Often these days we can hear a story about a country in the southwestern part of Asia called Persia. What country now has replaced it with Since 1935, Persia began to be officially called Iran.
In ancient times, this state was the center of a huge empire, the territory of which extended from Egypt itself to the Indus River.
Geography
It is worth saying that at one time the state of Persia did not have clear boundaries. It is quite problematic to determine which country is located on these lands now. Even modern Iran is only approximately located on the territory of Ancient Persia. The fact is that in certain periods this empire was located over most of the world known at that time. But there were worse years, when the territory of Persia was divided among themselves by local rulers who were hostile to each other.
The relief of most of the territory of present-day Persia is a high (1200 m) highland, which is crossed by a chain of stone ridges and individual peaks rising up to 5500 m. In the northern and western parts of this area there are the Elbrus and Zagros mountain ranges. They are arranged in a "V" shape, framing the highlands.
To the west of Persia was Mesopotamia. This is the homeland of the most ancient civilizations on Earth. At one time, the states of this empire significantly influenced the culture of the still nascent country of Persia.
Story
Persia (Iran) is a country with the greatest past. Its history includes wars of conquest and defense, uprisings and revolutions, as well as brutal suppression of all political uprisings. But at the same time, Ancient Iran is the homeland of the great people of that time, who led the country’s art and culture to flourish, and also built buildings of amazing beauty, the architecture of which still amazes us with its splendor. The history of Persia has a large number of ruling dynasties. It is simply impossible to count them. Each of these dynasties put into effect its own laws and rules, which no one simply dared to break.
Historical periods
Persia experienced a lot on the path of its formation. But two periods are considered the main milestones of its development. One of them is pre-Muslim, and the second is Muslim. The Islamization of Ancient Iran caused fundamental changes in its political, social and cultural sphere. However, this does not at all mean the disappearance of former spiritual values. Not only were they not lost, but they also significantly influenced the new culture that arose in the country at the turn of two historical periods. In addition, many pre-Muslim rituals and traditions have been preserved in Iran to this day.
Achaemenid rule
As a state, Ancient Iran began its existence with Cyrus II. This ruler became the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, which was in power from 550 to 330 AD. BC e. Under Cyrus II, the two largest Indo-Asian tribes, the Persians and the Medes, were united for the first time. This was the period of greatest power of Persia. Its territory extended to the Central and Indus Valley and Egypt. The most important archaeological and historical monument of the Achaemenid era are the ruins of the capital of Persia - Persepolis.
Here is the tomb of Cyrus II, as well as the inscription carved by Darius I on the Behistun rock. At one time, Persepolis was burned by Alexander the Great during his campaign to conquer Iran. This conqueror put an end to the great Achaemenid Empire. Unfortunately, no written evidence of this era has survived. They were destroyed by order of Alexander the Great.
Hellenistic period
From 330 to 224 BC e. Persia was in a state of decline. Along with the country, its culture also deteriorated. During this period, Ancient Iran was under the rule of the then ruling Greek Seleucid dynasty, being part of the state of the same name. The culture and language of Persia changed. They were influenced by the Greeks. At the same time, Iranian culture did not die. She influenced the settlers from Hellas. But this happened only in those areas where there were no self-sufficient and large Greek communities.
Parthian Kingdom
Years passed, the power of the Greeks in Persia came to an end. The history of Ancient Iran has entered its new stage. The country became part of the Parthian kingdom. The Arsacid dynasty ruled here, considering themselves descendants of the Achaemenids. These rulers liberated Persia from Greek rule and also protected it from Roman invasion and nomadic raids.
During this period, the Iranian folk epic was created, and a large number of stories with heroic characters appeared. One of them was Rustema. This Iranian hero is in many ways similar to Hercules.
During the Parthian period, the feudal system was strengthened. This weakened Persia. As a result, it was conquered by the Sassanids. A new stage in the history of Ancient Iran began.
Sassanid State
Between 224 and 226 AD. e. The last Parthian king Artaban V was overthrown from the throne. The Sassanid dynasty seized power. During this period, the borders of Ancient Iran were not only restored, but also expanded to the western regions of China, including Punjab and Transcaucasia. The dynasty waged a constant struggle with the Romans, and one of its representatives, Shapur I, even managed to capture their emperor Valerian. The Sassanid dynasty waged constant wars with Byzantium.
During this period, cities developed in Persia, and the central government strengthened. At the same time, Zoroastrianism arose, which became the official religion of the country. During the Sassanid era, a four-stage system of the existing administrative division and stratification of all layers of society into 4 estates was developed and approved.
During the Sassanid era, Christianity penetrated into Persia, which was negatively greeted by the Zoroastrian priests. At the same time, some other oppositional religious movements appeared. Among them are Mazdakism and Manichaeism.
