Modern Iran
When last we left Elam, the Babylonians and the Medes of Media, had destroyed the Assyrian Empire.
Media - the kingdom of the Medes, was however, soon overthrown by the rise of the Persians, they were lead by their king "Cyrus II" (Cyrus the Great), of Persia. While the Medes had been busy with the Assyrians, Cyrus had managed to unite under his authority several Persian and Elamite tribes who were not under Median control.
Eventually, he openly rebelled against the Medes, who he then bested in battle. In these battles, considerable numbers of Median troops deserted to the Persian side. Thus in 550 B.C, the Median Empire became a part of the first Persian Empire. The Achaemenian kings must have appeared on the international scene, with a suddenness that frightened many.
The religion of the Persians was Zoroastrianism, and their name for their god was "Ahura Mazda". The symbol for their religion - Not their God - was the "Faravahar". The Persians were devoutly religious and had many strict rules and prohibitions. Of particular distaste to the Persians, was the lie. The Achaemenian kings, did not discriminate against other religions, and did not seek to force others to their faith. Many aspects of Zoroastrianism were later incorporated into the Hebrew religion.
In his mind, Cyrus saw the world as being full of evil and disorder, and felt it was incumbent upon him, to bring order to the world. And in his thinking, the only way to do that, was to conquer it!
Cyrus then went about conquering every land that he could find, and then finally, he turned on Babylon. As you will recall from the Sumer section: the Marduk Priesthood in Babylon had already set the stage. The fall of Babylon came about almost as an anticlimax. The fall of the greatest city in the Middle East was swift; Cyrus marched in - this was late in the summer of 539 B.C, and seized the hands of the statue of the god Marduk, this as a signal of his willingness to rule as a Babylonian, and not as a foreign conqueror. With this, he was thus hailed as the legitimate successor to the throne. In this one stride, Cyrus carried Persian power to the borders of Egypt, for with Babylon, came all that it had previously seized from the Assyrians, and also, that which it had later gained on it's own.
By the order of Cyrus, all the captive nationalities that had been held for generations in Babylon were freed, and their return to their homelands was financed by him. Among the liberated captives were 50,000 Hebrews held in Babylon for three generations. Their instruction was to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple. This is a policy that was also followed by Cyrus's successors. Some of the liberated Hebrews were invited to, and did settle in Persia.
Because of such a generous act, Cyrus has been anointed in the Bible. He is the only gentile in the Bible who has been titled Messiah. And he is mentioned explicitly as the Lord's shepherd and his anointed (Messiah). Other references to Cyrus are attested to in Isaiah 45:4, where Cyrus is called by name and given a title of honor; he is also called to rebuild God's city and free His people in (Is. 45:13), and he is chosen, called, and brought through successful by God in (Is. 48:14-15).
Upon the death of Cyrus the Great, the Empire passed to his son Cambyses II (reigned 529–522 B.C). At this time, there may have been some degree of unrest throughout the empire, for with Cyrus's death, Cambyses apparently felt it necessary to secretly kill his brother, Bardiya (Smerdis). The campaign against Egypt began in 525 B.C.
The Egyptian pharaoh, Ahmose II of the 26th dynasty, sought to shore up his defenses against the Persians by hiring Greek mercenaries, but he was betrayed by the Greeks. Cambyses successfully managed to cross the hostile Sinai Desert, traditionally Egypt's first and strongest line of defense, and engaged the Egyptians forces under the command of Psamtik III in a battle at Pelusium. The Egyptians lost and were forced to retire to Memphis, which subsequently fell to the Persians, as did all of Egypt later.
Within little more than a Century after the Assyrian Ashurbanipal's salt sowing, the great Elamite city of Susa was rebuilt by Darius I, the successor to Cambyses II, at around 518 B.C. Darius took care to record that he had adorned the city with gold from Sardis and Bactria, ivory from Egypt and Ethiopia, and cedar wood from Lebanon. This was afforded by the tribute that came to him from controlling two million square miles of territory, stretching from Egypt and the Aegean sea, well into India, and from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian and Black Seas.
Susa once more became the glowing city - as described in the Bible - with monumental buildings furnished with "Marble pillars, couches of gold and silver, on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother of pearl and precious stones". Thus restored, Susa lasted for another 1,700 years, and than sadly, was destroyed by the Mongol invaders in about 1200 A.D. It was never again rebuilt.
By now, the Persians had acquired the greatest Empire yet known to man. But fatigue is starting to settle in, the drain of constant war, and the consequent palace intrigues, have left Persia very fragile. By now the Empire extends north to southern Europe, and here many battles are fought to secure and expand their territory. And it is here, that they encounter the Macedonian king, Alexander.
In May 334 B.C, the Persians are defeated at the Battle of Granicus by Alexander. This victory exposes to Alexander the Persian weakness. He later undertakes a full scale invasion of Persia. By now Persia is weak, even though the Persians field a large army - it is made up mostly of mercenaries. The Persian capital Persepolis falls to the invaders in April 330 B.C, and Darius III, the last Achaemenid king, is murdered in the summer of that same year while fleeing the conquerors. With the annexation of the Persian Empire, the Greeks now establish the greatest Empire known to man.
Here is how Herodotus describes some of the participants in the great battles, he tells us: The Eastern Ethiopians (Dravidians), for two nations of this name served in the army - were marshaled with the Indians. They differed in nothing from the other Ethiopians, save in their language, and the character of their hair. For the Eastern Ethiopians have straight hair, while they of Libya are more woolly-haired than any other people in the world.
Ethiopians - Greek word meaning: "burnt face" their term for all Blacks, usually denoting Blacks not of Egypt. The Greeks were too awed by Egyptians to use that term for them.
Libyans - Greek term usually denoting all of Africa except Egypt.
A curiosity: His differentiation of Indians, suggests that at this time, there is still a clear differentiation in India, between the native population and the Arian newcomers - apparently melding has not taken place yet. [The word India/Indian - derives from the Arian god "Indra"].
With Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire, which included Mesopotamia, Egypt, and all other nations under Persian control. Greeks and other Europeans from all walks of life, were encouraged to migrate to the middle East and North Africa.
It was apparently Alexander's desire for Greeks and Persians to share one Empire. To promote harmony between his people and the Persians, he ordered eighty of his most important men, to marry highborn Persian women, in traditional Persian wedding ceremonies. He himself, married King Darius's daughter, who was named either Barsine or Stateira. His best friend Hephaestion, married Barsine's sister Drypetis. Alexander also began promoting Persians to high-ranking positions in his army, saying that Persians and Macedonians should share the empire. His efforts to create unity failed however; even the marriages between his men and the Persians mostly broke up after his death.
See: Additional Material Menu - for Persepolis, Apadana, and pictures of the people of the Persian Empire.
The Persian Kings were..
Achaemenes
Teispes
Cyrus I
Cambyses I
Cyrus II (The Great)
Cambyses II
Darius I
Xerxes I
Artaxerxes I
Xerxes II
Darius II
Artaxerxes II
Artaxerxes III
Arses
Darius III
Please visit the "Additional Material Area" for many more photographs of each civilization, and related material <Click> |
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