Notes: New Empires in the Middle East: Assyria and Persia

Assyrian Empire (850 BCE-612 BCE)

· Location: city-state in northern ___________________________

· Built a strong empire through constant warfare

· At its largest extent: Syria, Palestine, ______________________, Egypt, ____________________

· Military Organization

· Government

· Land was governed by:

· __________ and ________________ from conquered peoples supported the empire

· Defeat and downfall

· Conquered by the ________________ and ____________ peoples in 612 BCE

· Chaldeans made ________________ their new capital under the rule of __________________________

· Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Persian Empire (550 BCE-330 BCE)

The Persian Homeland

· Location:

· Modern day Iran

· Great farmland and rich in mineral resources

· Examples:

· Cyrus the Great

· Founded the Persian Empire

· Location:

· Different from the Assyrians

· How?:

· Cambyses

· Cyrus’ son, took over after Cyrus died

· NOT a tolerant ruler, died 8 years later and left behind a weakened empire

· Darius I

· Was originally a royal bodyguard

· Used the 10,000 Immortals (________________________) to take control

· Expanded the Empire to ____________ miles

· _____________ to Anatolia and Egypt

· Unable to defeat the ________________

· Government:

· Satrapies: provinces used for government administration

· How many were there?

· Satraps:

· Persian Achievements

· Royal Road

· Length:

· Coined Money

Movie Questions

· What amenities could you find on the road?

· How long would it take you to get from Turkey to Iran on the road?

· Why was the road so beneficial to the Empire?

· Persian Religion

· Zoroastrianism

· Zoroaster

· Two armies fought over a person’s soul

· ______________________: god of truth and light

· ______________________: god of evil and darkness

· “_________________________” at the end of one’s life

· Holy Book: __________________________________

Processing

Using your knowledge of world religions today, what religions do you think Zoroastrianism has influenced and how?