PERSIA

1. PERSIA LUCIO BLANCO PITLO III AS 201 July 26, 2008

2. PLACE NAME Iran vs. Persia • Aryan peoples, among them the Iranian tribe, from northern and the interior part of the Asian steppes migrated to the Iranian plateau • Iranian tribe was known as Parsa and the place/region in the Iranian plateau were they settled came to be known as Parsa too (sometimes spelled as Pars or Fars) • From Parsa, it was corrupted to Persia by Parsa’s neighboring kingdoms and peoples • Persians called their language Farsi • In 1935, Iranian government requested the international community to take the name “Iran” and not “Persia” to describe the country

3. LOCATION • Persia is bounded by two great bodies of water- Caspian Sea in the north and Persian Gulf in the south • Modern day Iran which roughly corresponds to the nucleus of old Persia is bordered by Russia in the north, Turkey in the northeast, Iraq on the east, Afghanistan in the west and Pakistan in the southwest • Persia is strategically located as the bridge connecting Europe, West Asia, and the Mediterranean lands and Central and South Asia • Before the advent of the Suez Canal, Persia occupied a key role in the overland trade route connecting Europe and Asia

4. GEOGRAPHY • Largely a high plateau roughly 4,000 ft above the sea level • Mountain ranges and deserts form tremendous natural barriers protecting Persia from easy access of foreign invaders • Alborz runs across the northwest part of the country extending to Turkey and the Caucasus; other mt ranges in the north extends to Pakistan and Central Asia; Zagros straddles the southeast and parallels the boundary with Iraq • Mt. Demavand- highest point, 18600 ft.- the Olympus of Persia, said to be inhabited by gods • Deserts in the southern part of the country extends to Pakistan and Afghanistan; Khuzistan plains extends to Iraq

5. IMPLICATIONS OF GEOGRAPHY • Shielded by mountains and deserts, Persians were able to develop a self-sufficient agriculture and pastoralist based society • They were able to better preserve their racial stock, historical continuity and independence from external aggression for a great deal of time • Fostered by an independent existence, Persians were able to consolidate and stabilize their ranks before finally coming out of their confines to carve a world empire for themselves

6. CLIMATE • Rainfall is from November to early April • Much of the country receives little rain, except for the Caspian littoral, which have a better rainfall • Transition of seasons is abrupt • Iranian plateau experiences fairly mild winter and hot summer

7. ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM • Forest found in the north, especially in the Caspian littoral, and west; desert in the south and southeast; steppe in the north • Forests also envelope many of the mountains • Overgrazing had destroyed much of the original natural environment • Game animals, such as gazelles, tigers, wildcats, boars, ibex, wild ass and sheep are present; game birds, both resident and migratory, are also abundant, including partridges, grouses, ducks, snipes and buzzards

8. THE PEOPLE • Iranians are an Indo-European people whose ancestors originated from the steppes of north and central Asia • Turkish and Arab elements are evident • Minorities include Kurds, Lurs, Hazaras, Georgians, Assyrians • Shi’a Islam is the dominant faith; Jews, Zoroastrians and Christians (Armenians and Assyrians) form religious minorities

9. LINGUISTIC GROUPS • Farsi- spoken by the most number of people; has various dialects; the Islamic conquest brought many Arabic words in the Persian vocabulary; but Persianization became a trend • Kurdish- spoken by Kurds in the north • Luri- language of Luristan • Turkic- Azeri spoken in Azerbaijan, related to the language of Turks in Turkey; Turkmen spoken in Khurasan • Balochi- Aryan language combined with Modern Persian • Arabic- used by Arabs living in Khuzistan, Makran and the Persian Gulf coast region

10. PREHISTORY • The mountain caves of Persia provided shelter for Stone Age hunter societies which will eventually move down in the lower plains and develop sedentary living, agriculture and domestication of plants and animals • Cultivation, discovery and use of metals and the advent of sedentary communities made profound changes in human civilization; excavations in many Iranian sites support this

