Where was Persia on the modern map? "Royal Way" and Darius Canal. Persia is the definition

• OK. 1300 BC e. - Medes and Persians founded their settlements.
• OK. 700-600 BC e. - creation of the Median and Persian kingdoms.
• Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC);
  • 559-530 BC e. - reign of Cyrus II in Persia.
  • 550 BC e. — Cyrus II defeats the Medes.
  • 522-486 BC e. - reign of Darius I in Persia. The rise of the Persian Empire.
  • 490-479 BC e. - Persians are at war with Greece
  • 486-465 BC e. - reign of Xerxes I in Persia.
  • 331-330 BC e. - conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great. Surrender of Persepolis to the fire.
• Parthian Kingdom or Arsacid Empire (250 BC - 227 AD).
• Sassanid State or Sassanid Empire (226-651 AD). Material from the site

Persia is the ancient name of the country that we now call Iran. Around 1300 BC e. two tribes invaded its territory: the Medes and the Persians. They founded two kingdoms: the Median - in the north, the Persian - in the south.

In 550 BC. e. Persian king Cyrus II, having defeated the Medes, captured their lands and created a colossal power. Years later, during the reign of King Darius I, Persia becomes the largest state in the world.

For many years, Persia waged war with Greece. The Persians won several victories, but in the end their army was defeated. After the death of Darius' son, Xerxes I, the power lost its former strength. In 331 BC. e. Persia was conquered by Alexander the Great.

Darius I

Policy

King Darius I, collecting taxes from conquered peoples, became fabulously rich. He allowed the population to adhere to their beliefs and way of life, as long as they paid tribute regularly.

Darius divided the huge state into regions, which were to be governed by local rulers, satraps. The officials who looked after the satraps ensured that the latter remained loyal to the king.

Construction

Darius I built throughout the empire good roads. Now the messengers could move faster. The Royal Road stretched 2,700 km from Sardis in the west to the capital city of Susa.

Darius spent some of his wealth building a magnificent palace at Persepolis. During the New Year celebrations, officials from all over the empire came to the palace with gifts for the king. The main hall, where the king received his subjects, could accommodate 10 thousand people. Inside, the front hall was decorated with gold, silver, ivory and ebony (black) wood. The tops of the columns were decorated with bull heads, and the staircase was decorated with carvings. During the gathering of guests for various holidays, people brought gifts to the king: vessels with golden sand, gold and silver cups, ivory, fabrics and gold bracelets, lion cubs, camels, etc. Those who arrived were waiting in the courtyard.

The Persians were followers of the prophet Zarathustra (or Zoroaster), who taught that there is only one god. The fire was sacred, and therefore the priests did not allow the sacred fire to go out.

>>History: Ancient Persia

21. Ancient Persia - “country of countries”

1. The rise of Persia.

The country of the Persians was a remote province for a long time Assyria. It was located on the site of modern Iran, occupying the territory between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. In the middle of the 6th century BC. e. The rapid rise of the Persian state began. In 558 BC. e. king Persia became Cyrus II the Great. He captured neighboring Media, then defeated Croesus, the ruler of the richest kingdom of Lydia.

Historians suggest that the world's first silver and gold coins began to be minted in Lydia in the 7th century BC. e.

The wealth of the last Lydian king Croesus became a proverb in ancient times. “Rich as Croesus” - this is what they said and still say about a very rich man. Before the start of the war with Persia, Croesus turned to the soothsayers, wanting to get an answer about the outcome of the war. They gave an ambiguous answer: “By crossing the river, you will destroy the great kingdom.” And so it happened. Croesus decided that we were talking about the Persian kingdom, but he destroyed his own kingdom, suffering a crushing defeat from Cyrus.

Under King Cyrus, the Persian Empire included all the lands that once belonged to Assyria and the Neo-Babylonian kingdom. In 539 BC. e. fell under the pressure of the Persians Babylon. The Persian power surpassed all previously existing states in territory Ancient world and became an empire. The possessions of Persia as a result of the conquests of Cyrus and his son extended from Egypt to India. While conquering the country, Cyrus did not encroach on the customs and religion of its people. To the title of the Persian king he added the title of ruler of the conquered country.

2. The death of Cyrus the Great.

In ancient times, many considered King Cyrus the Great to be the model of a ruler. From his ancestors, Cyrus inherited wisdom, firmness and the ability to rule over peoples. However, Cyrus, who defeated many kings and military leaders, was destined to fall at the hands of a female warrior. To the northeast of the Persian kingdom stretched the lands inhabited by the warlike nomadic tribes of the Massagetae. They were ruled by Queen Tomiris. Cyrus first invited her to marry him. However, the proud queen rejected Cyrus's proposal. Then the Persian king moved his army of thousands to the country of the Syr Darya River, in Central Asia. In the first battle, the Massagetians were successful, but then the Persians defeated part of the Massagetian army by cunning. Among the dead was the queen's son. Then the queen swore an oath to give the hated conqueror blood to drink. The light cavalry of the Massagetae exhausted the Persian army with their sudden and swift attacks. In one of the battles, Cyrus himself was killed. Tomiris ordered the leather fur to be filled with blood and the head of the dead enemy to be stuffed into it. Thus ended the almost 30-year reign of Cyrus the Great, who seemed so powerful.

3. The greatest eastern despotism.

At the end of the reign of Cyrus's son, King Cambyses, turmoil began in Persia. As a result of the struggle for power, Darius I, a distant relative of Cyrus, became the ruler of the Persian state.

The events that followed the death of Cyrus the Great and the first years of Darius's reign are known from the Behistun inscription. It was carved on the rock during the reign of Darius I. The height of the inscription is 7.8 m. It is made in three languages ​​- Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian. The inscription was discovered in 1835 by the English officer G. Rawlinson. It made it possible to decipher Persian and then Akkadian cuneiform.

Under Darius, the Persian Empire expanded its borders even further and reached its greatest power. It united many countries and peoples. Persian empire was called the “country of countries”, and its ruler was called the “king of kings”. All his subjects obeyed him unquestioningly - from noble Persians who occupied the highest positions in the state, to the last slave. The Persian Empire was a true oriental despotism.

