not a destroyer. Perhaps the burning of Persepolis was a symbolic act: he burned the city as a symbol, and not for the sake of destruction itself.
The houses had a lot of draperies and carpets; the fire could have started accidentally. Why would a man who declared himself an Achaemenid burn Persepolis? There were no fire engines at that time, the fire quickly spread throughout the city and it was impossible to extinguish it.
Darius the Third managed to escape, but in the summer of 330 BC he was killed by one from the allies. The Achaemenid dynasty ended.
Alexander gave Darius the Third a magnificent funeral and later married his daughter.
Alexander proclaimed himself an Achaemenid- the king of the Persians and wrote the last chapter in the history of a gigantic empire that lasted 2,700 years.
Alexander found the murderers of Darius and delivered him from death with his own hand. He believed that only the king has the right to kill the king. But would he have killed Darius? Maybe not, because Alexander did not create an empire, but captured one that already existed. And Cyrus the Great created it.
Alexander could make his own an empire that existed long before his birth. And after his death, the cultural and engineering achievements of Persia would become the property of all mankind.