The most famous representative of the Sassanid dynasty was Shah Khosrow I Anushirvan. The literal translation of his name means "with an immortal soul." His reign lasted from 531 to 579. Khosrow I was so famous that his fame continued for many centuries after the fall of the Sassanid dynasty. This ruler remained in the memory of posterity as a great reformer. Khosrow I showed great interest in philosophy and science. Some Iranian sources even compare him with Plato’s “philosopher king.”
The Sassanids were significantly weakened by constant wars with Rome. In 641 the country lost a major battle to the Arabs. The Sasanian stage of Iranian history ended with the death of the last representative of this dynasty - Yazdegerd III. Persia entered the Islamic period of its development.
Rule by local dynasties
The Arab Caliphate gradually expanded to the east. At the same time, his central government in Baghdad and Damascus could no longer maintain strict control over all provinces. This led to the emergence of local dynasties in Iran. The first of them is the Tahirids. Its representatives ruled from 821 to 873. in Khorasan. This dynasty was replaced by the Saffarids. Their dominance over the territories of Khorasan, southern Iran and Herat lasted throughout the second half of the ninth century. Then the throne was captured by the Samanids. This dynasty proclaimed itself to be the descendants of the Parthian military commander Bahram Chubin. The Samanids held the throne for more than fifty years, extending their power over large territories. During their reign, the country of Iran ran from the eastern outskirts of the highlands to the Aral Sea and the Zagros ridge. The center of the state was Bukhara.
Somewhat later, two more families ruled in the territory of Persia. In the second half of the tenth century these were the Ziyarids. They controlled the territory of the Caspian Sea coast. The Ziyarids became famous for their patronage of art and literature. During the same period, the Bund dynasty was in power in central Iran. They conquered Baghdad and Fors, Khuzistan and Kerman, Rey and Hamadan.
Local Iranian dynasties achieved power in the same way. They seized the throne, raising an armed rebellion.
Ghaznavid and Seljuk dynasties
Beginning in the eighth century, Turkic nomadic tribes began to penetrate. Gradually, the lifestyle of these people became sedentary. New settlements arose. Alp-Tegin, one of the Turkic tribal leaders, began to serve the Sassanids. In 962, he came to power and ruled the newly created state, the capital of which was the city of Ghazni. Alp-Tegin founded a new dynasty. The Ghaznavites held power for a little over a hundred years. One of its representatives, Mahmud Ghaznavi, kept the territory from Mesopotamia to India under constant control. The same ruler settled the Oghuz Turkic tribe in Kharasan. Subsequently, their leader Seljuk rebelled and overthrew the Ghaznavid dynasty. The city of Rey was declared the capital of Iran.
The Seljuk dynasty belonged to the devout Muslims. She subjugated all the local rulers, but for many years she waged constant wars for her dominance.
During the years of Seljuk rule, architecture flourished. During the reign of the dynasty, hundreds of madrassas, mosques, public buildings and palaces were built. But at the same time, the reign of the Seljuks was hampered by constant uprisings in the provinces, as well as invasions of other Turkic tribes that were moving towards the western lands. Constant wars weakened the state, and by the end of the first quarter of the twelfth century it began to disintegrate.
Mongol dominance
The invasion of Genghis Khan's troops did not escape Iran either. The history of the country tells us that in 1219 this commander managed to capture Khorezm, and then, moving west, plundered Bukhara, Balkh, Samarkand, Nashapur and Merv.
His grandson, Hulagu Khan, again plunged into Iran in 1256 and, taking Baghdad by storm, destroyed the Abbasi Caliphate. The conqueror took the title of Ilkhan, becoming the founder of the Hulaguid dynasty. He and his successors adopted the religion, culture and way of life of the Iranian people. Over the years, the Mongols' position in Persia began to weaken. They were forced to wage constant wars with feudal rulers and representatives of local dynasties.
Between 1380 and 1395 the territory of the Iranian plateau was captured by Amir Timur (Tamerlane). They also conquered all the lands adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea. Descendants maintained the Timurid state until 1506. Then it was subordinated to the Uzbek Sheybanid dynasty.
History of Iran from 15th to 18th centuries
Over the following centuries, wars for power continued to be waged in Persia. So, in the 15th century, the Ak-Koyundu and Kara-Aoyundu tribes fought among themselves. In 1502, Ismail I seized power. This monarch was the first representative of the Safavids, the Azerbaijani dynasty. During the reign of Ismail I and his successors, Iran revived its military power and became an economically prosperous country.
The Safavid state remained strong until the death of its last ruler, Abbas I, in 1629. In the east, the Uzbeks were expelled from Kharasan, and in the west, the Ottomans were defeated. Iran, whose map pointed to impressive territories belonging to it, subjugated Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It existed within these boundaries until the nineteenth century.