In order to better manage the huge empire, Darius divided its territory into 20 satrapies. A satrapy is a province headed by a governor appointed by the king - a satrap. Since these managers often abused their power, the word "satrap" subsequently acquired a negative meaning. It came to mean an official who rules arbitrarily, a tyrant ruler. Darius did not trust many satraps, so each of them had secret informers. These informers were called the “eyes and ears” of the king. They were obliged to report to the king everything about the actions, life and plans of the satraps.

Throughout the Persian Empire, special officials collected taxes into the royal treasury. Severe punishment awaited all those who evaded. No one could escape paying taxes .

Roads were built not only between Major cities, but reached the most remote corners of the Persian Empire. In order for the king's orders to reach the provinces faster and more reliably. Darius established a state post office. The "royal" road connected the most important cities of the Persian Empire. Special posts were installed on it. There were messengers here, ready at any moment to set off on fast-footed horses and deliver the king’s message to any point in the empire. Darius updated the monetary system. Under him, gold coins began to be minted, which were called “dariks”. Trade flourished in the Persian Empire, grandiose construction was carried out, and crafts developed.

4. Capitals of the Persians.

The Persian Empire had several capitals: the ancient city of Susa, the former capital of Media Ecbatana, the city of Pasargadae built by Cyrus. The Persian kings lived for a long time in Babylon. But the main capital was Persepolis, built by Darius I. Here the “king of kings” solemnly celebrated the Persian New Year, which was celebrated on the day of the Winter Solstice. The coronation took place in Persepolis. Representatives from all provinces came here for several weeks a year to present rich gifts to the king.

Persepolis was built on an artificial platform. In the royal palace there was a huge throne room where the king received ambassadors. The guards of the “immortals” are depicted on the walls rising along the wide staircases. This was the name of the selected royal army, numbering 10 thousand soldiers. When one of them died, another immediately took his place. The "Immortals" are armed with long spears, massive bows, and heavy shields. They served as the “eternal” guard of the king. Persepolis was built by all of Asia. An ancient inscription testifies to this.

The “procession of peoples” that were part of the Persian state is immortalized on the walls of Persepolis. Representatives of each of them bring rich gifts - gold, precious items, and lead horses, camels, and cattle.

5. Religion of the Persians.

In ancient times, the Persians worshiped different gods. Their priests were called magicians. At the end of the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e. The magician and prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra) transformed the ancient Persian religion. His teaching was called Zoroastrianism. The sacred book of Zoroastrianism is "Avesta".

Zoroaster taught that the creator of the world is the god of goodness and light, Ahura Mazda. His enemy is the spirit of evil and darkness Angra Manyu. They are constantly fighting among themselves, but the final victory will be for light and goodness. Man must support the god of light in this struggle. Ahura Mazda was depicted as a winged solar disk. He was considered the patron saint of the Persian kings.

The Persians did not build temples or erect statues of gods. They built altars on high places or on hills and performed sacrifices on them. Zoroaster's teaching about the struggle between light and darkness in the world had a great influence on the religious ideas of subsequent eras

IN AND. Ukolova, L.P. Marinovich, History, 5th grade
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Ancient Persia
Human settlements existed on the Iranian plateau in the 4th millennium BC. e., long before the heyday of the civilizations of Mesopotamia. Some of the tribes (Persians, Medes, Bactrians, Parthians) settled in the western part of the plateau; Cimmerians, Sarmatians, Alans, and Baluchi settled in the east and along the coast of the Gulf of Oman.
The first Iranian state was the Kingdom of Media, founded in 728 BC. e. with its capital in Hamadan (Ecbatana). The Medes quickly established control over all of western Iran and part of eastern Iran. Together with the Babylonians, the Medes defeated the Assyrian Empire, captured northern Mesopotamia and Urartu, and later the Armenian Highlands.

Achaemenids
In 553 BC. e. young Persian king of Anshan and Parsa Cyrus from the Achaemenid clan opposed the Medes. Cyrus captured Ecbatana and declared himself king of Persia and Media. At the same time, the Median king Ishtuvegu was captured, but later released and appointed governor of one of the provinces. Until his death in 529 BC. e. Cyrus II the Great subjugated the entire Western Asia from the Mediterranean and Anatolia to the Syr Darya to the Achaemenid Empire. Earlier, in 546 BC. e., Cyrus founded the capital of his kingdom in Fars - Pasargadae, where he was buried. Cyrus' son Cambyses II expanded his father's empire to Egypt and Ethiopia.

Western Iran. Bas-relief on the rock. 22 meters long

After the death of Cambyses and the ensuing civil strife in his inner circle and riots throughout the country, he came to power Darius Hystasp. Darius quickly and harshly brought order to the empire and began new campaigns of conquest, as a result of which the Achaemenid Empire expanded to the Balkans in the west and to the Indus in the east, becoming the largest and most powerful state that had ever existed at that time. Cyrus also conducted a series internal reforms. He divided the country into several administrative units - satrapies, and for the first time in history the principle of separation of powers was implemented: the troops were not subordinate to the satraps and at the same time the military leaders had no administrative power. In addition, Darius carried out a monetary reform and introduced the gold darik into circulation. Combined with the construction of a network of paved roads, this contributed to an unprecedented leap in trade relations.
Darius patronized Zoroastrianism and considered priests to be the core of Persian statehood. Under him, this first monotheistic religion became the state religion in the empire. At the same time, the Persians were tolerant of the conquered peoples and their beliefs and culture.

The heirs of Darius I began to violate the principles internal structure, introduced by the king, as a result of which the satrapies became more independent. There was a rebellion in Egypt, and unrest began in Greece and Macedonia. Under these conditions, the Macedonian commander Alexander began a military campaign against the Persians, and by 330 BC. e. defeated the Achaemenid Empire.

