Political
The Persians were living under the Medes for years.The Persians based their empire off of tolerance and diplomacy. Cyrus the great was a military genius. He was controlling Indus River all the way to Anatolia. Cyrus began his rule in the year 550 B.C. He let the people keep their religion and their customs. Cyrus II conquered Babylon, defeated the Chaldeans, and he freed the Jews. He was probably the only king in all of history completely deserving of his title. He was crossing uncharted territory; he did things that no other king had done or will have ever done.
Cambyses destroyed the images of Egyptian gods. Darius lead the army of The Ten Thousand Immortals. Darius created a well-organized and efficient administration. The area was divided into twenty provinces by Darius I. First empire with a permanent paid army. Persia was too large for him to rule on his own, so he chose satraps to govern each region. He made coins for strengthen Persia’s economy. Darius was focused on governing his expanding empire. He created the Royal Road to connect everything. They preserved ideas for earlier civilizations. Respected other’s cultures.
After Xerxes Persia was weak, people rebelled, there was no more control with the populace, and the trade economy fell. Artaxerxes II had the longest reign of all the Persian kings. Xerxes led his sea and land forces against Greece, defeating the Spartans. They still lost. Babylonians lead a revolt, but Xerxes quickly defeated them. Then Xerxes was assassinated.
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Egyptian revolts were defeated by Artaxerxes. Darius II kept the empire intact. Artaxerxes II Egypt claimed independence, not much know of him. Artaxerxes III Egypt was reconquered, but the king was assassinated Artaxerxes IV was murdered. Darius III a second cousin, who faced the armies of Alexander III of Macedon ("the Great"). Ultimately Darius III was murdered by one of his own generals and Alexander claimed the Persian empire. Darius I created a permanent army made up of paid soldiers and instituted a new training system for the army. Persepolis served as a political center for the empire.