Kingdom To Emperor

English Version

The History of Persia before Alexander of Macedon

By Bahram Roshan Zamir

Iran before the history

Now after 150 years of archeological excavating in the Greater Iran, We know well that there was a very ancient civilization in Iran.   

Copper was used about 5500 BC, and there were some old civilizations by the big rivers. Such as Elam or Susiana beside the river Kārūn in nowadays Khuzestan Province of Iran, Jiroft in Kerman Province and Shahre Sukhte (The Burned City) in Sistan & Baluchistan Province dated from more than 5 thousands years ago. However, only the Elamites could survive for millenniums.

In the second millennium BC, the Elamite Kingdom was a powerful rival for Mesopotamian governments.

The Elamites destroyed the city of Ur about 2000 BC. Subsequently they exerted great influence on the rulers of Babylonia. After the capture in 1595 BC, of Babylonia by the Kassites (A prior Aryan ethnic group) however, the country suffered a political decline for about 350 years.

Elam experienced a political revival under King Shutruk-Nahhunte I (reigned about 1160 BC), who conquered Babylonia, deposed the Kassite dynasty, and placed his son on the throne. King Shilhak-Inshushinak (r. about 1140 BC), a great administrator and patron of arts and sciences, created a powerful Kingdom. Under his rule and the other king, Untash-Napirisha the borders were greatly extended, the literary use of the Elamite language was revived, and an architectural and sculptural renaissance took place. Dor-Untash, the city of the king and the huge temple of Inshushinak, the great God of Elam, as the tallest Mesopotamian style temples (Zigurat) in the ancient world, was built by those kings in Khuzestan (Called Zigurat-Choghazanbil). And it does exist until today as the oldest World Heritage Site in Iran.

    In last years of the 12 century BC. Nebuchadnezzar I, Babylonian Great King conquered Elam. for more than 3 centuries Elam was disappeared. But this Kingdom rised again. After that Assyrian Empire -which was the first empire of the history invade susa and destroyed the whole city and it's sacred temples forever.

In the second millennium BC, the Aryans came through Iran plateau bringing Indo-Iranian languages.

The name Iran derives from the word "Airyana". This word is used in the Avesta- the holy book of Zoroastrians- dating 3000 years ago (maybe more) and changed to "Aryan-Shatr" and "Iran-Shatr" in the first centuries A.D. and finely ended in "Iran" in Firdowsi's shahname.

In the first millennium BC, some tribes of the Iranians moved gradually into the mountains area of Zagros, neighboring the Elamites in south, Assyrian empire in west and some other prior Aryans and non-Aryans in north.

The Scholars divides them to three parts. The Medes settled in north western, west and center of Iran, the Persians in south western and the Parthians in north eastern of Iran.

The reason is that these three major groups constructed 3 -Fourth, fifth and Sixth- "great eastern monarchies" (As English historian, Henry Rawlinson named) From 8^th Century BC, to 3^th Century A.D and after that the national-religious Empire of Iran was built by Ardeshir Babakan, called the Sassanid Empire, longing for 430 years. It ended in 650 A.D. the year that Yazdgerd III- the last Zoroastrian king of Iran- was murdered. And Muslim Arabs' conquer was completed in Iran.

The Median Kingship

  According to Herodotus, the semi-legendary first king of the Medes, Daiukku, united tribes to join a Kingship in Ecbatana in 8^th century BC. The Medes united around Kheshtharita. They attacked Nineveh in 653 BC, but were defeated, and Khshathrita was killed. The Scythians invade the Media and took it's contol for 28 years. After that in the time of King Cyaxares the Medes with help from the Babylonians marched west and surrounded Nineveh and took Ashur city in 612 BC. The Assyrian empire was Lost forever. 

A great war aquered beetween the Kingdom of Lydia in nowadays western turkey, which was ceased fire just because of a Solar Eclipse. That same year Astyages succeeded as Median king and ruled for 35 years.

The Persian Empire

 At that time political wedding was the first and the last conclusion for the Medes. They made confederating treaty with Babylonian king opposite of the Assyria by marrying of Median granddaughter -Princes Amytis- to the Babylonian Prince and the next emperor -Nebuchadnezzar the great- who built the legendary tower and walls of Babylon and the Hanging Gardens for his Iranian queen. They also agreed Cease Fire with Lydian king by another royal wedding. Prince Astyages wedded the Lydian Princes. And finally Astyages made peace with the Persians. He gave his doughter, Mandana, to the Persian Governor Cambyses I. Their son was Cyrus II who inherited both royal blood line of the Medes and the Persians.