Parthia and Sassanids
After the death of Alexander II in 323 BC. e. his empire broke up into several separate states. Most of the territory of modern Iran went to Seleucia, but the Parthian king Mithridates soon began campaigns of conquest against the Seleucids and included Persia, as well as Armenia and Mesopotamia, into his empire. In 92 BC. e. a border was drawn between Parthia and Rome along the bed of the Euphrates, but the Romans almost immediately invaded the western Parthian satrapies and were defeated. In a return campaign, the Parthians captured the entire Levant and Anatolia, but were driven back to the Euphrates by the troops of Mark Antony. Soon after this, civil wars broke out in Parthia one after another, caused by Rome's intervention in the struggle between the Parthian and Greek nobility.
In 224, Ardashir Papakan, the son of the ruler of the small town of Kheir in Pars, defeated the Parthian army of Artaban IV and founded the second Persian Empire - Iranshahr ("Kingdom of the Aryans") - with its capital at Firuzabad, becoming the founder of a new dynasty - the Sassanids. The influence of the aristocracy and the Zoroastrian clergy increased, and persecution of non-believers began. Administrative reform has been carried out. The Sassanids continued the fight against the Romans and nomads Central Asia.

Under King Khosrow I (531-579), active expansion began: Antioch was captured in 540, and Egypt in 562. The Byzantine Empire became tax dependent on the Persians. The coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula, including Yemen, were occupied. At the same time, Khosrow defeated the Hephthalite state on the territory of modern Tajikistan. Khusrow's military successes led to a flourishing of trade and culture in Iran.
The grandson of Khosrow I, Khosrow II (590-628) resumed the war with Byzantium, but suffered defeat after defeat. Military expenses were covered by exorbitant taxes on merchants and levies on the poor. As a result, uprisings began to break out throughout the country, Khosrow was captured and executed. His grandson, Yezigerd III (632-651) became the last Sasanian king. Despite the end of the war with Byzantium, the collapse of the empire continued. In the south, the Persians faced a new enemy - the Arabs.

Arab and Turkic conquests. Abbasids, Umayyads, Tahirids, Ghaznavids, Timurids.
Arab raids into Sasanian Iran began in 632. The Persian army suffered its most crushing defeat at the Battle of Qadisiyah in 637. The Arab conquest of Persia continued until 652, and it was incorporated into the Umayyad Caliphate. The Arabs spread Islam to Iran, which greatly changed Persian culture. After Islamization, literature, philosophy, art, and medicine developed rapidly. The flourishing of Persian culture marked the beginning of the Golden Age of Islam.
In 750, the Persian general Abu Moslem-Khorasani led the Abbasid campaign against the Umayyads to Damascus, and then to the capital of the Caliphate, Baghdad. In gratitude, the new caliph granted the Persian governors a certain autonomy, and also took several Persians as viziers. However, in 822, Tahir ben-Hussein ben-Musab, the governor of Khorasan, declared the independence of the province and declared himself the founder of a new Persian dynasty - the Tahirids. Already by the beginning of the Samanid reign, Iran had practically restored its independence from the Arabs.

Despite the adoption of Islam by Persian society, Arabization in Iran was not successful. The introduction of Arab culture met resistance from the Persians and became the impetus for the struggle for independence from the Arabs. The revival played an important role in restoring the national identity of the Persians Persian language and literature, which peaked in the 9th-10th centuries. In this regard, Ferdowsi's epic “Shahnameh”, written entirely in Farsi, became famous.
In 977, the Turkmen commander Alp-Tegin opposed the Samanids and founded the Ghaznavid state with its capital in Ghazni (Afghanistan). Under the Ghaznavids, Persia's cultural flourishing continued. Their Seljuk followers moved the capital to Isfahan.
In 1218, the northeast of Iran, which was part of the Khorezm kingdom, was attacked by Genghis Khan. The whole of Khorasan was devastated, as well as the territories of the eastern provinces of modern Iran. About half the population was killed by the Mongols. As a result of famine and wars, by 1260 the population of Iran had decreased from 2.5 million to 250 thousand people. Genghis Khan's campaign was followed by the conquest of Iran by another Mongol commander - Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan. Timur founded the capital of his empire in Samarkand, but he, like his followers, chose to abandon the implantation of Mongol culture in Persia.
The centralization of the Iranian state resumed with the rise to power of the Safavid dynasty, which put an end to the rule of the descendants of the Mongol conquerors.

Islamic Iran: Safavids, Afsharids, Zends, Qajars, Pahlavis.
Shia Islam was adopted in Iran as the state religion under Shah Ismail I of the Safavid dynasty in 1501. In 1503, Ismail defeated Ak-Koyunlu and built a new state on its ruins with its capital in Tabriz. The Safavid Empire reached its peak during Abbas I, defeating the Ottoman Empire and annexing the territories of modern Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of Pakistan, the territories of modern Azerbaijan, parts of Armenia and Georgia, as well as the provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran on the Caspian Sea. Thus, Iran's possessions already extended from the Tigris to the Indus.
The capital was moved from Tabriz to Qazvin and then to Isfahan. The conquered territories brought wealth and prosperity to Iran. Culture began to flourish. Iran became a centralized state, and the armed forces were modernized. However, after the death of Abbas the Great, the empire fell into decline. Mismanagement led to the loss of Kandahar and Baghdad. In 1722, the Afghans raided Iran, immediately taking Isfahan, and installed Mahmud Khan on the throne. Then Nadir Shah, the commander of the last Safavid ruler, Tahmasp II, killed him along with his son and established Afsharid rule in Iran.
First of all, Nadir Shah changed the state religion to Sunnism, and then defeated Afghanistan and returned Kandahar to Persia. Retreating Afghan troops fled to India. Nadir Shah urged the Indian Mogul, Mohammed Shah, not to accept them, but he did not agree, then the Shah invaded India. In 1739, Nadir Shah's troops entered Delhi, but an uprising soon broke out there. The Persians carried out a real massacre in the city, and then returned to Iran, completely plundering the country. In 1740, Nadir Shah made a campaign in Turkestan, as a result of which the borders of Iran advanced to the Amu Darya. In the Caucasus, the Persians reached Dagestan. In 1747, Nadir Shah was assassinated.

