Chapter 4 Greece and Iran, 1000-30 B.C.E. AP World History
I. Ancient Iran, 1000-500 B.C.E. A. Geography and Resources 1. Bounded by mountains, deserts, and the Persian Gulf. 2. Water was scarce so underground irrigation tunnels were used. 3. Mineral resources of copper, tin, gold, and silver.
B. Rise of the Persian Empire 1. The Median kingdom (first political unified) had controlled Iran until the Persian King overthrew the Medes and built a larger Persian Empire. 2. Empire built up by three kings; Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius. 3. Cyrus conquered Babylon and the Lydia, Cambyses conquered Egypt and Darius extended the empire to the Indus Valley and into Thrace
Cyrus
Cambyses
Darius
C. Imperial Organization and Ideology 1. Empire divided into 20 satraps 2. Provinces required to pay annual tribute. 3. Kings acted as lawgivers, but allowed their people to live in accordance to their own traditions. 4. Central capital at Susa, but also performed ceremonies at Persepolis. Ruled allowed to keep most traditions 5. Chief Religion was Zoroastrianism which had a dualistic universe of Ahuramazda(good) and Angra Mainyu(evil).
II. The Rise of the Greeks, 1000 B.C.E. A. Geography and Resources 1. Part of the Mediterranean ecological zone. Similar crops, climate, and seasons 2. Relied entirely on rainfall and was quite arid. 3. Many harbors. 4. Limited Natural Resources
B. Emergence of the Polis 1. Dark Age ended with contact by Phoenicians and Archaic age started around 800 B.C.E. 2. Archaic age had an explosive population growth. The effects of the growth included urbanization, specialization, and the development of the polis. 3. The polis features included an acropolis, agora, fortified walls, and public buildings. Acropolis: Deconstructed
4. Warfare used hoplites and the phalanx. 5. Greeks began to colonize the Mediterranean and the Black Sea because of the population growth. 6. Government went in one of two directions; oligarchy or democracy. 7. Greeks worshipped anthropomorphic gods which usually represented forces of nature.
C. New Intellectual Currents 1. Developed concepts of individualism and humanism. 2. Philosophers attempted to explain rationally why the world was created and what it was made of and why it changes. 3. In his writing of the Persian-Greek Wars Herodotus introduced the discipline of History. Herodotus
D. Athens and Sparta 1. Sparta developed their Polis and their military in fear of their helots. Spartans: Deconstructed 2. All Spartan males trained for the army and devoted their lives to the state. 3. Athens had a large hinterland (Attica) that supported a population of about 30,000. 4. Pericles completed the transition to a democracy in the 460s-450s and rejected the tyrant family. Pericles
King Leonidas
III. The Struggle of Persia and Greece 546-323 B.C.E. A. Early Encounters 1. The Greek Cities of Anatolia staged a revolt against Darius with the help of Athens and Eritrea in 490. 2. The war ended with the Persians invading Greece and getting defeated at the battle of the Marathon. 3. The 2 nd Persian War led Xerxes to invade Greece, but the Spartan formed Hellenic league that defeated the Persians. Inferior navy, long supply lines, underestimating willingness to fight 4. Athens would then form the Delian league and drove the Persians out of most of the Mediterranean except Cyprus.
B. The Height of Athenian Power 1. Athenian power was based on the Athenian Navy. 2. Used lower class men as rowers and the invention of the trireme. 3. Athens used its power to carry out profitable trade and to extract annual tribute. 4. Socrates turned to philosophy of ethics, precise meaning of words, socratic method of question and answer. 5. Plato wrote dialogue about justice, excellence, and wisdom. Taught that the world is a pale reflection of a higher ideal reality and made the transition from oral to written culture.
Socrates
Plato
C. Failure of the City-State and Triumph of the Macedonians 1. Athens and Sparta fought in the Peloponnesian war and Sparta defeated Athens in 404 B.C.E. Mistrust between poleis 2. This gave the Persians a chance to regain their lost territory in Anatolia. 3. King Phillip of Macedonia created a great military power in Macedonia by having longer spears, using cavalry, and developing catapults. 4. Phillip s son Alexander the Great invaded Persia and conquered the empire all the way to Pakistan. 5. Alexander maintained the administrative apparatus of the Persian Empire and brought Macedonians and Persians together. Encouraged intermarriage.
Alexander
IV. The Hellenistic Synthesis 323-30 B.C.E. A. The Hellenistic (greek influence)kingdoms 1. After Alexander died his empire broke up into three kingdoms. 2. The Seleucid Kingdom controlled the Middle East and maintained a Persian style administrative system and established Greek style city states. 3. The Ptolemies ruled Egypt, made Alexandria their capital and encouraged Greek immigration to Egypt. 4. The Antigonids ruled Macedonia and Greece.
5. Alexandria was the greatest Greek city with the Masoleum of Alexander, the Library and Museum. 6. City was a Greek city with Greek residents enjoying citizenship, baths, theaters and gymnasiums. 7. Hellenization included marriage between Greeks and Non Greeks, spread of Greek language and lifestyle, and a synthesis of indigenous and Greek culture.
V. Comparative Perspectives A. The Persian Period 1. Persians managed to hold together diverse collection of people in part through flexibility and tolerance of local customs. 2. Zoroastrianism underlined the authority of the king in the battle between good and evil. 3. Fostered commerce and stability. 4. Persian culture fused with Mesopotamian culture.
B. The Hellenistic Period 1. Greek influence had a much more profound impact on the Middle East than the Persian influence. 2. There was a widespread adoption of alphabetic Greek writing which led to more literacy and dissemination of information also contributed to long term Hellenistic influence throughout the Middle East.
1. How did the Persian Empire rise from its Iranian homeland and spread to encompass diverse cultures? 2. How did Greek civilization evolve and spread beyond its original territories? 3. How did the Persian Wars and their aftermath affect the politics and culture of ancient Greece? 4. How did a cultural synthesis develop during the Hellenistic Age?