THE PERSIAN EMPIRE

Similar to the Roman Empire the Persian Empire stretched across vast lands without any serious rivalry. At the height of the empire it stretched across, not only, Asia, from the Aegean to the Indus River, but also included part of the continent of Africa. We get the word, Persia, from the Greek word Parsa meaning, “Above reproach”. The Persians unlike most other Empires would be ruled under a benevolent ruler. This would bring a large amount of cultural diffusion to the Empire. The empires history is separated into three historical periods: Old Persia (600-300 B.C.E), Middle Persia (300-800 B.C.E.) and modern Persia (800-Present). The height or the Empire was reached around 500 B.C.E. (Ancient and Medieval History
One example of his oppressive rule was his denial to those in his empire to keep their religions. Following his death were widespread rebellions. (Beck, 2007) Darius I, Cambyses’ successor, a noble, and also one of his generals, was next in line for the throne. He made his way to the throne through the use of the most elite soldiers. They were given the name “The Ten Thousand Immortals.” He used this elite group of soldiers to put down the revolts that followed Cambyses’ death. Most of his reign was marked by rebellion. Due to the size of the Empire, the situation caused by the last emperor, Cambyses, who ruled opposite to what the people favored in his father, and the cultural diversity of the Persian people, the empires rebellion against itself was imminent. After spending much of his rule putting down revolts, he began to reorganize the empire. In addition to this he added Bactria (Afghanistan/Pakistan) and India to the empire. (Beck, 2007)
In his administration, he divided the empire into approximately 20 provinces called Satrapies, installed governors called Satraps, sent out tax collectors, created a secret police called “The King’s Eyes and Ears”, built a series of roads called “The Royal Rode” and minted Persian money. Each province, or Satrapy, was usually based off of the borders of people he conquered. Also each satrap, governor of a satrapy, was constantly in communication with the king. Darius also kept a standing army of 10,000 troops to protect the