In 1750, power passed to the Zend dynasty, led by Karim Khan. Karim Khan became the first Persian in 700 years to become the head of state. He moved the capital to Shiraz. The period of his reign is characterized by a virtual absence of wars and cultural flourishing. The power of the Zends lasted only three generations, and in 1781 it passed to the Qajar dynasty. The founder of the dynasty, the blind Agha Mohammed Khan, carried out reprisals against the Zends and the descendants of the Afsharids. Having strengthened the power of the Qajars in Iran, Mohammed Khan organized a campaign against Georgia, defeating Tbilisi and killing more than 20 thousand residents of the city. The second campaign against Georgia in 1797 did not take place, since the Shah was killed by his own servants (Georgian and Kurdish) in Karabakh. Shortly before his death, Mohammad Khan moved the capital of Iran to Tehran.
As a result of a series of unsuccessful wars with Russia, Persia under the Qajars lost almost half of its territory. Corruption flourished, control over the outskirts of the country was lost. After prolonged protests, the country experienced a Constitutional Revolution in 1906, resulting in Iran becoming a constitutional monarchy. In 1920, the Gilan Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Gilan, which would exist until September 1921. In 1921, Reza Khan Pahlavi overthrew Ahmed Shah and in 1925 was declared the new Shah.
Pahlavi coined the term “Shakhinshah” (“king of kings”). Under him, large-scale industrialization of Iran began, and the infrastructure was completely modernized. During World War II, the Shaheenshah refused British and Soviet requests to station troops in Iran. Then the Allies invaded Iran, overthrew the Shah and took control of railways and oil fields. In 1942, Iran's sovereignty was restored, and power passed to the Shah's son, Mohammed. Nevertheless, Soviet Union, fearing possible aggression from Turkey, kept his troops in northern Iran until May 1946.
After the war, Mohammad Reza pursued a policy of active Westernization and de-Islamization, which did not always find understanding among the people. Numerous rallies and strikes took place. In 1951, Mohammed Mossadegh became the Chairman of the Government of Iran, who was actively engaged in reform, seeking a revision of agreements on the distribution of profits of the British Petroleum company. Nationalization takes place oil industry Iran. However, in the United States, a coup plan was immediately developed, with the active participation of British intelligence services, carried out in August 1953 by the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, Carmit Roosevelt. Mossadegh was removed from his post and imprisoned. Three years later he was released and placed under house arrest, where he remained until his death in 1967.
In 1963, Ayatollah Khomeini was expelled from the country. In 1965, Prime Minister Hassan Ali Mansour was mortally wounded by members of the Fedayan Islam group. In 1973, all political parties and associations, the secret police were founded. By the end of the 1970s, Iran was engulfed in mass protests that resulted in the overthrow of the Pahlavi regime and the final abolition of the monarchy. In 1979, the Islamic Revolution took place in the country and an Islamic republic was founded.
The internal political consequences of the revolution were manifested in the establishment of a theocratic regime of the Muslim clergy in the country and the increasing role of Islam in absolutely all spheres of life.
Meanwhile, the President of neighboring Iraq, Saddam Hussein, decided to take advantage of internal instability in Iran and its strained relations with Western countries. Iran has been (not for the first time) made territorial claims over areas along the Persian Gulf coast east of the Shatt al-Arab River. In particular, Hussein demanded the transfer to Iraq of western Khuzestan, where the majority of the population were Arabs and there were huge oil reserves. These demands were ignored by Iran, and Hussein began preparing for a large-scale war. On September 22, 1980, the Iraqi army crossed the Shatt al-Arab and invaded Khuzestan, which came as a complete surprise to the Iranian leadership.
Although Saddam Hussein achieved considerable success in the first months of the war, the advance of the Iraqi army was soon stopped, Iranian troops launched a counteroffensive and by mid-1982 drove the Iraqis out of the country. Khomeini decided not to stop the war, planning to “export” the revolution to Iraq. This plan relied primarily on the Shiite majority of eastern Iraq. However, after another 6 years of unsuccessful offensive attempts on both sides, a peace agreement was signed. The Iran-Iraq border remains unchanged.
In 1997, Mohammed Khatami was elected President of Iran, proclaiming the beginning of a policy of tolerant attitude towards culture and establishing closer ties with Western countries.
From 2005 to 2013 - President of Iran, elected for two consecutive terms, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

What comes to mind most people when they hear the name of the state of Iran? Revolution, nuclear program, opposition to the West? Unfortunately, many people judge Iran based on the press reports of the last thirty years, but this is exactly what they say. However, any Iranian will readily tell you that his home country has a completely different story. The documented history of the state spans approximately 2,500 years, up to the modern Islamic Republic of Iran. The republic was founded in 1979 as a result of a revolution, the main inspirer of which was the conservative clergy. This is probably the world's first modern constitutional theocracy and the greatest experiment: can religious leaders who oblige the people who have behind them to live according to the law of Allah effectively govern them? rich history Persia? The Iranian character cannot be separated into its components - it combines Persian, Islamic, and Western. Moreover, Persian notes have nothing to do with Islamic culture.

In the 7th century, Persia became part of the Arab Caliphate. Since then, the heirs of the empire have made every effort to preserve their national character, its originality.

