10 Intriguing Facts About The Achaemenid Persian Empire

2/12/2017 10 Intriguing Facts About The Achaemenid Persian Empire
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Basilica POSTED BY: DATTATREYA MANDAL SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

Cistern, the largest When the Assyrians were carving out the
‘subterranean’ achievement
world’s rst true ‘super empire’ from the
of the Eastern Romans, to
period of 10th century to 7th century BC, a
undergo restoration
wave of pastoral tribes from north of the
Caspian Sea was busy settling in the eastern
JULY 30,
side of Zagros Mountains, in an expansive
2016
plateau that stretched all the way to western
Forensic India. These were the semi-nomadic Indo-
artist reconstructs the face
Iranian people who ocked to settled lands
of 3,700-year old ‘young’
and even started out their own religious
woman from Bronze Age
institutions with the ‘universal’ principles.
One of such principles pertains to the
SEPTEM
prophet Zoroaster and his nigh monotheistic
BER 23,
2015
approach to religion – with the ‘head god’
attribution given to the supreme being of
Swedish island associated
Ahura Mazda. Such evolving yet unrestricted
with witchcraft reveals
evidences of Stone Age religious maxims clearly contrasted with the
rituals Babylonian system where each city
NOVEMB seemingly had an exclusive patron god with

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Learn more. Got
ER 3,
his/her it!
own set of ‘godly’ powers.
2016
How the ancient Greek

statues really looked?
Possibly pretty vibrant with Guided by these newer religious conventions
various colors
(that seemed to favor order, truth and the
law or logic) and semi-nomadic cultural
background, the tribes of Iran (still relatively
FIND US ON FACEBOOK independent from each other) did identify
themselves as a separate super-entity who
were different from the Babylonians settled
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7,919 likes
in the resource-rich regions of
Mesopotamia. And in the south of this land
of Iran emerged a confederation of around
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10 or 15 tribes, who collectively named their
10 friends like this
realm as Persia. The leading tribe among
this burgeoning league was the Pasargadae –
and their king always came from the
Achaemenid clan. In 559 BC, a new leader
was chosen: Cyrus II (‘the Great’); also
ADVERTISEMENT known as Kurosh-e Bozorg (or Cyrus the
Elder) in New Persian, the founder of the
Achaemenid Persian Empire.
YOU SHOULD KNOW 1. Cyrus the Great and the drafting of the

‘human rights’ cylinder –
NOVEMB
ER 6,
2017
12 incredible things you

should know about the
Aztec warrior
SEPTEM
BER 6,
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10 amazing facts about the it!
Roman army of the Early
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JANUAR
Y 11,
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10 facial reconstructions
from history you should
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MARCH
18, 2016
14
exceptional weapon designs The emergence of Cyrus II to power only
from history that were came after he subdued the Medes, a super-
ahead of their time tribe from Northern Iran that was initially
stronger than its Persian counterpart. And
JULY 9,
after taking control of the entire realm of
2016 Iran (which will be called Persia from now),
10 he declared himself the ‘Shah’ (or simply
things you should know King) of Persia. Historically, this proved to
about the Scythians and be an incredibly momentous event in the
their warfare region, which till then was a secondary
realm to the likes of the fabulously rich
OCTOBE Babylonians and the rigorously tough
R 26, Assyrians. To that end, spurred by his recent
2016 successes, the ever-ambitious Cyrus
10 things you should know consequently invested himself and his newly
about the medieval founded kingdom in ‘world’ conquering
Crusader State armies of endeavors – with the rst target being the
Levant Lydian Empire based in Asia Minor.
Ruled by the legendary King Croesus (who

was supposedly the richest man in the
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more. with
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PLUS
issuing it!
the rst true gold coins), the Lydians
controlled all of Anatolia west of the River
Halys, except Lycia. In spite of such
intimidating credentials, Croesus was
defeated by carefully-crafted planning and
ruses that seemingly went against the
established military protocols of the ancient
world. This was epitomized by an incident
that followed an indecisive battle near the
Halys. As per customs and the existing
situation, after the strenuous battle, Croesus
Realm of His retired to his capital Sardis – in a bid to
google.com/+Realmofh solidly his position and continue the ght
Segui next spring. But Cyrus took a gamble of a

