Persia and Rome

Persian Period-King Cyrus was tolerant, fair, civic minded. He conquered Egypt in 525 BCE and Babylonia in 539 BCE

Freed the Jews from their Babylonian captivity

Died in a war against a queen of a nomadic tribe

Darius I the Great (522-486 BCE)

He established a mail service, a common calendar, trade roads, laws modeled on Hammurabi’s law, gold and silver coinage

Perseopolis was the cultural center

Seleucids-(323-250 BCE) the reigning dynasty left behind by Alexander the Great when he conquered Persia.

Hellenized Culture

nParthians- a rugged, warring people from East of the Caspian Sea.

nReplaced Seleucids in (250 BCE- 224 CE)

nLack of political organization and centralized government gives Iranian barons power.

nSassanids-Iranian people who expelled the Parthians in 224 CE

nRestored the lineage of Cyrus and Darius and the splendor of the Persian empire

nThe government was a carefully structured bureaucracy of Iranian barons and priest of Zoroaster

nZoroastrianism was belief in 1 wise, good god Ahura Mazda, with his sidekick Mithra in a constant battle with the god of evil. When Ahura Mazda is victorious over evil, his followers go to paradise.

nThis religions influenced Parsi sect in India, a cult started honoring Mithra in Rome and Christianity adopted Ahriman-god of evil and darkness- Satan, idea of paradise after struggle with evil in which good triumphs

n1000 BCE Italy -war-like invaders, made iron tools and spoke a language known as Italic.

nCivilized Etruscans arrived in Tuscany (Etruria) about 800BCE.

nRome was governed by kings whose power was somewhat limited by the assembly of the people.

n509 BCE a revolution replaced the monarchy with a republic.

nPatricians and plebeians were the main classes

nRoman constitution- great Roman achievement; An unwritten collection of law based on precedent and tradition.

nStruggle of the orders 509- 287 BCE.

Era when plebeians agitated for legal equality with patricians. They achieved this with no bloodshed.

nRoman imperialism- probably wasn’t planned. Romans would become involved in a dispute and found it difficult to stay neutral.

The Reforms of the Marius- He changed the composition of the army by taking volunteers, like farmers and plebians. In exchange they received food, clothes, money and a piece of land. This began soldier loyalty to generals instead of the Senate and the republic.

The Assassination of Julius Caesar- Caesar first ruled Rome in a triumvirate and usurped power through death and war. (Crossing the Rubicon River)

Caesar was murdered by Brutus, Cassius and 60 other senators on March 15, 44 BCE. (Ides of March)

This unleashed a civil war between Octavian and Marc Antony/ Cleopatra. Octavian wins and becomes Augustus Caesar.

Cleopatra kills herself rather than be paraded through the streets of Rome as a captive.