The Persian Empire Explained in 9 Minutes
Summary
TLDRThis video challenges the Eurocentric narrative that history is written by the victors, highlighting the progressive nature of the Persian Empire. It emphasizes Cyrus the Great's policies of religious tolerance and the empire's contributions to trade, culture, and human rights. The script also discusses the decline of the empire due to costly wars and its lasting influence on subsequent civilizations, including the Islamic Golden Age, urging a broader view of history that acknowledges Persia's significant role in human progress.
Takeaways
- 📜 The Persian Empire was not just defeated by the Greeks but was also a highly civilized society, possibly more so than the Greeks by modern standards.
- 🏺 Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, was known for his light touch in governance, promoting religious tolerance and mercy.
- 🌐 The empire Cyrus founded was vast, stretching from the Balkans to India's Indus Valley and into Africa's Nile valley.
- 🔄 Cyrus introduced a new way of managing an empire by adopting the best elements of conquered territories without imposing Persian culture.
- 🕍 The Cyrus Cylinder is an artifact that symbolizes Cyrus's beliefs in overthrowing tyranny and is considered the first charter of human rights by the UN.
- 🌟 Darius the Great expanded the empire and introduced standardization in currency, weights, measurements, and language.
- 🛣️ Darius also built roads and transport networks that facilitated trade and commerce, creating wealthy merchants.
- 🙏 Zoroastrianism, the Persian monotheistic religion, forbade slavery and influenced the empire's moral and cultural norms.
- 👩💼 Women in Persian society had more liberty than Greek women, being able to own property and hold high positions.
- 🎨 The Achaemenid Empire was a period of cultural excellence, with Persians excelling in rock carving, metalwork, and carpet-weaving.
- 📉 The decline of the Persian Empire began with costly wars, including a failed invasion of Greece under Xerxes I and subsequent financial struggles.
- 🏰 The legacy of the Persian Empire persisted through later dynasties and influenced Islamic Golden Age and modern-day Iran.
Q & A
What is the common adage about history mentioned in the script?
-The common adage mentioned is 'history is written by the victors'.
How did the Persian Empire contribute to the Greek golden age?
-The script suggests that the defeat of the totalitarian Persian Empire by the democratic Greeks led to a Greek golden age, which is considered the dawning of governing principles of Western civilization.
What is the distortion in the narrative of the Persian Empire according to the script?
-The distortion lies in the portrayal of the Persians as uncivilized, when in fact they were civilized, promoting religious tolerance, mercy, and had innovations in commerce and public works.
Who was Cyrus the Great and what was his approach to leadership?
-Cyrus the Great was the founder of the first stage of the Persian Empire, known as the Achaemenid Empire. His leadership approach was characterized by not imposing cultural hegemony, promoting religious tolerance, and mercy.
What is the significance of the 'Cyrus Cylinder'?
-The 'Cyrus Cylinder' is an artifact inscribed with Cyrus the Great's beliefs of overthrowing tyranny, and is described by the UN as the 'first charter of human rights.'
What was Darius the Great's contribution to the Persian Empire?
-Darius the Great contributed to the empire by introducing standardized currency, weight, and measurement systems, and by building roads and transport networks that allowed trade and commerce to flourish.
How did the Persian Empire's approach to conquered territories differ from the Greek society's?
-The Persian Empire adopted the best elements of conquered territories and did not impose Persian culture, whereas Greek society was based on slavery.
What was the religion practiced by the Persians and how did it influence society?
-The Persians practiced Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic religion that introduced the concept of good vs evil and forbade slavery.
How did women's rights in Persian society compare to those in Greek society?
-Women in Persian society had more liberty than their Greek counterparts, being able to manage businesses, hold high positions, and own property.
What was the impact of the Persian Empire's culture on subsequent empires?
-The Persian Empire provided a blueprint for a well-managed land-based empire, influencing many subsequent emperors around the world.
What factors led to the decline of the Achaemenid Empire?
-The decline was triggered by a failed invasion of Greece under Xerxes I, followed by an expensive defense of Persia's lands, leading to financial strain and heavier taxes.
Outlines
🌍 The Distorted Narrative of Persian and Greek Civilizations
This paragraph challenges the common narrative that Greek civilization was more advanced than Persian due to their victory in wars. It highlights the Persian Empire's contributions to civilization, including commerce, public works, and religious tolerance under leaders like Cyrus the Great. Cyrus's approach to empire management through diplomacy and cultural exchange is emphasized, as well as his act of freeing Jewish slaves and funding their return to Jerusalem. The paragraph suggests that Greek historian Herodotus's potentially biased writings have shaped many assumptions about the Persians.