The fight for the right to be a slave. In Iran I was a guest, and a guest here has the highest status. At the table he is given the best place, are treated to the most juicy fruits. This is one of the rules complex system politeness - taarof. It determines all life here. Hospitality, courtship, family relationships, political negotiations - taarof is an unwritten code that defines how people should behave with each other. This word comes from the Arabic “arafa”, which translates as “to know”, “to receive knowledge”. But the idea of ​​ta'arof—to debase oneself while exalting another—is of Persian origin, says William Beaman, a linguist-anthropologist at the University of Minnesota. He called it “the struggle for the right to be a slave of the situation,” but an exquisitely refined struggle. In Iranian society with its complex hierarchical structure, such interaction, paradoxically, allows people to communicate on equal terms. True, sometimes Iranians get so carried away, trying to please each other (at least in appearance) and refusing offers (also in appearance) that it becomes difficult to understand what they really want. They chat casually, alternately making requests and then refusing - and so on until they comprehend all the plans of the interlocutor. Courtesy and outward sincerity while hiding true feelings are a skillful pretense! – are considered the pinnacle of taarof and a huge social achievement. “You should never show your intentions or your true self,” explains a former Iranian political prisoner now living in France. “You need to make sure you’re not putting yourself in danger.” And there are always plenty of dangers in Iran.” Conflict based on territorial grounds. Indeed, Iran's long history is replete with wars and invasions. The cause of all conflicts is territorial. Riches and a good strategic location provoked one invasion after another. Persia experienced several downfalls and revivals. Among the conquerors were Turks, Mongols and, most importantly, Arabs, inspired by the new religion - Islam. It was they who managed to finally pacify Persia in the 7th century, which became part of the Arab Caliphate. Since then, the heirs of the empire have been making every effort to preserve their national character and their identity. The hearts and spirits of these people are not so easily changed. During any invasion, the Persians managed to remain themselves, passing on traditions to the conquerors. Thus, Alexander the Great, having destroyed conquered Persia, later adopted its customs and principles of state structure. He even took a Persian woman (Roxana) as his wife and ordered thousands of his warriors to follow his example. Iranians pride themselves on getting along with strangers. They accept the customs of the invaders that they like, but they do not abandon their own. Cultural flexibility is the basis of the Persian character. In the ruins of the ancient capital, Persepolis, burned by Alexander the Great, images on stone walls. The drawings indicate the friendly atmosphere that reigned at that time: representatives different nations They present each other with gifts, placing their hands on each other's shoulders in a welcoming manner. It seems that at that time, in an era of barbarism and cruelty, Persepolis demonstrated cosmopolitanism. The territory of today's Iran was already inhabited ten thousand years ago. Aryans to whom Iran owes modern name(it comes from the word airanam, which means “country of the Aryans”), began to populate these regions around 1500 BC. Scientists have yet to make many discoveries related to the history of the country. There are already tens of thousands of archaeological sites in Iran. At one of them, in the southeast of the country, near the city of Jiroft, work began in 2000. It appeared thanks to a flash flood on the Khalil River, which exposed thousands of ancient tombs. Excavations have been going on there for only a few seasons, but they have already been found most interesting items. Among them is a bronze head of a goat, which is believed to be five thousand years old. Perhaps Jiroft is the center of civilization from ancient Mesopotamia.

In the 6th century BC, King Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty founded the First Persian Empire, which later became the largest and most powerful kingdom of antiquity. At its peak under Cyrus' successor Darius, the empire's possessions extended from the Mediterranean to the Indus River.

The excavations here are led by the famous archaeologist Yousef Majidzade. Some time ago he headed the department of archeology at the University of Tehran; after the revolution, he lost his job and left for France. But in recent years, he says, a lot has changed in Iran, such as a renewed interest in archaeology. And so he arrived home to explore the tombs near Jiroft. Territory of sensations. What era does the find belong to? Youssef believes these may be traces of the mythical Aratta, which existed around 2700 BC. Some researchers believe that it was in Aratta that marvelous handicrafts were created, which then found their way to Mesopotamia. But there is no evidence yet, and other scientists are skeptical. In the 6th century BC, King Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty founded the First Persian Empire, which later became the largest and most powerful kingdom of antiquity. The king was a brave, modest, kind ruler. The empire he created is called the first power where religious and cultural tolerance existed. It united more than twenty-three peoples who coexisted peacefully under a single central authority, which at first was concentrated in Pasargadae. At its peak under Cyrus' successor Darius, the empire's possessions extended from the Mediterranean to the Indus River. It turns out that Persia was the first world superpower! “We would like to return to those times,” says Saeed Leylaz, a Tehran economist and political scientist. – Over the centuries, the borders have narrowed, but the memory of the superpower and former greatness stayed." Thoughts about the grandiose achievements of the past are supported by archaeological finds. Among them is the Cyrus Cylinder, perhaps the most stunning object found in Iran. On a clay cylinder (the original is kept in London, in British Museum) carved in cuneiform is a decree that can be considered the first charter of human rights, and this document predates Magna Carta by almost two millennia. The decree establishes religious and ethnic freedoms, a ban on slavery and any oppression, seizure of property by force or without compensation. And the conquered lands themselves decided whether to submit to the authority of Cyrus. “The top hat is far from the only example of how Iran surprises the world,” said Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and laureate Nobel Prize world 2003. “Many foreigners are amazed when they learn that sixty-five percent of our college students are girls. And when they see Iranian painting and architecture, they don’t believe their eyes! They judge us only by what they have heard over the past thirty years.”

“In addition to the Persians, many different nationalities live in Iran today,” says archaeologist Yousef. “But they all know Farsi, one of the oldest living languages ​​in the world.”

