On October 12, 539 B.C.E. Cyrus and his men entered Babylon and arrested the Babylonian king, a feeble tyrant by the name of Nabonidus. The Persians had attempted to take over the Babylonian empire before, but were unsuccessful. They fought a close battle, in which neither side caused much damage to the other. The reason that Cyrus and his army were unable to defeat Babylon, the first time, was that a stream that they encountered, called the Gyndes, which could only be passed in boats. Deterred by the Gyndes, Cyrus and his troops decided to postpone their conquest of Babylon, and immediately made plans to overcome the obstacle of the stream. Cyrus divided his troops into two halves, and had them dig on each side of the river. It took …show more content…
Being an all-powerful leader of a population of any size is a responsibility that many people can hardly fathom, and it has proven to be too much power for most men. This kind of power has negatively affected the well being of the people of many nations throughout history. However, when Cyrus appeared and used his omnipotence for the good of the people, these civilizations prospered in ways that were previously unimaginable. The Persian Empire became the largest of its time, accounting for approximately 49.4 million people, which at the time was about 44% of the world’s population. The Persians, whose empire lasted over 200 years, developed multiple cultures and traditions, because of the diversity of people and belief systems within the Persian Empire. The Persians had taxes, coins, and laws, which helped them continue to become even more efficient, over …show more content…
The Cyrus Cylinder is considered by some to be the first declaration of human rights, and is also recognized as the oldest documentation of a multi-cultural and multi-faith state. The Cylinder, as well as a set of books, titled “Cyropaedia”, were studied by anyone who wanted to know how to run a nation or empire. Cyropaedia, while partially fictional , was very influential for many people, especially rulers and other highly ranked figures. Thomas Jefferson owned at least two copies of the book, which was the study of Cyrus and his ways of running an empire. Benjamin Franklin also owned a copy and was influenced by the biography. However, the object itself is possibly the most amazing piece of Cyrus’ history that remains, in any form, and it is recognized as such. There is even a replica of the cylinder on display in the United Nations Headquarter, in New York. The display promotes Cyrus’ Cylinder as “an ancient declaration of human
The Roman empire was a very large and successful empire, although like many things it had to come to an end. The three primary reasons that had most contributed to Rome's fall is foreign invasions, military weakness , and weak leadership.
Alexander began his military campaign and his rule much where his father left off. Whether or not it was his aim, this created a sense of normality for the men that was part of his father’s regime. Alexander’s position as a warrior-king who stood side-by-side among his men also served to create respect among his peers. Gradually, as Alexander conquered more Persian land, he began to adopt the policies of Persian rulers. Alexander’s change in policy extended beyond just political roles, he gave consideration to the local gods in many of the lands that he conquered. Eventually, Alexander brought people in from the conquered nations to serve under him.
Though Darius died in the year after the revolt, Xerxes repressed the Egypt revolt in 486BC “year after Darius’ death, he sent an army against the Egyptian rebels and decisively crushed them” (Herodotus). Although this caused Xerxes to become unpopular in Egypt, the Egyptians were submissive and displayed loyalty to Xerxes “twenty-five years of tranquillity followed… Egyptians were submissive subjects of the Persian crown, and even showed remarkable courage and skill in the Persian military expeditions” (George Rawlinson). However, Xerxes had to punish Babylon revolted twice. This indicated to historians that the Xerxes wasn’t successful in punishing the Babylonians the first time they revolted. Babylon has been severely punished “Babylon had revolted and that the satrap Zopyrus had been killed… Babylon was terribly punished. The splendid city fortifications… were demolished... Esagila with its towering ziggurat was torn down, as were the other temples… statue of Bel Marduk… of solid gold, was carried off and melted down… priest of Esagila who protested the sacrilege was killed… estates of the merchant princes and citizens were confiscated and granted to Persians… Syria was detached from Babylon and made a fully independent satrapy. Babylonia itself lost its identity through incorporation with Assyria and was henceforth ferociously taxed"
As a counter to Assyrian rule, the Persian king Cyrus took a far gentler approach when he conquered Babylon . Cyrus disallowed looting or mistreatment of the populace and restored damaged buildings in the city
Augustus and Cyrus overlap in positively promoting their efforts to reform and restore the cultural institutions of their Kingdoms and Empires, to improve the livelihoods of their peoples. Both Cyrus in Babylon and Augustus in Rome, ascend to power following upon times of destruction and deterioration. In both first person accounts, the men employ the positive strategy of restoring the culture and in turn the faith of their societies in order to reestablish support for their kingships. Cyrus is poignant in choosing to emphasize, “Daily, I supplied (the temple) [with offerings of x gee]se, two ducks, and ten turtledoves above the former (offerings) of geese, ducks, and turtledoves.” His phrasing shows his desire to place himself above all previous
...ti-colored and multi-raced people, which was something that almost none of the other ancient empires had. It was a peaceful empire and was admired by many people. It had amazing acheivements in goverment, military and communication. It was the largest empire in the Ancient World and was an amazing empire, for the 250 years it lasted. The Persian Empire will be remembered as the largest empire in the ancient world and the most tolerant.