On the territory of Persia, wars were fought against the Turks and Afghans, who sought to conquer the country. These were the times when the Afshar dynasty was in power. The southern lands of Iran from 1760 to 1779 were under the rule of the dynasty founded by Zendov Kerim Khan. She was then overthrown by the Turkic Qajar tribe. Under the leadership of its leader, it conquered the lands of the entire Iranian plateau.
Qajar Dynasty
At the very beginning of the nineteenth century, Iran lost provinces located on the territory of modern Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. This was the result of the fact that the Qajar dynasty was never able to create a strong state apparatus, a national army and a unified tax collection system. The power of its representatives turned out to be too weak and could not resist the imperial desires of Russia and Great Britain. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the lands of Afghanistan and Turkestan came under the control of these great powers. At the same time, Iran unwittingly began to serve as an arena for Russian-British confrontation.
The last of the Qajar family was a constitutional monarch. The dynasty was forced to accept this main law under pressure from the strikes taking place in the country. Two powers opposed the constitutional regime of Iran - Russia and Great Britain. In 1907 they signed an agreement to divide Persia. Its northern part went to Russia. Great Britain exerted its influence in the southern lands. The central part of the country was left as a neutral zone.
Iran at the beginning of the 20th century
The Qajar dynasty was overthrown by a coup d'etat. It was headed by General Reza Khan. A new Pahlavi dynasty came to power. This name, which translated from Parthian means “noble, brave,” was intended to emphasize the Iranian origin of the family.
During the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi, Persia experienced its national revival. This was facilitated by numerous radical reforms carried out by the government. Industrialization had begun. Large investments were allocated for the development of industry. Highways and railways were built. Oil development and production was actively carried out. Sharia courts were replaced by legal proceedings. Thus, extensive modernization began in Persia at the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1935, the state of Persia changed its name. Which country is its legal successor now? Iran. This is the ancient self-name of Persia, which means “country of the Aryans” (the superior white race). After 1935, the pre-Islamic past began to be revived. Small and large cities in Iran began to be renamed. Pre-Islamic monuments were restored in them.
Overthrow of the Tsar's power
The last Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty ascended the throne in 1941. His reign lasted for 38 years. In pursuing his foreign policy, the Shah was guided by the opinion of the United States. At the same time, he supported the pro-American regimes that existed in Oman, Somalia and Chad. One of the most prominent opponents of the Shah was the Islamic priest Kma Ruhollah Khomeini. He led revolutionary activities against the existing government.
In 1977, the US President forced the Shah to ease repression against the opposition. As a result of this, numerous parties critical of the existing regime began to appear in Iran. The Islamic revolution was preparing. The activities carried out by the opposition aggravated the protest sentiments of Iranian society, which opposed the country's internal political course, oppression of the church and pro-American foreign policy.
The Islamic Revolution began after the events of January 1978. It was then that the police shot down a demonstration of students protesting against a slanderous article about Khomeini published in a state newspaper. The unrest continued throughout the year. The Shah was forced to introduce martial law in the country. However, it was no longer possible to keep the situation under control. In January 1979, the Shah left Iran.
After his escape, the country held a referendum. As a result, on April 1, 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran emerged. In December of the same year, the updated constitution of the country saw the light. This document established the supreme power of Imam Khomeini, which after his death was to be transferred to his successor. The President of Iran, according to the constitution, stood at the head of political and civil power. Together with him, the country was ruled by the Prime Minister and an advisory council - the Menjlis. The President of Iran was by law the guarantor of the adopted constitution.
Iran today
Persia, known since time immemorial, is a very colorful state. What country today can so accurately correspond to the saying “The East is a delicate matter”? This is confirmed by the entire existence and development of the state in question.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is, without any doubt, unique in its identity. And this sets it apart from others. The capital of the Republic is the city of Tehran. This is a huge metropolis, one of the largest in the world.
Iran is a unique country with a large number of attractions, cultural monuments and its own peculiarities of way of life. The republic has 10% of the world's reserves of black gold. It is thanks to its oil fields that it is among the top ten exporters of this natural resource.
Persia - what country is it now? Highly religious. Its printing houses produce more copies of the Holy Quran than in all other Muslim countries.
After the Islamic Revolution, the republic set a course for universal literacy. The development of education here is proceeding at an accelerated pace.
1987. , chapter 2 “Armenia from the Median Conquest to the Rise of the Artaxiads”. Harvard University Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, 1987:
Original text (English)
Page 39
By 585 B.C., the power of the Medes extended as far as the Halys River; they were thus in possession of the entire Arm. plateau and the former territories of Urartu.
...
The Armenians, as we have seen, appear to have settled in the area of Van and in the northeast, in the region of Ararat. Numerous other peoples also inhabited the plateau: Herodotus mentions the Suspyrians, Alarodians and Matieni; and Xenophon met on his march the Chaldaeans, Chalybians, Mardi, Hesperites, Phasians and Taochi.