11. PRE-ACHAEMENID PERIOD • Before the coming of the Achaemenids in Persia, the country was under the influence of Mesopotamians • Ancient kingdoms- Elam, Ellipi, Kassi, Lullubi, Guti, Mannai, Urartu • Iranian tribes probably pushed by overpopulation, dwindling grazing lands and pressure from more powerful neighbors arrived in the Iranian plateau in several waves • Medians rose to power and eventually dislodged the waning kingdoms • Persians became vassals of Media

12. THE PERSIAN EMPIRE • Achaemenid dynasty can be traced to Hakhamanish (Achaemenes) • Kurush (Cyrus I) took Elam; his son Kambujiya (Cambyses I) married a Median princess, daughter of the royal Median suzerain; the union bore a son, Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great) • Cyrus II united the Persian tribes and dislodged Medians from power and paved the Median-Persian condominium that will built a world empire (550 BC) • Cyrus II subdued Lydia and conquered Armenia, the whole Asia Minor and the Greek colonies along the Mediterranean; he also campaigned and won in Parthia, Choramis and Bactria in the east • Babylon was overtaken; Jews allowed to return to Palestine • Cyrus’s son Cambyses II conquered Egypt; became insane and killed himself; pretenders to the throne arose

13. THE PERSIAN EMPIRE • Darius I came to power and sidelined pretenders; rebellions arrested; captured Thrace • Greco-Persian hostilities; Persia withdrew from Asia Minor after the Battle of Marathon • Xerxes I campaigned again in Greece, burned Athens, but was repulsed again at Salamis and Platea • More friendly relations with Greek city states forged • Artaxerxes I succeeded his father; revolts in Egypt and other satrapies began • Artaxerxes II re-established the imperial domains and crushed dissidents • Persian empire collapsed under the Darius III (330 BC); Alexander the Great Hellenized the East

14. DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS • Military organization and technology- Cavalry, horse breeding, bow and javelin, Immortals (parallel of today’s Presidential guards), compulsory military service • Royal Road- road connecting the major cities of the Empire from Sardis in Lydia in the west to Gaugamela to Susa; Darius Canal linking the Nile with the Red Sea • Postal system • Religious and cultural freedom; racial tolerance • Susa, Babylon, Ecbatana and Parsa (Persepolis)- great imperial capitals • Governance and administration- decentralization of authority; able justice system

15. DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS • Tribute as taxation- unit of gold payment, daric • Systematic agriculture • Commerce and trade between and among various satrapies were facilitated • Trade with Greek colonies and other kingdoms outside the empire was also carried

16. MAJOR CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL TRADITIONS • Rule by divine right; doctrine of primogeniture or hereditary succession • Civil and judicial matters bestowed on governors; generally, native laws apply for disputes between both natives • The concept of a multinational armed forces staffed by Persians at the highest commands • Polytheism to Ethical dualism by Zoroaster • Lying as a major offense • Magi as organized priesthood • The eternal fire and the necropolis

17. TECHNOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT • Infrastructure- Royal Road, Darius Canal • Explorations for a maritime trade route to link Egypt, Persia and India • Military innovations- sound use of cavalry; employment of different military tactics and formation (combined use of infantry and cavalry in combat); use of mercenaries

18. TRADE / COMMERCE LINKAGES • Overland trade route that links South and East Asia with West Asia and Europe • Seaborne trade route between Greek coastal colonies and the Empire facilitated by Phoenician, Ionian, Cypriot and Egyptian vessels, all under the Persian dominion

19. REGIONAL CULTURAL INTERACTIONS AND EXCHANGE NETWORKS • Persia left a lasting legacy on the countries that came under its rule • Persian influences became evident in Mesopotamia and the rest of the Near East, Europe (via the Greeks), Central Asia, and northern India • The Parsees of Bombay, India are descendants of Iranian Zoroastrians who went to India to escape persecution in Iran during the rise of Islam

20. REFERENCES • Wilber, D. (1975). Iran: Past and Present (7th edn.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press • Frye, R. (1963). The Heritage of Persia (1st edn.). Cleveland, OH & New York: The World Publishing Co. • Hicks, J. et al (1975). The Persians. TimeLife International