Egyptian History - The Persian Empire

Egyptian History - Part 1 - The Persian Empire

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The Persian Empire or "The Achaemenid Empire"

The year 525 was when Cyrus II, the Persian emperor, defeated the last pharaoh, conquered Egypt.

The Persians, originally is Iran, were united by Cyrus, a powerful king, in the middle of the sixth century B.C.E.

He and his sons conquered a huge empire, extending from the Indus River in what is now Pakistan across to North Africa and southeastern Europe.

Different Cultures: 

• Under Cyrus the Great, the Persians allowed the peoples they conquered to continue their lives and cultures. They could keep their customs and religion as long as they paid their taxes and obeyed the Persian rulers. This was different from how earlier conquerors such as the Assyrians had ruled.

Government: 

• In order to maintain control of the large empire, each area had a ruler called a satrap. The satrap was like a governor of the area. He enforced the king's laws and taxes. There were around 20 to 30 satraps in the empire. 

• The empire was connected by many roads and a postal system. The most famous road was the Royal Road built by King Darius the Great. This road stretched around 1,700 miles.

Religion:

Although each culture was allowed to keep their own religion, the Persians followed the teaching of the prophet Zoroaster. This religion was called Zoroastrianism and believed in one main god called Ahura Mazda.

Fighting the Greeks

• Under King Darius the Persians wanted to conquer the Greeks who he felt were causing rebellions within his empire. In 490 BC Darius attacked Greece. He captured some Greek city-states, but when he attempted to take the city of Athens, he was soundly defeated by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon.

• In 480 BC Darius' son, Xerxes I, attempted to finish what his father started and conquer all of Greece. He gathered a great army of hundreds of thousands of warriors. This was one of the largest armies assembled during ancient times. He initially won the Battle of Thermopylae against a much smaller army from Sparta. However, the Greek fleet defeated his navy at the Battle of Salamis and he was eventually forced to retreat.

Fall of the Persian Empire

The Persian Empire was conquered by the Greeks led by Alexander the Great. Starting in the year 334 BC, Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire from Egypt all the way to the borders of India.

Multiple Choice

1- What is another name for the First Persian Empire?

• The Macedonian Empire

• The Achaemenid Empire

• The Babylonian Empire

• The Assyrian Empire

Multiple Choice

2- Who was the king who first formed the Persian Empire?

• Xerxes

• Darius I

• Cyrus the Great

• Artaxerxes

Multiple Choice

3. What was unique about the rule of the Persians under Cyrus the Great?

• He forced all peoples to believe in his religion

• He allowed people to keep their local customs and religions

• He moved peoples to new lands so they could not rebel as easy

• All of the above

Multiple Choice

4. What was the name of the Persian ruler of each province or state?

• Governor

• Satrap

• Baron

• Lord

Multiple Choice

5- What religion did the Persians follow?

• Zoroastrianism

• Judaism

• Greek Mythology

• Same as the Babylonians

Multiple Choice

6. About how long was the Royal Road built by King Darius?

• 5 miles

• 100 miles

• 1,700 miles

• 700 miles

Multiple Choice

7- Who defeated King Darius at the Battle of Marathon?

• The Babylonians

• The Assyrians

• The Egyptians

• The Greeks

Multiple Choice

8- What ruler conquered the Persian Empire?

• Julius Caesar

• Sargon the Great

• Alexander the Great

• Philip of Macedonia