Page 45
Armenia was divided into two satrapies, the 13th and 18th, by the Persians, and several sites mentioned in the inscriptions at Behistun have been identified in the south and west of the Armenian plateau, in the provinces of Aljnik and Korcayk.
...
The 18th satrapy included the regions around Ararat; we shall discuss below the principal sites of the Achaemenian period from that region: Arin-berd (Urartean Erebuni) and Armawir (Urartean Argistihinili).
The satrap dynasty of the Orontes sat under the Achaemenids in eastern Armenia (in the 18th satrapy, the land of the Mathien-Hurrians, Saspeyrian-Iberians and Alarodians-Urartians; however, as the name itself shows, Armenians already lived here)…
Original text (Russian)
The Colchis from time to time sent symbolic tribute to the Achaemenids in slaves, possibly captured from neighboring mountain tribes, and supplied auxiliary troops, apparently at the disposal of the satrap of Western (or proper) Armenia (13th Achaemenid satrapy, originally called Melitene; Northeastern Armenia , which continued to be called Urartu, constituted the 18th satrapy and at that time, in all likelihood, had not yet been fully Armenianized in language; along with the Armenians, Urartians-Alarodians and Hurrians-Matiens, it also included eastern proto-Georgian tribes - Saspirs)
Original text (English)
Armenia is listed as the 10th satrapy in the Persian inscriptions at Naqsh-e Rostam. In the fifth century Herodotus mentions Armenians occupying the 13th satrapy, while the remnants of the Urartians (Alarodians) lived in the 18th satrapy. Armenians soon became the dominant force in those satrapies and subjugated or assimilated the other groups.
Plan
1. Introduction
2. Historical boundaries
3. Achievements
3.1 Technology
3.2 Science
3.3 Culture
4. Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
Persia - an ancient civilization
Persia is the ancient name of a country in South-West Asia, which since 1935 has been officially called Iran. Previously, both names were used, and today the name "Persia" is still used when talking about Iran.
In ancient times, Persia became the center of one of the greatest empires in history, stretching from Egypt to the Indus River. It included all previous empires - the Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Hittites. The later empire of Alexander the Great included almost no territories that had not previously belonged to the Persians, and it was smaller than Persia under King Darius.
Since its inception in the 6th century. BC before the conquest by Alexander the Great in the 4th century. BC for two and a half centuries, Persia occupied a dominant position in the Ancient World. Greek rule lasted for about a hundred years, and after its fall the Persian power was reborn under two local dynasties: the Arsacids (Parthian Kingdom) and the Sassanids (New Persian Kingdom). For more than seven centuries they kept first Rome and then Byzantium in fear, until in the 7th century. AD The Sassanid state was not conquered by Islamic conquerors.
HISTORICAL BORDERS
The lands inhabited by the ancient Persians only approximately coincide with the borders of modern Iran. In ancient times, such borders simply did not exist. There were periods when the Persian kings were the rulers of most of the then known world, at other times the main cities of the empire were in Mesopotamia, to the west of Persia proper, and it also happened that the entire territory of the kingdom was divided between warring local rulers.
A significant part of the territory of Persia is occupied by a high, arid highland (1200 m), intersected by mountain ranges with individual peaks reaching 5500 m. In the west and north are the Zagros and Elborz mountain ranges, which frame the highlands in the shape of the letter V, leaving it open to the east. The western and northern borders of the plateau approximately coincide with the current borders of Iran, but in the east it extends beyond the country, occupying part of the territory of modern Afghanistan and Pakistan. Three regions are isolated from the plateau: the coast of the Caspian Sea, the coast of the Persian Gulf and the southwestern plains, which are the eastern continuation of the Mesopotamian lowland.
Directly west of Persia lies Mesopotamia, home to the world's most ancient civilizations. The Mesopotamian states of Sumer, Babylonia and Assyria had a significant influence on the early culture of Persia. And although the Persian conquests ended almost three thousand years after the heyday of Mesopotamia, Persia in many ways became the heir to Mesopotamian civilization. Most of the most important cities of the Persian Empire were located in Mesopotamia, and Persian history is largely a continuation of Mesopotamian history.
Persia lies on the routes of the earliest migrations from Central Asia. Slowly moving west, the settlers skirted the northern tip of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and turned south and west, where through the more accessible areas of Khorasan, southeast of the Caspian Sea, they entered the Iranian plateau south of the Alborz Mountains. Centuries later, the main trade artery ran parallel to the earlier route, connecting the Far East with the Mediterranean and ensuring the administration of the empire and the movement of troops. At the western end of the highlands it descended onto the plains of Mesopotamia. Other important routes linked the southeastern plains through rugged mountains to the highlands proper.
