Western Cultural Identity and the Persian Army
We in the West are accustomed to seeing the Persians as the "them" to a Greek "us." There was no Athenian-style democracy for the Persians, but an absolute monarchy that denied the individual, common man his say in political life*. The most important part of the Persian army was a seemingly fearless elite fighting group of 10,000, who were known as "The Immortals" because when one was killed another would be promoted to take his place. Since all men were eligible for combat until age 50, manpower was not an obstacle for the Persians, although to insure loyalty, the original members of this "immortal" fighting machine were Persians or Medes.Cyrus the Great
The Persian leader, Cyrus the Great, a religious man and adherent of Zoroastrianism, first came to power by overcoming his in-laws, the Medes (c. 550 B.C.) -- the conquest made easy by many defectors. Cyrus then made peace with the Medes, and cemented the alliance by creating not just Persian, but Median sub-kings (who were known as satraps) to rule the provinces. Cyrus then conquered the Lydians, the Greek colonies on the Aegean coast, the Parthians, and Hyrcanians. Cyrus set up a fortified border along the Jaxartes River in the Steppes, and in 540 B.C., he conquered the Babylonian Empire. The successors of Cyrus conquered Egypt, Thrace, Macedonia, and spread the Persian Empire east to the Indus River.> Iran > Persian Empire Timelines
*Cyrus may have been welcomed by the Jews of Babylonia as a liberator and the U.N. in 1971 declared a cuneiform cylinder seal of the period that described the treatment of the inhabitants of the liberated Babylonia as the first human rights document.
See: Cyrus Charter of Human Rights
Ancient Asia Minor
Ancient Near Eastern Kings
Famous People Biographies
Ancient / Classical History Glossary
Maps
Latin Quotations and Translations
Primary Texts /Literature and Translations
Quotes Index
Today in History
Submit an Article or Review
Ancient / Classical History Articles