🏺 The Cultural and Social Progress of the Achaemenid Empire
Paragraph 2 delves into the cultural and social aspects of the Achaemenid Empire, showcasing the Persians' artistic achievements in rock carving, metalwork, and carpet weaving. It discusses the empire's influence on subsequent rulers and the decline caused by costly wars and heavy taxation under Xerxes I. The paragraph also touches on the empire's fall to Alexander the Great and the enduring cultural legacy of Persia, including its influence on the Islamic Golden Age and modern-day Iran. It concludes by urging a broader recognition of Persia's contributions to human progress beyond the Eurocentric focus on Greco-Roman history.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Persian Empire
💡Cyrus the Great
💡Darius the Great
💡Zoroastrianism
💡Cultural Hegemony
💡Herodotus
💡Xerxes I
💡Alexander the Great
💡Golden Age
💡Eurocentric
💡Cultural Persistence
Highlights
The Greek victory over the Persian Empire is often credited with ushering in a golden age of Greek civilization.
The Persian Empire was itself highly civilized, with a focus on religious tolerance and mercy.
Cyrus the Great promoted a policy of non-imposition of cultural hegemony and religious tolerance.
The Persian Empire innovated in commerce and trading networks, and funded public works.
Greek society was based on slavery, while Persian emperors did not believe in enslaving their populations.
Cyrus the Great's approach to empire management was through diplomacy and cultural exchange.
Cyrus is known for freeing Jewish slaves and funding their return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple.
The Cyrus Cylinder is considered by the UN as the 'first charter of human rights'.
Darius the Great expanded the empire and introduced standardized systems of currency and measurement.
The Persian Empire facilitated trade and commerce through extensive road and transport networks.
Persian society practiced Zoroastrianism, which forbade slavery.
Women in Persian society had more liberty and could own property and hold high positions.
The Achaemenid Empire saw cultural advancements in art, metalwork, and architecture.
The decline of the Persian Empire began with costly wars and heavy taxation under Xerxes I.
The Achaemenid Empire fell to Alexander the Great in 330 BC.
Later Islamic invaders were influenced by Persian culture, leading to another Golden Age.
The Persian Empire's culture and mentality persisted and influenced many nations.
The idea that Greek culture formed the basis of western civilization is not wholly supported by history.
The lasting impact of Persian-influenced middle-eastern civilizations should not be underestimated.
The story of progress is not just a Eurocentric tale based on the ancient Greco-Roman world.
Transcripts
This video is brought to you by Captivating History.
Have you ever heard the commonly used adage that history is written by the victors?
Well, the totalitarian Persian Empire was defeated by the democratic Greeks, bringing
about a Greek golden age, and with it what many consider to be the dawning of the governing
principles of western civilisation. With essential contributions to our lives, including democracy,
mathematics, philosophy, art, and literature, the Greeks can indeed claim to have made positive
innovations to the progress of humanity. However, the framing of this narrative distorts the truth.
The Persians were, in fact, civilised themselves - perhaps even more so than
the Greeks by modern standards. In Cyrus the Great, we have a leader with a light touch,
who didn’t impose cultural hegemony over conquered lands, promoting
religious tolerance and mercy instead. We see innovations in commerce and trading networks,
and funding of public works to improve the lives of citizens. The Greek society was
based on slavery, yet Persian emperors did not believe in enslaving their populations.
Studying history is always about shifting perspectives to get a better understanding.
Many assumptions about the Persians came from the writings of the Greek historian, Herodotus,
the father of history. Any amateur history student can see the potential for bias in this situation.
With this in mind, let’s dive a little deeper into the Persian Empire, and see if we can
begin to shift the perspective a little. First, let’s have a look at its origins. The
Persian Empire refers to a series of dynasties based in modern-day Iran and spanning several
centuries, beginning in the 6th-century B.C.E. It had a relatively humble foundation with
several semi-nomadic tribes engaged in sheep and goat-farming across the Iranian plateau.
From these simple beginnings, there emerged a leader that began to conquer surrounding tribes:
Cyrus the Great, founder of this first stage of the Persian Empire, sometimes called the
Achaemenid Empire. Amazingly, this empire would become vast, a sprawling area stretching from
the Balkans in the West to India’s Indus Valley in the East and going into the Nile valley in Africa.
We all know that vast empires can prove difficult to reign over;
history provides us with an abundance of stories where mismanagement led to ruin.
Cyrus realised that the key to peace was calm diplomacy as opposed to oppression. He created
a new way of managing an empire, where the best elements of conquered territories were adopted
elsewhere – an exchange that served to build new and better cultures There was no need to impose
Persian culture on politically submissive territories. The most famous example of his
mercy is in the freeing of the Jewish slaves of Babylon once that empire fell to Cyrus. He
not only released them, but he then funded their passage home to Jerusalem and helped them rebuild
their temple. Cyrus is immortalised in the ‘Cyrus Cylinder’, an artifact inscribed with his beliefs
of overthrowing tyranny. The UN describes this as the “first charter of human rights.”