Off the few main roads, thousands of agricultural communities were scattered along long, narrow mountain valleys. They led a subsistence economy; due to their isolation from their neighbors, many of them remained aloof from wars and invasions, and for many centuries they carried out an important mission to preserve the continuity of culture, so characteristic of the ancient history of Persia.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Technology
Irrigation
The entire economy of ancient Persia was based on agriculture. Rainfall in the Iranian Plateau is insufficient to support extensive agriculture, so the Persians had to rely on irrigation. The few and shallow rivers of the highlands did not provide the irrigation ditches with enough water, and in the summer they dried up. Therefore, the Persians developed a unique system of underground canals. At the foot of the mountain ranges, deep wells were dug, passing through hard but porous layers of gravel to the underlying impervious clays that form the lower boundary of the aquifer. The wells collected meltwater from mountain peaks, which were covered with a thick layer of snow in winter. From these wells, underground water conduits as tall as a man broke through, with vertical shafts located at regular intervals, through which light and air were supplied to the workers. Water conduits reached the surface and served as sources of water all year round.
Artificial irrigation with the help of dams and canals, which originated and was widely used on the plains of Mesopotamia, spread to the territory of Elam, similar in natural conditions, through which several rivers flow. This region, now known as Khuzistan, is densely cut by hundreds of ancient canals. Irrigation systems reached their greatest development during the Sasanian period. Today, numerous remains of dams, bridges and aqueducts built under the Sassanids are still preserved. Since they were designed by captured Roman engineers, they closely resemble similar structures found throughout the Roman Empire.
Transport
The rivers of Iran are not navigable, but in other parts of the Achaemenid Empire water transport was well developed. So, in 520 BC. Darius I the Great reconstructed the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea. During the Achaemenid period, there was extensive construction of land roads, but paved roads were built mainly in swampy and mountainous areas. Significant sections of narrow, stone-paved roads built under the Sassanids are found in the west and south of Iran. The choice of location for the construction of roads was unusual for that time. They were laid not along valleys, along river banks, but along mountain ridges. Roads descended into valleys only to make it possible to cross to the other side in strategically important places, for which massive bridges were built.
Along the roads, at a distance of a day's travel from one another, post stations were built where horses were changed. There was a very efficient postal service, with postal couriers covering up to 145 km per day. The center of horse breeding since time immemorial has been the fertile region in the Zagros Mountains, located adjacent to the Trans-Asian trade route. Iranians began using camels as beasts of burden from ancient times; This “type of transport” came to Mesopotamia from Media ca. 1100 BC
Early metalwork
In addition to the colossal number of ceramic objects, products made from such durable materials as bronze, silver and gold are of exceptional importance for the study of Ancient Iran. A huge number of so-called Luristan bronzes were discovered in Luristan, in the Zagros Mountains, during illegal excavations of the graves of semi-nomadic tribes. These unique examples included weapons, horse harnesses, jewelry, as well as objects depicting scenes from religious life or ritual purposes. Until now, scientists have not come to a consensus as to who and when they were made. In particular, it was suggested that they were created in the 15th century. BC to 7th century BC, most likely by the Kassites or Scythian-Cimmerian tribes. Bronze items continue to be found in the Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran. They differ significantly in style from the Luristan bronzes, although both appear to belong to the same period. Bronzes from Northwestern Iran are similar to recent finds from the same region; for example, the finds of an accidentally discovered treasure in Ziviya and a wonderful golden cup found during excavations in Hasanlu Tepe are similar to each other. These items date back to the 9th–7th centuries. BC, Assyrian and Scythian influence is visible in their stylized ornaments and depictions of deities.
Science
In ancient Iran, science did not rise to the heights that it reached in neighboring Mesopotamia. The spirit of scientific and philosophical search awakened only in the Sasanian period. The most important works were translated from Greek, Latin and other languages. That's when they were born Book of Great Feats , Book of ranks , Iran countries And Book of Kings. Other works from this period survive only in later Arabic translation.
Economy
The basis of the economy of Ancient Persia was agricultural production. Trade also flourished. All the numerous capitals of the ancient Iranian kingdoms were located along the most important trade route between the Mediterranean and the Far East or on its branch towards the Persian Gulf. In all periods, the Iranians played the role of an intermediate link - they guarded this route and kept part of the goods transported along it. During excavations in Susa and Persepolis, beautiful items from Egypt were found. The reliefs of Persepolis depict representatives of all satrapies of the Achaemenid state presenting gifts to the great rulers. Since Achaemenid times, Iran has exported marble, alabaster, lead, turquoise, lapis lazuli (lapis lazuli) and carpets. The Achaemenids created fabulous reserves of gold coins minted in various satrapies. In contrast, Alexander the Great introduced a single silver coin for the entire empire. The Parthians returned to the gold currency, and during the Sasanian times silver and copper coins predominated in circulation.
