Persian <br> Empire

At the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC two Indo-European tribes, the Medes and the Persians, settled in the fertile lands of the Iranian plateau. The Medes settled in the north and the Persians in the south, their main occupation was land cultivation and livestock farming. Initially, they were dependent and periodically subordinate to the Mesopotamian peoples until the Medes became independent and created a state in which they also incorporated the Persians. The Medes allied with the Babylonians, and in 612 BC they captured Nineveh, ending the Assyrian domination and expanding their state to Asia Minor. In 559 BC, Cyrus B was in the power of Persia, and he mobilized his people to rebel against Medes. He captured the capital o Medes, Descarteana, and then subjugated the Lydians, Babylonians, Syrians, and most of the Ionic cities, managing to expand the Persian state east to Egypt and west to India.

The Persian Empire was the first in which the conquered peoples were treated with tolerance as long as they paid taxes and offered the gifts the king demanded. The system of governance was the absolute monarchy. The king was of divine origin and his will was the law. The vast empire was divided into 20 provinces, the satrapies. Commander of each satrapy was a noble Persian or a local ruler who was responsible for the defense of his area, compelled to collect and send the prescribed tax and to supply the Grand King with an army or fleet.. For the supervision of administration and the control of satrapies there were administrative officers who traveled all over the state and briefed the king. In order to facilitate people, goods and especially the army and the royal postmen, roads and stations were constructed and many public works were carried out. A typical example is the 2,400-kilometer royal road linking the new capital Sousa with Sardis and Ephesus in Asia Minor. Throughout the country large palatial centers gave the image of wealth and grandeur.
In terms of scripture, they simplified the Assyrian cuneiform writing and used it mainly for decrees of the Great King, which translated into all the languages of the peoples of the empire. The Persian empire had the best organization until then, although it had many vulnerabilities due to its vast expanse and its multi-ethnicity. Revolutions in remote areas weren’t rate, as well with conflicts between satrapies. The expeditionary policy of Darius and his successors led to the Greek Persian Wars, 492-479 BC, and to the beginning of the fall of the Empire that came with its capture and dissolution by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C.

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