Characteristics of the Persian Empire

The ancient history of asia it is very important for the development of our own history. We can find this only by observing the Near East, the place where the first civilizations germinated. It is therefore not difficult to surprise that it was the birthplace of one of the most powerful and enduring Empires of time. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will talk about the most important characteristics of the Persian Empire, an empire that spans from 550 BC. C. until 1935. On this date it disintegrated and a series of countries were created that, to this day, are still at war due to border problems.

Before focusing on the most important characteristics of the Persian Empire, we must know what we mean when we talk about it. What we know by the name of Persia is today Iran, this area from the beginning of civilization was very important, both in the economy and in the scientific advances that were given over the centuries.

As is logical, throughout the centuries we will find a large number of dynasties, which in turn came from the different peoples from which the Empire was nurtured.

In the first moment, the Persian Empire was constituted by the Elamite civilization, a population that was introduced in the affairs of the Middle East until its absorption almost completely. However, while it is true that Persia began to become known after the coming to power of Cyrus II in the so-called Achaemenid Empire, the great enemy of both the Greeks and the Romans.

In this other lesson from a TEACHER we will discover the Civilizations of the Ancient Age and their contributions.

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We come to the main part of our lesson, where we will break down the most important characteristics of the Persian Empire:

• First of all, we must know that the Persians were a fairly tolerant civilization with the other ethnic groups that were in the Empire, this was due to the fact that, in a short time, the Persians arrived on the one hand as far as Egypt or Greece and on the other hand well into India. This made their monarchs rule over a vast terrain, where there were various cultures and religions. Therefore, the rulers were very careful not to go against the customs of the peoples, since one misstep could set off a rebellion that would put the Empire in great fix.
• In a second point we must stop at the administration structure, This used to maintain the own of each region, which happened to be called satrapies, in this way, only one Persian was in command as governor of the region that touched him. Its task was to ensure that the territory continued to produce and comply with the tax terms, but in addition he should not exceed his powers, since, if the people rose up, the satrap was punished.
• Third and to improve the economy we will find the creation of a series of mints for the elaboration of the coins of the empire. This meant that the entire empire had currency reserves to be able to trade between the different peoples, both internally and externally. Trade within the empire was always facilitated, making tariffs practically non-existent and creating its own system of weights and measures.
• As a last important point we will focus on the various royal side dishes that were all over the Empire. These could only act by mandate of the monarch and any activity that went against his designs would be taken as high treason. In this way, even the satraps could not make use of these regiments, which had peace in the area as a priority order.

An important part that we must see reflected in the most important characteristics of the Persian Empire, will be how society was divided:

• KingHe was considered a god, and rarely appeared in public. Their home was in their capital, Persepolis, although some of these monarchs always preferred to go to war, since one of the most important attributes was their warrior prowess.
• Royal family: It was very extensive, since the king had a large harem, in fact, from each satrapy the most beautiful girl had to be sent to be delivered to the king. This made, on many occasions, the monarch had a large number of children, among whom he could decide who inherited the throne. This caused that the palace intrigues were many, since the lust for power made that there were many alliances to get to put the best candidate on the throne.
• Nobles: the wealthiest families of the Empire, used to be also the members of the court and their children had the right to be educated together with the princes. These also used to belong to the royal council and many were great generals of the army.
• Priests: As in all societies, the religious group was a fundamental pillar within society. The most important members were in the capital, where there were a large number of temples. A part of the tributes of the Empire went to the granaries of these temples, as gifts to the divinities.
• Soldiers: the most important point of the Persian Empire, since they were the ones in charge of protecting the borders of the kingdom from any invasion from abroad, in addition to quelling any rebellion from the inside.
• Plebs: they were the peasants and artisans scattered throughout the empire, who had to work and pay taxes to the State to buy their protection.
• Slaves: from the wars of expansion or punishment campaigns against the peoples who rebelled against the authority of the king. The vast majority were owned by the State, although we will find a small group that was private.

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