Cyrus II became the king of Anshan (Former Elamite city) after his father's death in 559 BC, and unified two autonomous states of Persians, making the Achaemenid Kingdom in 555 BC. (Achaemenish was the grandfather of the two Persian dynasties of Anshan and Pasargadae). He Constructed some Palaces in Pasargadae as his Capital.

According to the Book I from Herodotus' Histories, the Chancellor of Astyages, Harpagus and some other median generals were in favor of Cyrus and they fired the war up between the Medes and Persians and betrayed Astyages. So Cyrus the great with a vast coalition of Aryan ethnic groups, defeated his grandfather -not killing him- entered the city of Ekbatana as the first sole king of united Iran.

Then Cyrus allowed native kings of lands to retain power under his rule as he established satrapies.

Croesus, the king of Lydia, rejected the old peace treaty because of the regime change of Iran and formed an alliance with Egypt, Babylonia, and the Greeks. Believing the Delphic oracle, which declared he would destroy a great Kingdom.

The predicting came true however the destroyed kingdom was not that one Croesus thought, but was his own dynasty!.

 He crossed the Halys River, which divided the Countries, and began to devastate the Syrian lands in Cappadocia and enslave the inhabitants. The Median general Harpargus suggested placing camels in the front line which intimidated the Lydians' horses and enabled the Persians to win a victory and take Sardis after a two-week siege. He was the second defeated king who Cyrus had forgiven.

Croesus blamed Apollo for his defeat, saying, "No one is fool enough to choose war instead of peace - in peace sons bury fathers, but in war fathers bury sons."

Since Miletus was the only Greek City-State to surrender, the other Lydian friends were conquered by the Persian army led by Harpargus; then the islanders surrendered.

Cyrus once again was able to use local disaffection for another easy victory, this time Babylon, winning over their general Gobryas, who took Uruk in 546 and Babylon in 539 BC, and become satrap of the new province of Babirush. Nabonidus was severely criticized by Jewish and Chaldeans, so Cyrus captured the Babylon in easiest way. Cyrus was legitimized as the king of Babylon and chosen one by Marduk, the great God of Babylonians. The Jews, who were brought slavery to Babylon for 70 years, were freed an allowed to return to Judea and reconstructing the Temple of Jerusalem. According to the Old Testament, Cyrus had been heralded as the Messiah and the Survivor by Jewish prophets such as .

Cyrus also ordered a Declaration of freedom for all of the people and rejecting the Slavery. This Declaration, as the first statement of human rights, was written with New Babylonian language, and found in Ruins of Babylon in 19^th century and got named Babylonian Cyrus Cylinder.

Cyrus the Great also expanded the Persian Empire greatly in the east to the edge of India. According to Herodotus in 529 BC, a bloody battle was fought, in the east of Iran resulted to death of Cyrus. But there is no such a thing as a slain Cyrus in other Greek historian, Xenophon in his famous book, Cyropaedia.

Eight years before he died, Cyrus had made his son, Cambyses, king of Babylon, while a second son Bardiya administered the eastern provinces Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and etc.

According to Herodotus, Cyrus the Great was martyred in a bloody battle with the north eastern barbarian tribe, the Massagetae.

Then Cambyses II succeeded his father, had his brother secretly assassinated and invaded Egypt, the last numerous state, out of the Persian boundaries. In a battle, which Greek mercenaries fought on both sides, the Egyptian forces of Psamtik III fled to Memphis -the capital- which then fell to the Persians.

Then from Egypt, Cambyses tried to attack Carthage - A Phoenician civilization in nowadays Tunisia- but he failed because his Phoenician allies refused to fight against their brothers. According to Herodotus, Also a venture against a Libyan oasis ran out because of a sandstorm. In 522 BC a man saying he was Bardiya - as the Persian Cuneiforms says- or Smerdis - as Herodotus says- rose up and tried to rule in Persia. According to Behistun Inscription of Darius the great, Cambyses headed home but died on the way by accident.

Darius was a grandson of Arshama who was the last autonomous governor of Pasargadae at the time of Cyrus the great. He had commanded the Immortals - a ten thousand noble army - against Egypt. He and other Six Persian noblemen -who knew the true Bardiya had to be killed some years ago- maintained control of the Cambyses army after his mysterious death. They put down the revolt, killing the false Bardiya (Psedo – Smerdis) in two months, But it took two years, 522 – 520 BC, to regain the empire with defeating the various revolts all round the Achaemenid world. In fact Darius Conquered the world again and perhaps this time was so harder rather than Cyrus' victories.

He wedded two daughters of Cyrus the great, Atossa and Artistone to strength his legitimacy for inheriting the Cyrus' dynasty.

