Greece and Iran 1000 to 30 BCE

Chapter 4

Ancient Iran
1000-500 BCE

 6th Century BCE Persians created the

largest Empire yet Little written material, most of our info comes from the Greeks

Is that a problem? Why?

Geography and Resources

Deserts and limited water supply

Natural boundaries, except the northeast Humans had to use those limited sources
of water North and west are most populated Underground irrigation canals prevented evaporation Mineral deposits

timber

Copper, tin, iron, gold, silver

The Rise of the Persian Empire

~2000BCE, Medes (in the NW) developed
complex political organization Took part in destruction of Assyrian Empire

 The Persians used marriage to create a

relationship w/ the Medes
Cyrus (r. 550-530 BCE) son of a Persian chieftain and Median princess Overthrew the Median monarch ~ 550 BCE Kept their government system and put some
Persians in power

 Society
Patriarchal families Social classes Warriors (King and other landowning men) Priests Peasants

The empire expanded and Cyrus

continued to respect local traditions

 Cambyses (r. 530-522 BCE)

Expanded the empire into Egypt Greek records say he was cruel, Egyptian records say he was fair Crushed early challenges Empire spread east to the Indus River valley, west to the Danube River (at the doorstep of the Greeks)

Darius I (r. 522-486 BCE)

Imperial Organization and Ideology

Darius divided the empire into 20 provinces Each had a satrap, or governor
Had a court Hereditary position Befriended local elites Satraps farthest from the center had greater autonomy Collected and sent tribute to the king

 Darius had a system of royal roads King traveled with an entourage

Referred to everyone as slaves Owned a lot of land

Darius a lawgiver
Created laws of the king System of royal judges

Administrative capital at Elam Ceremonial capital at Persepolis

 Darius was probably a Zoroastrian

Origins unclear Iran? 1700-500 BCE? Focused on a struggle between good and evil

The Rise of the Greeks

1000-500 BCE

 A resource poor region dependent on

foreign relations

Geography and Resources

Mediterranean
Warm dry summers/cold stormy winters

Civilization first grew along the Aegean Sea Sea connected them to Anatolia No large rivers, Greek farmers depended on
rainfall Few metal deposits, little timber

 Dark Ages of Greece ~1150-800 BCE

After the fall of the Mycenaean Different regions developed different styles

The Emergence of the Polis

Archaic Age of Greece ~800 BCE

Phoenician ships began to visit Brought a writing system Greeks altered it to include vowel sounds *The first TRUE alphabet* Alphabets are easier to learn

 Greeks soon produced

Literature Law codes Epitaphs Religious dedications

~800 BCE Population increased (x7?)

 Polis
A city-state; urban center and the rural land around it Most had an acropolis (hilltop refuge) An agora (gathering place) Was first political then a market place Walls surrounded the urban center Polis frequently in conflict with its neighbors

 Hoplites
Infantrymen, foot soldiers Helmet, breast plate, leg guards, small shield, spear, sword in reserve Usually farmers Fighting took place between harvesting and planting

Polis populations got too large

Sent out colonists Hellenes, or Greek culture spread

 ~750-600 BCE
Tyrants took over city-states with the help of the middle class Then, governments moved toward an oligarchy or a democracy

Greek Religion
A collection of gods (ex. Zeus and Poseidon) Sacrifice to please the gods (ex. Wine and animals)

New Intellectual Currents

Emphasis on the individual
Humanism = value of unique talents of individuals

Pre-Socratic thinkers
questioned religions Wanted to know how the Earth was created Herodotus = the Father of History

Athens and Sparta

Similar environment and cultural context,
but two completely different city-states

SPARTA
Typical early development 7th century BCE, invaded rather than
colonized
Took over Messenia Messenians became helots Helots produced food, Spartans focused on military

SPARTA
Boys began military training at age 7 No more artists or poets Citizens forbidden from commerce Pelloponnesian League alliance with Spartan neighbors Girls received physical training/education

ATHENS
Large region Good for olive trees 594 Solon Lawgiver
Allowed social classes to participate in government (not democratic) End of debt slavery