>>History: Ancient Persia
21. Ancient Persia - “country of countries”
1. The rise of Persia.
The country of the Persians was a remote province for a long time Assyria. It was located on the site of modern Iran, occupying the territory between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. In the middle of the 6th century BC. e. The rapid rise of the Persian state began. In 558 BC. e. king Persia became Cyrus II the Great. He captured neighboring Media, then defeated Croesus, the ruler of the richest kingdom of Lydia.
Historians suggest that the world's first silver and gold coins began to be minted in Lydia in the 7th century BC. e.
The wealth of the last Lydian king Croesus became a proverb in ancient times. “Rich as Croesus” - this is what they said and still say about a very rich man. Before the start of the war with Persia, Croesus turned to the soothsayers, wanting to get an answer about the outcome of the war. They gave an ambiguous answer: “By crossing the river, you will destroy the great kingdom.” And so it happened. Croesus decided that we were talking about the Persian kingdom, but he destroyed his own kingdom, suffering a crushing defeat from Cyrus.
Under King Cyrus, the Persian Empire included all the lands that once belonged to Assyria and the Neo-Babylonian kingdom. In 539 BC. e. fell under the onslaught of the Persians Babylon. The Persian state surpassed all previously existing states of the Ancient World in territory and became an empire. The possessions of Persia as a result of the conquests of Cyrus and his son extended from Egypt to India. While conquering the country, Cyrus did not encroach on the customs and religion of its people. He added to the title of the Persian king the title of ruler of the conquered country.
2. The death of Cyrus the Great.
In ancient times, many considered King Cyrus the Great to be the model of a ruler. From his ancestors, Cyrus inherited wisdom, firmness and the ability to rule over peoples. However, Cyrus, who defeated many kings and military leaders, was destined to fall at the hands of a female warrior. To the northeast of the Persian kingdom stretched the lands inhabited by the warlike nomadic tribes of the Massagetae. They were ruled by Queen Tomiris. Cyrus first invited her to marry him. However, the proud queen rejected Cyrus's proposal. Then the Persian king moved his army of thousands to the country of the Syr Darya River, in Central Asia. In the first battle, the Massagetians were successful, but then the Persians defeated part of the Massagetian army by cunning. Among the dead was the queen's son. Then the queen swore an oath to give the hated conqueror blood to drink. The light cavalry of the Massagetae exhausted the Persian army with their sudden and swift attacks. In one of the battles, Cyrus himself was killed. Tomiris ordered the leather fur to be filled with blood and the head of the dead enemy to be stuffed into it. Thus ended the almost 30-year reign of Cyrus the Great, who seemed so powerful.
3. The greatest eastern despotism.
At the end of the reign of Cyrus's son, King Cambyses, turmoil began in Persia. As a result of the struggle for power, Darius I, a distant relative of Cyrus, became the ruler of the Persian state.
The events that followed the death of Cyrus the Great and the first years of Darius's reign are known from the Behistun inscription. It was carved on the rock during the reign of Darius I. The height of the inscription is 7.8 m. It is made in three languages - Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian. The inscription was discovered in 1835 by the English officer G. Rawlinson. It made it possible to decipher Persian and then Akkadian cuneiform.
Under Darius, the Persian Empire expanded its borders even further and reached its greatest power. It united many countries and peoples. Persian empire was called the “country of countries”, and its ruler was called the “king of kings”. All his subjects obeyed him unquestioningly - from noble Persians who occupied the highest positions in the state, to the last slave. The Persian Empire was a true oriental despotism.
In order to better manage the huge empire, Darius divided its territory into 20 satrapies. A satrapy is a province headed by a governor appointed by the king - a satrap. Since these managers often abused their power, the word "satrap" subsequently acquired a negative meaning. It came to mean an official who rules arbitrarily, a tyrant ruler. Darius did not trust many satraps, so each of them had secret informers. These informers were called the “eyes and ears” of the king. They were obliged to report to the king everything about the actions, life and plans of the satraps.
Throughout the Persian Empire, special officials collected taxes into the royal treasury. Severe punishment awaited all those who evaded. No one could escape paying taxes .
Roads were built not only between major cities, but also reached the most remote corners of the Persian Empire. In order for the king's orders to reach the provinces faster and more reliably. Darius established a state post office. The "royal" road connected the most important cities of the Persian Empire. Special posts were installed on it. There were messengers here, ready at any moment to set off on fast-footed horses and deliver the king’s message to any point in the empire. Darius updated the monetary system. Under him, gold coins began to be minted, which were called “dariks”. Trade flourished in the Persian Empire, grandiose construction was carried out, and crafts developed.
4. Capitals of the Persians.
The Persian Empire had several capitals: the ancient city of Susa, the former capital of Media Ecbatana, the city of Pasargadae built by Cyrus. The Persian kings lived for a long time in Babylon. But the main capital was Persepolis, built by Darius I. Here the “king of kings” solemnly celebrated the Persian New Year, which was celebrated on the day of the Winter Solstice. The coronation took place in Persepolis. Representatives from all provinces came here for several weeks a year to present rich gifts to the king.