In royal Inscriptions which was written in cuneiform at the high rock of the mountain Behistun in the middle of the Royal Road, between the two Capitals -Susa and Ecbatana- and also in Persepolis palaces and Necropolis of Naghshe – Rustam, he explained that after Cyrus and his two sons, there were no son of that blood line.

So Darius as a Achaemenid prince of the other branch that his ancestors - except his father Histasp - were kings before Cyrus, by the decision and help of Ahura Mazda -the great God of Zoroastrians- became the King of kings.

The great God is Ahura Mazda

Who created the Earth

Who created the Sky

Who created the People

And created the Happiness for People

And Made Darius, the King

The King of Kings

One King for the earth containing all types of People

One King for this vast and wide Earth

Son of Histaspa, an Achaemenian, a Persian son of Persian, of Aryan descent

Now if you want to be acknowledged how many countries Darius had? Look at the picture of these men whom are carrying my throne. Then you will understand that the Persian Man fought so far from home.

All I did, were demanded by the Ahura Mazda

Lord may take care of me and my family and this State.

He just like the Zoroaster in the Gathas (Zoroaster's poems as the oldest part of Avesta dating 3000 – 3700 years ago) only prays and tributes Ahura Mazda, strongly promote the "Asha" meaning rightness, And prohibit the "Druja" meaning immorality and Lying, And advise people to following the "Dāta" meaning Laws.

He even withdrew a death sentence when he realized that he had violated his own law not to execute anyone for only one crime, but in weighing the man's services against his crime ended up making him a governor. However, the death penalty was used for offences against the state or the royal family.

He Published "Dấta" the world Laws for the whole empire and for the first and maybe last time the world (of course known civilizations at that time) was ruled under same Laws.

After that Darius sent forces led by Otanes to help Syloson, the exiled brother of Polycrates, to retake the island of Samos. He appointed Zerubbabel governor of Judea, and when the order of Cyrus to restore the temple was discovered, Darius supported that project. In 519 BC, he marched to Egypt where he sought wise men and reinstated the former Egyptian laws. He also ordered the digging of a canal, 150 feet wide from the Nile River to the Gulf of Suez.

He moved King's capital from Pasargadae to Susa, and reconstructed this old City remembering the Elamite Period. After that he built maybe the most enormous constructive project of Ancient world, the Persepolis, with the help of the whole world. The Complex was building for less than 2 centuries, because every king had to make a new palace in there.

Among excavating of Persepolis by the Oriental Institute of Chicago University leading by Ernest Herzfeld in 1920s, lots of tiny tablets written in Elamite cuneiform were found in two places – the treasury room and the fortification – counted more than 30 thousands pieces. Many of them were crashed and impossible to read. But after decades scientists such as Richard Hallock, have red some thousands of them.

According to Persepolis Elamite tablets, at the time of Persian Empire, there were some kind of work contracts between the workers and the government. There were not such a thing as forced labour (opposite to ancient Egypt, Babylonia and china) and all the workers and technicians and artists had clear rights and salaries. There were some kind of Insurances and the rights and salaries and opportunities were given to people not by their sex or race but by their job. In some parts we had a woman as the manager of lots of men. And this is opposite to the traditional image that scholars have had from the East in this two millenniums.

    Darius divided the Empire into twenty three or thirty provinces called Satrapies, each governed by a Persian satrap and a commander-in-chief. Inspectors called "the eyes and ears of the king" kept him informed and had their own armed forces. Judges were appointed for life unless they were removed for miscarriage of justice that had death penalty for them.

Darius the Great encouraged trade and economic development in a number of ways. He standardized weights and measures and coinage on a bimetallic system of gold and silver that had been introduced by Croesus in Lydia. Darius created a network of roads including a royal highway –The Royal Road- from Susa in persia to Sardis in Lydia with three thousands of length. However, the empire had to be supported, and there were taxes on ports, internal trade, and sales as well as on estates, fields, gardens, flocks, and mines. The wages of skilled workers, laborers, and even women were strictly regulated.

According to Herodotus by 513 BC, Darius the Great crossed the Bosphorus and led an attack against the European Scythians with the vassal help of hundreds of Greek ships. However, the Scythians destroyed their own land and while retreating, harassed the Persian army with arrows from horsemen. King Darius arrived to Volga river and came back to Asia but left behind 800,000 soldiers led by Megabazus, to continue the fighting. Envoys demanded of Macedonia's Amyntas "earth and water", the sign of submission, and he complied. Darius appointed his brother Artaphrenes to oversee the Greek cities of Ionia.

Read Part II

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