The second prominent figure of the Achaemenid Empire was Darius the Great, distantly related
to Cyrus. Under Darius, the Persian Empire reached its heights in terms of the land he ruled.
Maintaining the growth prevailing during Cyrus’ reign, he sought to unify the empire through added
emphasis on standardization. Under Darius, the realm introduced standardized currency, weight,
and measurement systems – while Aramaic was championed as the official language. Additionally,
building roads and transport networks that allowed trade and commerce to flourish throughout
the empire helped create many wealthy merchants. What was life like for the average citizen under
the rule of these emperors? Undestandably, it’s difficult to paint a complete picture,
but there is a lot we know from various sources. We know that the Persians practised
a monotheistic religion – Zoroastrianism – though this was not the official religion of the state.
Named after the Persian prophet, Zoroaster, rulers followed those precepts, but did not
claim to be divinely selected. Zoroastrianism is possibly the first religion to introduce the
concept of a good vs evil struggle in life, and through this morality, slavery was forbidden.
Zoroastrianism is still practised today as a minority religion in parts of Iran and India.
Women in Persian society enjoyed much more liberty than their Greek counterparts.
In the ancient Greek world, women often needed an escort to leave their houses
and could not own property. Conversely, in Persian society, women could be managers,
gaining high positions in their professions, and often owned property; many owned large estates.
As for culture, we know that many artforms excelled during the Achaemenid Empire,
with many cultural norms being adapted from the acquisition of new lands.
We see from excavation sites (such as at the ancient capital, Persepolis),
that Persians were exceptionally gifted rock carvers and were capable of ornate relief designs.
In other archaeological sites, we have found evidence of skilled metalwork,
including silver trinkets, a golden chariot, and sophisticated carpet-weaving techniques.
This all points to a progressive society, seemingly fluid and willing to merge
culture with each new land acquisition. It’s often said that the Persian Empire provided
the perfect blueprint for a well-managed land-based empire – a blueprint that many
subsequent emperors around the world would follow. Yet, empires rise, and empires fall.
What brought about the decline of this first iteration of the Persian Empire?
As Twain said, “history doesn’t necessarily repeat, but it often rhymes,” and foten,
it’s a costly war that serves as the catalyst for decline. The Persian Empire met its match
with a failed invasion of Greece under the rule of Xerxes I in 480 B.C.E. Widely popular for the
miraculous defeat by 300 Spartans led by Leonidas at Thermopylae, this oft-dramatized story isn’t
always presented accurately. Actually, there were a lot more soldiers involved in this conflict,
including thousands of soldiers from other Greek-city states. Nevertheless, Herodotus was
correct in highlighting this defense – the Greeks were heavily outnumbered yet inflicted tremendous
casualties on Xerxes’ armies. Ultimately, the costly invasion of Greece failed for Xerxes,
followed by an expensive defense of Persia’s lands, diminishing the empire’s funds – which
Xerxes tried to replenish with heavier taxes. The final nail in the coffin came in 330 BC
as the Achaemenid Empire fell to Alexander the Great’s armies.
Many versions of of the Persian Empire history focuses on the Achaemenid era since this is where
it reached its heights. However, it is important to delve a little deeper into the subsequent
iterations to explain how later Islamic invaders were influenced by Persian culture. This led to
another Golden Age – the Islamic one. Historians often manufacture neatly-packaged eras and
foundation stories, so it’s essential to step back and understand that history is not so simple. Once
an empire is conquered, the culture and mentality of that empire do not simply dissipate. Mapping
the stories of later dynasties helps to build a picture of how the Persian culture persists to
this day across many nations in terms of language, art, architecture, cuisine, and much more.
Returning to the original premise that Greek culture formed the basis of western civilization,
we can now see that the idea is not wholly supported by history. In many ways, life was
actually much more stable and progressive in 5th century Persia. Over and above this observation,
the lasting impact of the Persian-influenced middle-eastern civilisations cannot be
underestimated. Right up into the modern-day scientific and technological innovations of Iran,
it’s essential that we recognize Persia’s contribution to human progress. The story
of progress is much than just a Eurocentric tale based on the ancient Greco-Roman world.
To learn more about the Persian empire, then check out our book,
The Persian Empire: A Captivating Guide to the History of Persia, Starting from the Ancient
Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sassanian Empires to the Safavid, Afsharid, and Qajar Dynasties.
It’s available as an e-book, paperback and audiobook. Also, grab your free mythology bundle
e-book for free while still available. All links are in the description. If you enjoyed the video,
please hit the like button and subscribe for more videos like this
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