How Religion Played a Role in the Persian Empire Essay

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Economy of Persian Society: Darius and Xerxes

Under Darius, the Persian Empire was at its height and its economy flourished. The lands and people he conquered paid taxes or tributes to him, most willingly, because he, like Cyrus, was tolerant of their cultures. The expansion of the Persian road system allowed for easier travels and a mail system to develop which facilitated trade and the moving of coin. Indeed, Darius had introduced a new coin, or currency, that was to be universally recognized -- this was the daric. This coining of money also allowed trade to flourish, as it was accepted even beyond the borders of Persia by other nations, who respected the coinage of Darius. The coins were made of either silver or gold and they greatly enhanced the international commerce of Persia at this time, giving the Persian Empire a very good economy.

The coins were also helpful in the collection of taxes, as they standardized payment. There were taxes levied on purchases, such as land, which was required to be officially registered so that the government could proceed with collecting revenues on its sale. From these proceeds, roads and icanals were built to help with overall infrastructure of the Empire, which in turn continued to boost the economy, for a strong infrastructure made the lands more connected and facilitated growth and prosperity (Verlag, 2008, p. 86). With the money flowing, banks came into being and a system of credit was established using a system of "weights and measures" (Farrokh, 2007, p. 66).

However, Darius soon found himself in conflict with the Greek city-states who refused to pay tribute to him and died as the Persian Wars got underway. Under Xerxes the Empire began to suffer more heavily, as the Persian Wars escalated, delivering the Persians one defeat after another. This taxed the Empire severely and put a great financial strain on the realm. The refusal of the Greeks (particularly Athens and Sparta) to acknowledge the Persians as lords and masters of the realm was a blow both to the Empire's ego and its economy -- for costly war followed upon costly war.

(b) Describe the main roles of the bureaucracy and provincial government in Persian society. (500 words)

10 Marks

While Persia had a king, its government relied upon an extensive bureaucracy with scribes overseeing work in the treasury departments throughout the Empire. It was a very organized and efficient form of government with a hierarchical structure which had the king at the top and various officials, bureaucrats and military personnel underneath -- from provincial governors to satraps, treasurers, garrisons, and secret pairs of "eyes" who acted as watchmen for the king over others.

The Empire itself was divided into satrapies. Under Darius there were 20 but as the Empire grew these increased as well, as a greater number of divisions was needed. These divisions were overseen by the kings' men or eyes as they were known. The satrapies were provinces and each had its own satrap who collected that taxes that the satrapies owed to the kingdom. These taxes were also known as tributes (essentially that which the Greeks did not wish to pay -- which started the wars).

The satraps were the heads of the provincial or local governments. The tributes they collected for the kingdom were measured by weighing them against the Babylonian or Euboic talent (Shahbazi, 1996, p. 47).

The role of the departments was to oversee the collection of taxes and the maintenance of the infrastructure as it was facilitated and expanded under the kings. The government also took it upon itself to reform the calendar, which assisted the people in their process of organization.

The satraps were typically of Persian descent and belonged to one of the royal or noble families of the Empire. Darius initially hand-picked each one to oversee the provinces, given the unique role that they would play as overlords of mini-empires within the overall Empire. The bureaucracy was further extended in each satrapie, as each had sub-provinces and each sub-province had a governor, so that the hierarchy of the whole was reflected in the miniature. Also, every head or satrap had a secretary who acted as the "eyes" of the king. The satrapies also had their own treasurer who watched over the revenues collected and there was a military commander in each satrapie to keep the troops in each area from breaking off on their own. The king typically had even more secret "eyes" observing for him and checking up on the other "eyes" of the secretary who was checking up on the satrap.

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Thus, there was a serious system of checks and balances in place. This was done in order that no one person would hold enough sway or power to assume command for himself: it was basically a safeguard against internal corruption.

A chancery headed the bureaucracy, uniting all the provinces under him, and an official common language was used in order to make business and order more cohesive and unified -- that language was Aramaic, picked under the reign of Darius. For Persians, however, the Aryan language was used in official documents for purposes of recording, etc. (Shahbazi, 1996, p. 48).

(c) With reference to Source 1 and other sources, explain the religious policy of the Persian kings. (Refer closely to the source and other evidence from historians) (800 words)

The religious policy of the Persian kings is reflected in the Seal of Darius with Ahura Mazda which shows the king taking aim in a riding chariot at lions as the Divine Spirit infuses him with Its Glory, thus signifying that the king is of divine substance to those whom he rules. This religious policy came about in the following manner.

Around 650 BC, the Persians became enamored of a new religion called Zoroastrianism, started by Zarathustra. This religion explained the world in epic terms of good and evil. What this meant, of course, was that Cyrus the Great (the ruler of Persia at the time) had a hand in the destiny of the world (essentially illustrated in the Seal of Darius, who would simply carry on this tradition). In fact, Cyrus was the first to hit upon the idea of conquering the world: which is what led to the Persian Empire and the Persian Wars with the Greeks.

The religious policy of the Persian kings was translated into a kind of social order, first set forth by Cyrus, who wrote the Cyrus Cylinder, now an ancient artifact that hold 45 lines of cuneiform script. This Cylinder has been called by some scholars as the first "human rights" declaration (Daniel, 2000, p. 39).

Even though Cyrus viewed himself as a spiritual superior to the others, he promoted a peaceful existence between Persians and Babylonians and gave the Hebrew people freedom to return to their land. As Herodotus (2004) states, "Great power is in general gained by running great risks," and the Persian Empire certainly showed great power under Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes (p. 129).

Their religious beliefs were primarily based on the teachings of Zarathustra, who had begun the religion of Zoroastrianism around 650 BC. According to Zarathustra, "the universe was under the control of two contrary gods, Ahura-Mazda, the creating god who is full of light and good, and Ahriman, the god of dark and evil. These two evenly matched gods are in an epic struggle over creation" (Hooker, 2015). Thus, the Persians were conscious of a moral law and a struggle between good and evil that encompassed all human beings.

This religion spread rather widely -- and to some degree it says something of the philosophy of Persian rule. Cyrus, for example, is said to have freed the Jews and allowed them to return to their homeland because of his desire to follow the good of Zoroastrianism. However, when Alexander the Great ruled over Persia, Zoroastrianism had less influence on the ruler who was educated instead by Aristotle of the Greeks. Zoroastrianism rose to prominence again after Christianity came into being. The Sassanid dynasty attempted to promote the Zoroastrian religion and suppress Christianity -- but that was many years after the rule of Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes. At the time of Persia's Imperial height, this religion informed the rulers' moral plane, but also gave them a sense of their spiritual superiority. This sense affected their political decisions -- especially when they demanded tribute from nations. If a nation refused, the Persians would go to war with them so that the king could show that he was of a special nature. If the nations consented, then there was no issue and the king would be tolerant of their ways, so long as they paid the tribute.

Thus, the Persians had taken great umbrage at the Greek participation in the Ionian Revolt. The first Persian invasion was meant to punish the Athenians for their role in it. When Darius, the "Great King" sent heralds into Greece to demand a tribute of earth….....

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