Persepolis was built on an artificial platform. In the royal palace there was a huge throne room where the king received ambassadors. The guards of the “immortals” are depicted on the walls rising along the wide staircases. This was the name of the selected royal army, numbering 10 thousand soldiers. When one of them died, another immediately took his place. The "Immortals" are armed with long spears, massive bows, and heavy shields. They served as the “eternal” guard of the king. Persepolis was built by all of Asia. An ancient inscription testifies to this.
The “procession of peoples” that were part of the Persian state is immortalized on the walls of Persepolis. Representatives of each of them bring rich gifts - gold, precious items, and lead horses, camels, and cattle.
5. Religion of the Persians.
In ancient times, the Persians worshiped different gods. Their priests were called magicians. At the end of the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e. The magician and prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra) transformed the ancient Persian religion. His teaching was called Zoroastrianism. The sacred book of Zoroastrianism is "Avesta".
Zoroaster taught that the creator of the world is the god of goodness and light, Ahura Mazda. His enemy is the spirit of evil and darkness Angra Manyu. They constantly fight among themselves, but the final victory will be for light and goodness. Man must support the god of light in this struggle. Ahura Mazda was depicted as a winged solar disk. He was considered the patron saint of the Persian kings.
The Persians did not build temples or erect statues of gods. They built altars on high places or on hills and performed sacrifices on them. Zoroaster's teaching about the struggle between light and darkness in the world had a great influence on the religious ideas of subsequent eras
V.I. Ukolova, L.P. Marinovich, History, 5th grade
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Why Iran didn't want to be called Persia. More about this in our review.
Iranian stamp from the Pahlavi dynasty period with the laconic name “Iran”.
The stamp was issued on the occasion of the coronation of the third wife of the last Shah of Iran as shahbanu (empress) in 1967.
The stamp depicts the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his wife, Empress Farah.
In 1935, the first Iranian ruler from the Pahlavi dynasty, Reza, sent a letter to the League of Nations with a request to use the word “Iran” (Erān) for the name of his country, instead of the term “Persia”. He justified this by the fact that within his country, the word “Irani” is used to designate what is known in the world as Persia (the term comes from “country of the Aryans,” which goes back to the self-name of the Aryan tribe).
Shah Reza Pahlavi noted that “the Persians are only one of several Indo-Iranian ethnic groups in Iran. Their home region of Pars (Fars) was the center of political power in ancient times - during the Achaemenid Empire, and in the Sassanid Empire. However, during the period of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the name of the region Pars (Fars) was spread by the Greeks to designate the name of the entire country."
The Achaemenid state (existed from 550 BC to 330 BC) was officially called Aryanam Xsaoram (from ancient Persian “Aryan power”; taking into account the modern name of the country, it can also be translated as “Iran power”).
Immediately before the Arab and Islamic conquest of Persia, during the era of the rulers of the Sassanid dynasty (224-652 AD), who were fire-worshipping Zoroastrians, Persia was officially called Eranshahr, i.e. Iranian Empire.
During the period of the Turkic Qajar dynasty, which ruled the country from 1795 to 1925 od and preceded the last monarchical dynasty in Persian history - the Pahlavis, a country known in the world as Persia, however, it was still officially called Iran. Namely, “The Highest State of Iran” (Dowlat-e Eliyye-ye I ran). But in the outside world the name of the country was translated as Persia.
Under the Pahlavi dynasty (rules from 1925 to 1979), Iran was officially called the Shakhanshakh state of Iran (Doulat Shohanshokhi-ilon (Persian. داorateت شاهی ایرا), where the ancient title of Persian rulers of the Shahinshach (the King of the Kings) is used in the name.
Since 1979, after the fall of the monarchy, the country has been officially called the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: Jomhuri-ye Eslomi-ye Iron).
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the Persians themselves began to use the term “Persia” to name their country in a number of publications and books in the new and recent historical period, under the influence of the West, as if borrowing this term back from the ancient Greeks.
Additionally:
Around the name of Iran
“When compiling a historical overview of Iran, it is necessary to take into account the fact that Iran, as a geographical concept, does not coincide either with the area of settlement of Iranians as an ethnographic unit, or with the area of influence of Iranian culture, or with the area of distribution of Persian, i.e., the Iranian literary language . In ancient times, India and Iran were equally occupied by a people who called themselves Arians (Aryans) - arua in India, ariya or airya in ancient Iranian dialects.
In the inscriptions of King Darius, the word “Aryans” apparently refers exclusively to the population of Iran;
India and the Indians were named after the border river Sindhu, in Iranian pronunciation Hindu(Indian c generally corresponds to Iranian h), on modern maps Indus; from the Persians this name passed to the Greeks and, like most Greek names, came into use in modern geographical science.
