The Persian Empire

## The Achaemenid Empire, First Persian Empire.

   The Achaemenid Empire was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great, notable for embracing various civilizations and becoming the largest empire of the ancient history, spanning at its maximum extent from the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east.

The Achaemenid Empire was based upon the nomadic Persian people, and the Iranian empire of the Medes, who together with the Babylonians and Scythian's, rose up and overthrew the Akkadian empire, around 627 to 609 BCE. The Median empire took power in the area, but at some point in 550 BC, Cyrus the Great rose in rebellion against them, eventually conquering the Medes and creating the first Persian empire. Cyrus the Great utilized his tactical genius,as well as his understanding of the socio-political conditions governing his territories, to eventually incorporate into the Persian Empire the neighboring Lydian and Neo-Babylonian empires, also leading the way for his successor, Cambyses II, to venture into Egypt and defeat the Egyptian Kingdom.

While Cambyses II was in Egypt, a *Magi* (seer priest title), took the name Bardiya, who was a brother of Cambyses II, whom he had assassinated. This False Bardiya tried to usurpe the trone, and Cambyses II died under suspicious circumstances, either an accident, or he committed suicide. Many of the Persian areas, chose to follow Bardiya, but a man named Darius, later Darius the Great, who had served Cambyses II as his lance-bearer until the ruler's death, he gathered his few allies to him, and made a daring nighttime assault on the fortress of Sikayauvati. The next day Darius was crowned King of the Persian Empire.

Since his coronation in 522 BCE, Darius secured his authority over the entire empire, Darius embarked on a campaign

to Egypt where he defeated the armies of the Pharaoh and secured the lands that Cambyses II had conquered while incorporating a large portion of Egypt into the Achaemenid Empire. In 513 BCE, after immense preparations - a huge Achaemenid army invaded the Balkans and tried to defeat the European Scythians roaming to the north of the Danube river, along the way subjugation Macedonia, in preparation of his plans to invade the Greek Heartlands.

### **Government**

Cyrus the Great founded the empire as a multi-state empire, governed by four capital states; Pasargadae, Babylon, Susa and Ekbatana. The Achaemenids allowed a certain amount of regional autonomy in the form of the satrapy system. A satrapy was an administrative unit, usually organized on a geographical basis. A 'satrap' (governor) was the vassal king, who administered the region, a 'general' supervised military recruitment and ensured order, and a 'state secretary' kept the official records. The general and the state secretary reported directly to the satrap as well as the central government. At differing times, there were between 20 and 30 satrapies.

Darius the Great reinforced the empire and expanded **Persepolis** as a ceremonial capital;[95] he revolutionized the economy by placing it on a silver and gold coinage and introducing a regulated and sustainable tax system that was precisely tailored to each satrapy, based on their supposed productivity and their economic potential.

Under the Achaemenids, the trade was extensive and there was an efficient infrastructure that facilitated the exchange of commodities in the far reaches of the empire. Tariffs on trade were one of the empire's main sources of revenue, along with agriculture and tribute.

The satrapies were linked by a 2,500-kilometer highway, the most impressive stretch being the Royal Road from Susa to Sardis, built by command of Darius I. The relays of mounted couriers could reach the remotest of areas in fifteen days. Herodotus observes that "there is nothing in the world that travels faster than these Persian couriers. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."[ Despite the relative local independence afforded by the satrapy system, royal inspectors, the "eyes and ears of the king", toured the empire and reported on local conditions.

At this time there is thought to be around 50 million people in the empire.

### **Military**

The empire possessed a “national army” of roughly 120.000-150.000 troops, plus several tens of thousands of troops from their allies.

The Persian army was divided into regiments of a thousand each, called *hazarabam*. Ten hazarabams formed a *haivarabam*, or division. The best known haivarabam were **the Immortals**, the King's personal guard division. The smallest unit was the ten man*dathaba*. Ten dathabas formed the hundred man *sataba*.

The royal army used a system of color uniforms to identify different units. A large variety of colors were used, some of the most common being yellow, purple, and blue. But this system was probably limited to native Persian troops and was not used for their numerous allies.

The usual tactic employed by the Persians in the early period of the empire, was to form a shield wall that archers could fire over. These troops (called sparabara, or shield-bearers) were equipped with a large rectangular wicker shield called a spara, and armed with a short spear, measuring around six feet long.

The bow was the most widely used weapon of the Persians. The role of the sparabara was to soften the enemy with volleys of arrows. The main shock action was done by the cavalry. The heavily equipped Persian foot soldiers were not ideal for shock attacks.