ATHENS
546 BCE Pisistratus tyrant
Building projects in Athens Encouraged people to come to Athens

460-450 BCE Pericles

Transferred political power to the Assembly, Council of 500, and Peoples Court

The Struggle of Persia and Greece

546-323 BCE

Early Encounters

546 BCE Persians took control of Greek

settlements in Ionia 499 BCE Ionian revolts, lasted 5 years, failed 490 BCE Persian Wars
Darius Attacked Eretria and Athens Eretria was defeated people exiled to Iran Athens hoplites defended the city

 480 BCE - Xerxes (Dariuss Son) sent forces

to Greece
Many northern city-states gave in The Hellenistic League, headed by the Spartans, helped defeat the Persians in the south Greece went on the offense Athens made up over the Navy

477 BCE- Delian League formed

Led by Athens

The Height of Athenian Power

Classical Greece Period (480-323 BCE)
Begins with the defense of the homeland against Persia Athens became powerful Other city-states gave money rather than man power, eventually Athens demanded the money

 Trireme
Ship, 170 rowers

Democracy emerges as lower classes

become militarily important Used military power to promote commerce This money supported building projects and the arts

 Socrates (470-399 BCE)

Sculptor and philosopher Found guilty of corrupting the youth of Athens and sentenced to death by drinking hemlock Did not write Student of Socrates, left written records Opened The Academy Student at The Academy in Athens Tutored Alexander, Prince of Macedonia Founded Lyceum, a school in Athens

Plato (428-347 BCE)

Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

Inequality in Classical Greece

Athenian democracy
Only included free adult males of Athenian ancestry 10-15% of the population 1/3 of the population = slaves Women of Sparta exercised and spoke out Athenian women were exploited Successful 30+ year old men would marry teenage
girls that were uneducated Women were expected to stay in the home

Failure of the City-State and Triumph of the Macedonians

431 BCE Peloponnesian War
Athens Vs. Sparta And their allies

404 BCE - ended when Athens lost a naval

battle (Persia had funded the Spartan Navy)

 The Polis had caused distrust and rivalry

among Greek In the north, King Philip II of Macedonia was gaining military strength

Philip made plans to take Greek lands

back from Persia
But, was assassinated in 336 BCE

Cavalry and catapults

 Alexander, Philips son, took over

356-323 BCE Wanted revenge for Xerxes invasion a century and a half earlier Defeated the Persian forces of Darius III (r. 336-330BCE) Alexander the Great, kept the Persian govt. system in the lands he took He built Greek style cities, like Alexandria He also married several Iranian women

The Hellenistic Synthesis

323-30 BCE

 Alexander died in 323 BCE

Left no instructions for succession His officers fought for control Broke the empire into 3 kingdoms Didnt get along, but a balance of power kept any
one from becoming too strong Seleucid, Ptolemaic, and Antigonid

 The Hellenistic Age

323-30 BCE Lands in northeast Africa and western Asia that came under Greek rule were influenced by Greek culture. A cosmopolitan age of long distance trade and communications Heterogeneous population New art and literature Libraries and universities

 Seleucid
Faced the greatest challenges Ruled the land farthest from the Greek homeland Lost land as different territories broke off Their territories were open to attack from different directions Encouraged the immigration of Greeks

 Ptolemies
Ruled Egypt and Syria-Palestine One similar ethnic group Controlled the economy People rented land from the king People paid taxes

 Ruled from Alexandria Where the Nile and Mediterranean meet Encouraged the immigration of Greeks Gave them land and privileges Cleopatra (r. 51-30 BCE) The last Ptolemy The Egyptian population seemed to have a growing resentment towards the Greek ruling class

 Antigonid Dynasty
Ruled in Europe The Macedonian homeland and northern Greek Ethnically homogeneous kingdom Didnt face the same hostility the Ptolemaic and
Seleucid ruling class faced

Athens and Sparta stayed independent Sparta tried to rise up and fight the Macedonians Athens stayed neutral and became like a museum

 Alexandria
The greatest city of all Population of over million Two harbors Light house Library containing several thousand volumes of books Achievements in math and astronomy

 Overall,
A time of cultural integration