In the Iranian scripture (Avesta), the term Hindu is used as the name of a river and speaks of the “seven Indus” (harta hindu), which fully corresponds to the Indian term sapta sindhavah. The Indian “Seven Rivers” received its name from the Indus, Kabul and the five rivers of the “Punjab” (i.e., “Five Rivers”), the Chinab with its tributaries Jhelum and Ravi, and the Setlej with its tributary the Bias.
Arias are opposed to tours(tura, adjective tuirya) and sarima (sairima); if by the latter, as is believed, we must understand the Sarmatians or Sauromatians of Greek writers, then we mean the Central Asian people, according to most scientists, related to the Iranians; it is very likely that the Turs were of the same origin and also lived in Central Asia.
In other words, the population of Iran isolated itself equally from the Indian, “Aryan” and related Central Asian peoples. The word "Iran", originally Eran, appears later and is the genitive plural of the word airya (airyanara), in the sense: (country of) the Aryans. We first meet it in the Greek form Ariane from Eratosthenes (III century BC), from whom Strabo borrowed this information.
The border of this “Ariana” or Iran was considered to be: the Indus in the east, the Hindu Kush and the mountain ranges to the west of it in the north, the Indian Ocean in the south; the western border ran from the Caspian Gate, i.e., the mountain pass east of Tehran, along the line separating Parthia from Media and Karamania (Kerman) from Persis (Fars). Obviously, the term “country of the Aryans” was understood not in an ethnographic, but exclusively in a political sense; this was the name of the country united under the rule of the Arsacid dynasty, which rebelled against the Greek conquerors; the areas that remained under Greek rule, both in the west (the Seleucid state) and in the northeast (the Greco-Bactrian kingdom) were not considered Iran.
Subsequently, under the Sassanids, the region with a Semitic population, Babylonia, where the capital of the “king of kings” was located, was not only classified as Iran, but was even considered “the heart of the Iranian region.” And at present, in Persia itself, Iran is understood as the state of the Shahin Shah.
The origin of the word Iran and the ethnographic term "Aryans" from which it comes were forgotten already in the Middle Ages; from the word “Iran” to designate the population of this country the term “Iranians” (Persian, Irani) was formed. Iran was most often contrasted with "Turan", a word derived from "tura" in the same way as Iran from "aria"; only later was “Turan” identified with “Turkestan,” the country of the Turks.
The words “Iran” and “Turan” received a completely different meaning in geographical science; Iran was understood as a plateau representing an internal basin and bordering in the north with the basin of the Caspian and Aral seas, in the south, west and east - with the basin of the Indian Ocean, between the Tigris and Indus; near Turan is the Aral Sea basin. The words “Turan” and “Turanians” were sometimes used in a broader sense, uniting under these terms the entire Central Asian world from the southern Russian steppes to China, and contrasting the “Turanians” not only with the “Iranians”, but with the “Aryans” in general.
The name “Aryans” again became known to Europeans in the 18th century. (not from living speech, but from the most ancient written monuments of India and Iran). After the closeness of the languages of India and Iran with European languages was established, Aryans (Arier, Ariens, Aryans) began to call all representatives of the linguistic group embracing the peoples “from India to Iceland.”
Subsequently, instead of this term, others were proposed: Indo-Europeans, Indo-Germans (especially in German science), Ario-Europeans, retaining the name “Aryans” only for Asian Indo-Europeans, whose ancestors actually called themselves by this name; nevertheless, the word “Aryans” is still sometimes used in science in the same sense, even in Germany.
Aryans, in the sense of "Asiatic Indo-Europeans", were divided into two branches, Indians and Iranians. Iranians in the linguistic sense began to be called, regardless of political borders, peoples united into one whole according to linguistic characteristics. When at the end of the 19th century the idea arose to compile a set of scientific material related to the field of “Iranian philology” (languages, literature and history of the Iranians), the linguistic department of this set included dialects from the easternmost of the Pamirs, Sarykol, to western Kurdish, in the eastern parts of the Asia Minor peninsula, i.e., approximately from 75 to 38 degrees east. debt, from Greenwich. In addition, the dialect of the so-called Ossetians (who call themselves Iron), living separately from others, “Iranians” in the Caucasus, to the west of the former military-Georgian road, is considered.
The area of distribution of Iranian dialects in ancient times was even more extensive, although in many cases the question of which particular peoples spoke Iranian remains controversial.
An even larger area embraced the area of distribution of the main literary language of Iran, the so-called “New Persian”, formed already under Islam; it was written far beyond the borders of linguistic Iran, from Constantinople (Turkish Sultan Selim II, 1566-1574 was one of the Persian poets) to Calcutta and the cities of Chinese Turkestan. The historian of Iranian culture must take into account both this fact and the even more numerous translations from Persian and imitations of Persian models.” (From the collection “History of the Middle East”, published in Russia in 2002).
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