When I asked people what the world should know about them, they immediately answered: “We are not Arabs!” And they immediately added: “We are not terrorists!” The Arabs who conquered Iran are considered by many here to be something like Bedouins, who did not have their own culture other than the one they adopted from the Persians. Iranians still talk about them with such hostility, as if not fourteen centuries had passed, but a couple of months. Saving lines. To preserve themselves, the Persians continued to speak their native language. Poetry helped protect him from dissolving into foreign speech. Iranians idolize Rumi, Saadi, Omar Khayyam, Hafez. But still, the main national poet is Ferdowsi, who lived in the 10th century. When the Arabs first conquered Persia, its inhabitants could not openly express their thoughts, moreover, in their native language. Ferdowsi did it for them. The poet was a devout Muslim, but resisted Arab influence. Trying to use fewer Arabic words, over the course of thirty years he created the poetic epic “Shahnameh” (“Book of Kings”). This masterpiece of world literature describes the stories of fifty monarchies: the accession of kings to the throne, their deaths, frequent abdications of power and coups. The epic ends with the Arab conquest, described as a disaster. The tales of the Shahnameh feature warring kings and warrior heroes, the latter almost always being morally superior to the rulers they serve. These stories raise the problem of righteous people falling under the rule of the evil or incompetent. Since the Shahnameh was written, the language has been somewhat Arabized, but its basis remains Old Persian. “In addition to the Persians, many different nationalities live in Iran today: Turkmens, Arabs, Azerbaijanis, Baluchis, Kurds and others,” says archaeologist Yousef. “But they all know Farsi, one of the oldest living languages ​​in the world.” The original Shahnameh has long been lost. One of the copies is kept in the Golestan Palace Museum in Tehran and dates from around 1430. The caretaker, a pretty girl named Behnaz Tabrizi, showed it to me. The illustrations - twenty-two in total - are made with ink from stone dust mixed with the juice of flower petals. Today this book is considered one of the main relics of Iran. They say that any Iranian, educated or not, can quote Ferdowsi. Readings are held regularly - in colleges, at someone's home, or in traditional Persian teahouses. In one of these teahouses, Azari (in the south of Tehran), where the walls are painted with scenes from the Shahnameh, I listened to a reader reciting passages from the great book. Then the musicians performed traditional songs, to which the children danced. And the parents watching the dance sipped tea from elegant glasses, snacking on dates and cookies.

When the Arabs came with what they thought was a new idea of ​​worship to one god, the Persians knew monotheism for more than a thousand years.

One holiday. Poetry is not the only means by which the Persians managed to preserve their culture. Take, for example, Navruz - the spring holiday of the equinox, also known as the New Year. Today it is celebrated not only in Iran, but also in the republics of Central Asia and Transcaucasia. This is a thirteen-day extravaganza during which everything is closed and people walk, dance, and read poetry. The tradition of Nowruz goes back to Zoroastrianism, ancient religion Persians The teachings of Zarathustra (Greek - Zoroaster) influenced many beliefs, including the main world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. When the Arabs came with what they thought was a new idea of ​​worshiping a single god, the Persians had known monotheism for more than a thousand years. “The heavens are forcing us!” What happens to ancient Persian traditions today? Until 1979, the country was ruled by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who, hiding behind the great ideas of Cyrus, implanted the music, clothing, behavior and business interests of the West. In 1971, he tried to artificially instill national pride in people by organizing an ostentatious celebration in honor of the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. A luxurious tent city was set up at the entrance to Persepolis, food was brought from Paris, and the guests included important people from all over the world. But the Iranians did not like the idea of ​​the Shah. In 1979, as a result of the revolution, conservative Islamists came to power who did not want to revive the Persian spirit - quite the contrary! Thus, they tried to downplay the significance of Nowruz, proposing to move the New Year to the birthday of Imam Ali, the historical leader of the Shiites, which includes the majority of Iranians. “The authorities even resorted to arrests,” my friend Ali told me. “But our holiday cannot be canceled - after all, it is more than two and a half thousand years old!” Today, reformist priests, one of the centers of power in Iran, are calling on Iranians to be Muslims without being Arabs, and also not to forget about ancient history. After the revolution, at first people perceived the revival of Islam as a cleansing from Western influence. Meanwhile, many Iranians are naturally closer to the teachings of Zoroastrianism, according to which the goal of spiritual quest is self-knowledge. And although at first the Iranians did not object to the strengthening of the role of Islam in the life of society, they were not prepared for the fact that the new order would be imposed so harshly. People never expected that religious leaders would begin to interfere in both the judicial system and daily life. Punishments were introduced in the spirit of the Middle Ages (they have survived to this day): the guilty were stoned, hanged, their fingers and even limbs were cut off. Now the central authorities discourage some of these rituals, but in the provinces conservative mullahs adamantly observe the traditions. All this is motivated by the righteous goal of serving Allah and preparing oneself for life in paradise. “The heavens are forcing us!” – says Ali. Forward to the past. After the revolution, the doors to the West were closed for a decade. The ruling conservative clergy has minimized any manifestations of culture dating back to the pre-Islamic period (in all Muslim countries it is called jahiliyya, the era of ignorance). Zoroastrian symbols were replaced with Islamic ones, streets were renamed, and references to the Persian Empire disappeared from textbooks. At one time, people also feared for the fate of Ferdowsi’s burial place - a large mausoleum made of light stone in the suburbs of the holy city of Mashhad, with an amazing mirror pond, over which the hubbub of birds hovering around the columns can be heard. Even Persepolis was threatened to be razed to the ground. “But they realized that then the people would rebel, and they left everything in its place,” Ali said. It seems that the Islamic Revolution—the “second Arab invasion,” as it is called—only strengthened the connection with the past that it had tried so hard to eradicate. Young Iranians also keep the memory of the glorious Persian past. One of them is underground rap artist Yas, a guy with black crew-cut hair and stylish long sideburns. On his neck is a silver fravakhar - a Zoroastrian winged disk, symbolizing the exaltation of the soul through pious thoughts, words and deeds. The young man belongs to the revolution generation that grew up after 1979, which makes up more than two-thirds of the country's 70 million population. He sings about Persian poets, about ancient ancestors, about the history of Iran. Yas also criticizes his fellow citizens for only resting on the laurels of the great past. In recent years, Iranians have begun to awaken to that part of their national self-awareness that is associated with the idea that they are direct descendants of perhaps the most ancient human race. So, they told me about the recent action at the grave of Cyrus. Approximately two thousand people bought multiple entry tickets on one day, wanting to support the restoration of the burial site. The action was unofficial - without speeches and ceremonies. But new archaeological excavations, unfortunately, are still moving slowly. “The country has a lot to worry about, and archeology is not in the first place,” says researcher Yousef Majidzadeh. However, according to him, after the discoveries near Jiroft, all provinces became excited about excavations. Now the tiniest town dreams of telling the world its own Iranian story.