The Babylonians were the 2nd group of people who conquered Sumer. The Babylonians rose by being lead by Hammurabi. Hammurabi was best known for his code of laws. The code of laws was meant for everyone in the city. The Babylonians were located on the banks of the Euphrates river. The river became an important part of trade. Hammurabi worked to unite his empire. The trade helped his empire economy a lot. Many types of artisans used materials brought back from different lands. These arts flourished so much. The code of laws helped him keep control of his empire and how he took care of his people in his empire. The kings begun to stop listening to Hammurabi and listening to other
In the glory days of Rome, the empire was safe. People got along very well, large scale public works including bathhouses and aqueducts were built. A single emperor had control of one of the largest empires in history. Great games and festivities rang throughout the land. But, all glory eventually comes to an end. With the largest empire at the time, Rome had an equal fall from grace. Rome fell because of the political corruption, inflation and the decline in morals of its citizens.
The Persian Empire was ruled by Darius the Great from 522 to 485 BCE. He spent years improving administrative organization then worked on expanding the empire. This empire lasted longer than all the others because people could keep their own laws as long as they pay their taxes. The Persian army also allowed more protection from invasions. They used cuneiform writing borrowed from Summerians. More unifying forces they use was Universal System of Weights and Measure, Highway System, Postal service, and Zoroastrianism which was based on individual
There are many different beliefs on how and why the Roman Empire ended. It was strong for a time. It was founded on geography, military strength, and wise leadership. Throughout Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa, the Roman Empire spread. There were multiple causes to the fall of Rome including economic reasons, political reasons, military reasons invasions and threats by both internal and external forces 476 a.d was the ending year for most of the Empire, but the Eastern Empire grew and contributed to society for another thousand years.
According to Ancient History Encyclopedia, Hammurabi was the sixth king of Babylon of the First Babylonian Dynasty from 1792 B.C.E. to 1750 B.C.E. Located in present day Iraq, Hammurabi is recognized with uniting this area, Mesopotamia (Hammurabi). While in power he pursued many military battles. The main purpose of these battles was to gain control of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. “This was essential as their agricultural productivity depended on it (Hammurabi)”.
Alexander the Great (July 356BC – June 323BC) was King of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon. By the age of thirty he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world. He remained undefeated in battle and is considered one of history’s most successful Military commanders. Historians’ have offered theories which could explain Alexander’s motivation to conquer so much of the known world. Some suggest that Alexander was an idealistic visionary who sought to unite the world, whereas others argued that he was a fascist whose hunger for power drove him. The Ancient Greeks were driven by love of honour (philotimaea) and their desire for greatness. They were competitive, always striving to better one another.
For a long period of time, Rome seemed like an unstoppable empire. It conquered the majority of the land surrounding it, including Greece, Turkey, Iraq, and many of its other neighboring countries. It seemed as though Rome would conquer the entire world, as it was the center of it, until it began to decline in 476 C.E. The very aspects that made it so successful were the ones that caused its collapse. Various political, religious, and economic reasons caused its downfall. The fact that the entire economy of Rome collapsed and money became worthless was a major reason for the empire’s collapse. In addition, the loss of a common religion and lack of efficient ruling in relation to its vast territory affected the empire. The Roman Empire did not become so successful in a short period of time, and so its decline did not just happen overnight. Over several years all of these different aspects together caused the fall of the Roman Empire.
The greatest leaders in history often leave behind some sort of legacy. Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Persian Empire around 500 B.C., which was the largest empire of its time (Cyrus II, the Great). The empire stretched from ancient Iran, and grew to include an area reaching from Greece to India (Persian Empire). Cyrus’ reign saw some of the first contacts between Persia and Greece, and helped Persia gain the political power that had once been held by the people of Mesopotamia (Cyrus, the Great). Cyrus the Great proved to be an effective leader who developed a strong military that was stationed strategically throughout the empire to stop rebellions and keep trade routes safe, treated captives like the jews kindly, and implemented an organized administration of government that included satraps who governed locally.
...nisms and used religious tolerance to obtain more people who would be “on their side”. The Persians were powerful because of the impact that they left on the world for other nations to grasp and understand in the future. They were the basis for many inventions that we use today, or have expanded upon. The differences between the Mongol and Persian Empire mostly dealt with religion and their motivation behind whether or not they were tolerant of other religions or not. The