lifetime, and followed Croesus all the way to
Sardis. This audacious move was mirrored by
the unusual battle eld tactic of using
Arabian camels (dromedaries) – both of
which took the Lydian king and his cavalry
forces by surprise. Subsequently, the
citadel of Sardis fell to the invading
Persians.
In any case, Croesus’ life was probably

spared – a political and psychological ploy
that became the personal trademark of Cyrus
the Great. As a matter of fact, the victorious
king developed a magnanimous reputation
for sparing conquered rulers so that he could
supposedly use their advice on how to
govern their lands. This was complimented
by Cyrus’ progressive attitude (or at least his
‘pretense’ of generosity) towards foreign
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aspect that
it! aided the Persians when they
next faced the Babylonians. After defeating
the Babylonian army in a few engagements,
the Persian army made its triumphant yet
bloodless entry into the jewel of the ancient
world, the city of Babylon – a task made easy
by the enemy tyrant Nabonidus, who ed the
capital.
This incredible event was epitomized by the

Cyrus cylinder, a Persian charter (made in
539 BC by Cyrus’ orders) that ‘sort of’ upheld
the rights of the downtrodden – so much so
that it is sometimes considered as the oldest
This website uses cookies toknown charter

improve or symbol of
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rights; though
it! some scholars oppose this
view – given how most ancients were
unaware of the very concept of a ‘human
right’. In any case, consisting of a baked clay
tablet with inscriptions in the Akkadian
language using a cuneiform script (pictured
above), the contents of the charter tend to
conform to three major points. These
premises include – tolerance for all races,
religions and languages which is to be
supervised by the ruling political entity; the
allowance for slaves and deported people to
return to their homelands; and the
restoration of destroyed temples and
religious buildings as causatum of religious
freedom. Simply put, the often unfairly
depicted Persians (especially in Hollywood)
were the ones who came with such
humanitarian (if not human rights)
declarations, as opposed to the Ancient
Greeks.
2. A feudal society that existed long

before the emergence of Medieval
Europe, and yet mirrored it –
it!
Post 6th century BC, the Achaemenid

Persian society can be categorized as
‘feudal’, with the burgeoning population
inside the core lands of the empire being
roughly divided into three classes – the
nobility (azada), the bondsmen (bandaka)
and the slaves (mariaka). Interestingly all of
these classes were of cially the ‘bondsmen’
of the Great King; but the scope of
hierarchical servitude among the king and
his nobles only existed in concept. In other
words, the power of the king was not
absolute – and as such, he had to rely on the
support of the Persian aristocracy. In the
initial days of the empire,
such arrangements were practical enough
for the ruling monarch. This was because the
Persian (and Medes) nobility had a long
tradition of maintaining their tribe-inspired
independence, and thus were quick to take
slight (and even incite revolts) from any
intrusive political policy of the ruler.
This website uses cookies toThe resultant

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and theirit!large provinces (often gifted by the
king) almost autonomous within the
Achaemenid Persian empire. This in turn led
to the emergence of a system which
integrated the Persian elite at the forefront
of the military. Excused from the perceived
menial works of farming and herding, these
nobles and their retinue lived lavishly in
magni cent palaces, often situated in
provincial estates that were guarded by
private armies. Making use of the free time,
many of them trained to be warriors,
especially honing their skill in archery and
horse riding. As Herodotus mentioned – the
cohesion, national identity and martial ardor
of the Achaemenid empire was rigorously
maintained by its elite populace through an
education and etiquette system that
encouraged the customs, culture and even
dresses of Persia. For example, the Persian
boy was taken away from his father till the
age of ve, to be brought up and cared for by
his mother and other women of the
household. But after crossing this age
threshold, the boy was once again inducted
into the court for stringent military training
till the age of 20, with lessons imparted on
how “to ride horses, use the bow, and speak
the truth.”
3. A ‘uniformed’ presence of the Persian