Ancient Persia (Iran) a state in Western and Central Asia (the territory of modern Iran and Pakistan). At its height, this was a vast territory, starting from the coast of Asia Minor and reaching the Indus River in the east. This great empire, which united dozens of ancient Iranian tribes who called themselves “Aryans,” became a mediator in the cultural dialogue between the West and the East.

First mentions of Persia

The life of the Persians in ancient times is known from Assyrian sources, which described conflicts with various mountain tribes. It is known that at the end of the 8th century BC. e. A tribal union was formed near Lake Urmia under the leadership of the leaders of the noble Persian family of the Achaemenids. This land was conquered first by Assyria, and in the 7th century. BC e. Media subdued. King Astyages of Media married one of his daughters to the Persian king Cambyses I, the great-grandson of the legendary founder of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty. In this marriage, Cyrus II was born, who in the future became the Great, the king of all the Persian peoples. A legend is connected with his birth, which Herodotus brought to us in his “History”.

The Legend of Cyrus

Once upon a time, the ruler of Media, Astyages, had a dream that from the womb of his daughter grew vine, which first filled all of Media, and then Asia. He called the magicians to interpret the dream for him. According to them, this meant that his daughter’s son would capture Media and Asia during Astyages’ lifetime. When his daughter gave birth to a son, Astyages panicked that the prophecy would come true and ordered his grandson to be killed by his nobleman Harpagus. Harpagus did not want to get his hands dirty himself and gave the boy to a shepherd, ordering him to be killed in the mountains, and then to bring and show the baby’s body. At this time, the shepherd's wife gave birth to a stillborn child, the shepherd kept the boy for himself, and brought the body of his child to Harpagu. The boy was named Cyrus. So the prince grew up, not knowing about his origin.

Until one day the son of a nobleman appeared in the pasture and saw the game of the shepherds’ sons playing “king”. Cyrus was chosen as king because he was a tall young man with a proud bearing; others followed his orders and guarded the palace. The official’s son was also taken into this game. But he began to argue with the “king”, for which he was punished and whipped. Returning home, he complained to his father that he had been beaten by order of the Persian; the indignant father told everything to Astyages. The king ordered the shepherd and his son to be brought to the palace. Then he interrogated Harpagus, having learned the truth, the king, in a rage, ordered his son to be executed. Harpagus decided to take revenge on the cruel king at the first opportunity.

The magicians dissuaded Astyages from killing his grandson, saying that the prophecy had come true, the boy was already a king in a children's game. Nevertheless, Astyages played it safe, ordering that all roads be guarded so that not a single person could divulge to Cyrus the story of his origin. But Harpagus outwitted Astyages by writing a letter to Cyrus, which he hid in the belly of a hare. Having given the hare to his servant, he ordered it to be delivered to the boy. Dressed as a hunter, the servant fulfilled the master's orders. On the way, the royal guards searched the servant, but did not find the letter. Thus, the letter fell into the hands of Cyrus, who learned from it who he really was.

Soon, Cyrus rebelled against Astyages (in 550 BC), gathering an army of Persians. Having moved his army to Ecbatana, the capital of the Medes, Cyrus unexpectedly received help from the Medes themselves. Astyages sent his army, led by Harpagus, to meet the Persian army, confident that he remained loyal to him. However, Harpagus did not forgive the king for the death of his son and persuaded the Medes from noble families to treason. Moreover, it was easy to do; many did not like the king for his cruelty. As a result, many Medes went over to the enemy’s side. The Persians managed to disperse the victorious Median army. The prophetic dream came true, Astyages executed the magicians. Having recruited another army, he led it against the Persians. The Mede warriors were known as excellent horsemen. Cyrus ordered his army to move on foot. The warriors covered themselves with shields from swords and arrows, managing to pull the riders off their horses. Cyrus defeated the enemy's army, Astyages was captured, and remained in custody for the rest of his life.

In 559 BC. e. Cyrus II was proclaimed king. He founded the first capital of the Persian kingdom, Pasargadae. Subsequently, the Persian army under the leadership of Cyrus continued the victorious conquest of other states: Lydia Croesus himself big city of that time - Babylon, occupied eastern Iranian lands, regions of Central Asia, Afghan, Pakistani, and Indian territories. Miletus and other states to Egypt by at will submitted to Cyrus. For the formation of a powerful centralized state Many traders performed.

Cyrus outlined Egypt as his next goal, but his plans failed to come true. During one of the campaigns against the Massagets (Massagets are nomadic tribes of Central Asia, related to the Sarmatians, Saks and Scythians) led by Queen Tomiris, the army of the Persian king was defeated, and Cyrus himself died. In 25 years, Cyrus created a huge empire.

The rise of the Persian Empire

After the death of Cyrus II the Great, Cambyses II ascended the throne. It was he who conquered Egypt, making his father's dream come true. The successful conquest of Egypt was predetermined, since the Egyptian kingdom was experiencing worst times: weak army, people's dissatisfaction with high taxes, inept policies of Pharaoh Psammetichus III.

Before the campaign against Egypt, Cambyses enlisted the support of the nomads of the Sinai desert, who helped him during the transition of the troops to the city of Pelusium. Cambyses captured Memphis in 527 BC. e., where he showed cruelty to the Egyptians and their gods. He executed many noble people, destroyed temples, scourged their priests, and executed the son of Psammetichus III. The pharaoh himself was spared. Cambyses was proclaimed Egyptian pharaoh.

Leaving Egypt, Cambyses launched two failed campaigns into Nubia and Libya. During the campaign to capture Libya, the army, crossing the desert, was caught in a strong sandstorm, most of the army died in the sand, and Kamiz had to turn back. Returning to Egypt, where in his absence a rebellion broke out under the leadership of Psammetichus III, he suppressed the uprising and executed the former pharaoh.

Here news reached him that riots against Persian hegemony had begun in Persia. Leaving for Egypt, Cambyses, fearing a coup, got rid of his brother. The magician Gaumata, taking advantage of the king's absence, seized power and ruled on behalf of his deceased brother Bardiya. Cambyses had been absent from his kingdom for three years; having received unpleasant news, he went home. But he never made it home; he died on the road under unclear circumstances.

The magician Gaumata, who pretended to be the brother of Cambyses, began his ascent in Babylon, where he gained universal support, then captured the capital of Persia, Pasargadae. While in power, he abolished duties and military service for three years, with the goal of replacing the Persian elite of the nobility with the Median one. Gaumata was in power for 7 months. After some time, a conspiracy arose between representatives of seven eminent Persian families, who killed the impostor and proclaimed Darius king. He immediately returned the preferential rights to the Persians and began to reunite the empire, which was crumbling like a house of cards. In Babylon, Parthia, Armenia, Margiana, Elam and other regions, impostors appeared posing as Cambyses.

The rebellions that broke out throughout the empire were brutally suppressed by Darius. After he gathered all the lands together, Darius erected the Behistun inscription, which is carved on a high rock. The image shows how the enslaved kings of the provinces of the Iranian Empire brought taxes to their Shahin Shah Darius the Great. Darius is depicted much larger than the other kings, which clearly indicates their subordinate position.

Reforms of Darius I

Darius understood perfectly well that it was impossible to manage such an empire using the old methods, so at the beginning of his reign he began reforming, which resulted in the creation reliable system management.

Results of the reform of Darius I:

• Divided the empire into administrative districts - satrapies. Officials from the family nobility of Persia were appointed as the head of the province. Satraps had administrative, civil and judicial powers. They collected taxes and kept order in the household. To maintain order and protect borders, military formations were stationed in the districts, the command was appointed by the tsar himself. Remote territories (Cyprus, Cilicia) were under the self-government of local kings.
• A royal office was created that supervised a staff of officials. The main office was located in the Persian capital, the city of Susa. Additional royal offices were located in big cities- Babylon, Memphis, Ecbatana. The head of the treasury (responsible for the treasury and collected taxes), judicial investigators, scribes, and heralds worked here. Secret agents also worked for the Shah - “the ears and eyes of the king.” The official language was Aramaic, but other languages ​​were also used. Important documents wrote in several languages ​​at once.
• A new post of “chief of a thousand” appeared, who supervised officials and the tsar’s personal guard, and also monitored government bodies.
• Legislation was brought to uniformity. One set of laws was created for the entire population, while taking into account the ancient laws of the conquered countries. But the Persians still had privileges.
• He carried out a tax reform, now monetary taxes depended on the size of the territory, land fertility and population.
• A unified monetary system was introduced across all satrapies - the golden darik, which circulated throughout the country.
• The main support of the country was the army, the highest personnel were recruited from the Medes and Persians. The army was supported by 10 thousand “immortals”, recruited from various Indo-Iranian peoples. The first thousand of the 10 thousand “immortals” were the Shahin Shah’s personal guard. Often hired soldiers were accepted into the ranks, mostly Greeks. The composition of the army is cavalry, chariots and infantry. Warriors were recruited from the nobility for the cavalry; they had to have equipment - an iron shell, a bronze shield and helmets, and weapons - two spears, a sword, a bow and arrows. The main weapon of the infantry was the bow. On the borders of the entire empire, military units were stationed in fortresses. These warriors were given a land plot. Later, a military fleet was created, which included Greek ships, Phoenician and Cypriot ships.
• The empire had a well-developed road network. Regular messengers and mail, road guards raised the message system to a high level.

Provincial uprisings

Having completed the reforms and restored order in the empire, Darius decided to conquer Scythia, which he did not succeed. Then he decided to conquer Greece. It was with Darius' campaign that a series of military conflicts began, which were called the Greco-Persian Wars. For wars, a full state treasury was needed, so taxes began to increase over time.

At the same time, the palace city of Persepolis was built, which achieved splendor under the successors of Darius. Many artisans were sent to build it. All this worsened the situation in the country; Egypt was the first to express dissatisfaction, which rebelled against the Persians. Darius at this time was preparing for his second campaign against Greece. But Darius died without realizing his plans.

The Persian throne was taken by the son of Darius Xerxes I. Throughout his reign he had to suppress uprisings; it was he who suppressed the rebellion in Egypt, then the uprising in Babylon. At the same time, he acted harshly, he turned Babylonia into a simple satrapy, took the inhabitants into slavery and destroyed the city. Xerxes swore an oath to take revenge on Greece for the triumph over the Persians at Marathon; he dreamed of burning Athens. He succeeded in 480 BC. e., during the second campaign.

The King of Persia took revenge - he burned Athens, but while Xerxes was starting fires, the Athenians and Spartans dealt a crushing blow to the Persian army, defeating it at sea near the island of Salamis and on land at Plataea. The entire army of Xerxes died in the campaign against Greece and on the way home. Returning back to Persia with a small remnant of the army, Xerxes became mired in intrigues and died ingloriously at the hands of his chief of the palace guard.

Fall of the Empire

After the death of Xerxes, the remaining kings tried to preserve the territory of the empire and were engaged in internecine squabbles for the throne. Thus, states gradually began to emerge from the Persian Empire: Lydia (413 BC), Egypt (404 BC), Cyprus, Cilicia, Khorezm, Sidon, Caria, part of India (360 BC). BC.). But the main danger came from Macedonia, where the young commander subjugated states, territories, and peoples. In 334 BC. e. Prince Alexander and his army turned to the East, all his attention was directed to the huge Persian Empire. During this period, Shahinshah Darius III was in power. Persian troops lost to the army of Alexander the Great in two main battles, after the defeat at Issus (333 BC) royal family was captured by the enemy. After the second defeat (331 BC), Darius III fled with part of his troops to Bactria. The commander pursued the fugitives. While fleeing, Darius was killed by his own satrap. When Alexander caught up with the convoy, he found Darius dead. Thus, the last king of the Achaemenid dynasty died. The Persian Empire ended its existence, all satrapies became part of the power of Alexander the Great.