National Army –
it!
As we mentioned before, according to

Herodotus, the Persian adult (presumably
from the elite section of the society) was
liable to be militarily trained till the age of
20. Strabo however puts the gure of
military training and service till the age of
24, and the number might have related to
any Persian man irrespective of his class. He
further mentions how groups of such 50 men
were often commanded by a chosen son of a
noble. And, even after they had served in the
so-called National Army of the Achaemenid
Empire, they were probably liable to be
conscripted till the age of 50. Now, in terms
of the total number of soldiers in this
‘National Army’, Xenophon vaguely provides
us with a gure of 120,000 Persians.
Interestingly, as opposed to the Greeks

before 4th century BC, ancient sources
mention how the Persian army seemingly
maintained its uniformed appearance
through near-identical regimental dresses –
a system which was unique in the ancient
times. This might have been the outcome of
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improve nature of the
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organization
it! directly in uenced by its noble
commanders and the king (while Greek
armies tended to be inspired by their
individual poleis). According to Xenophon,
Cyrus made a habit of gifting cloaks to his
Persian nobles and even lower-ranked
soldiers. For example, the nest attires were
given to the elites, while other cloaks (still
ostentatious) with hues ranging from purple,
crimson to ‘nightshade’ were distributed
among the remaining of cers of the army.
Such ‘cloaks’ could have pertained to
particular uniforms; and as such even
Plutarch mentioned how the royal couriers
of the Achaemenid Empire had to dress in
speci c attires be tting their high ranks.
4. Amrtaka – The Persian Immortals –
The ancient Persians almost had an

obsession with the number ‘thousand’, and
as such their regiments were theoretically
divided into thousand men known as
This website uses cookies tohazarabam (hazara

improve your denoting
experience. thousand).
Learn The
more. Got
decimalit!
system was also upheld when ten
such regiments were combined to form a
division (baivarabam) of 10,000 men. The so-
called ‘Immortals’ or Amrtaka (in Old
Persian) were the chosen baivarabam of the
Persian king, and their scope of
‘immortality’ seemingly stemmed from the
their constant number – which was always
kept at 10,000 (according to Herodotus). In
other words, the casualties in this elite
division might have been replaced as soon as
possible from the best candidates from other
Persian baivarabam. As Herodotus goes on to
describe these Athanatoi (Immortals) in the
battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) –
…ait!
body of picked Persians under the
leadership of Hydarnes, the son of
Hydarnes. This corps was known as the
Immortals, because it was invariably
kept up to strength; if a man was killed
or fell sick, the vacancy he left was at
once lled, so that the total strength of
the corps was never less – and never
more – than ten thousand.
Of all the troops in Persian army, the

native Persians were not only the best
but also the most magni cently
equipped; their dress and armor I have
mentioned already, but I should add
that every man glittered with the gold
which he carried about his person in
unlimited quantity. They were
accompanied, moreover, by covered
carriages full of their women and
servants, all elaborately tted out.
Special food, separate from that of the
rest of the army, was brought along for
them on dromedaries and mules.
The Greek historian further mentions their

rich attire –
The
it!dress of these troops consisted of
the tiara, or soft felt cap, embroidered
tunic with sleeves, a coat of mail
looking like the scales of a sh, and
trousers; for arms they carried light
wicker shields, quivers slung below
them, short spears, powerful bows with
cane arrows, and short swords
swinging from belts beside the right
thigh.
As can be comprehended from such

accounts, the Persian Immortals were
probably very different from the oddly ‘dark’
manner in which they were depicted in the
movie 300. As a matter of fact, such elite
divisions tended to aunt their vibrant and
ritzy uniforms and armaments – as is
evident from their accounts of carrying
spears with golden pomegranates, silver
pomegranates and even golden apples. The
latter mentioned spears were carried by the
king’s own bodyguard unit of 1,000 men –
known as arstibara, but nicknamed as the
‘Applebearers’.
5. The largest ‘superpower’ in the ancient

world –
it!
At its greatest extent, the Achaemenid

Persian Empire stretched from Anatolia and
Egypt across western Asia to the borders of
northern India and Central Asia. The
addition of Egypt to this burgeoning realm
was achieved by Cambyses II, the son of
Cyrus the Great – who defeated the native
Egyptian forces at the Battle of Pelusium
(in 525 BC) by apparently using
psychological tactics that involved confusing
the enemy with sacred ‘cat’ motifs on the
battle eld!
However, beyond just conquering new lands,

the Persians also strengthened their hold on
the territories via ‘public’ projects that
improved communications over long
distances. One good example of such a
system relates to the construction of roads
that connected important centers like Sardis
(in Asia Minor), Ecbatana (in western Iran),
Babylon (in Mesopotamia) and Persepolis (in
southern Iran). These roads were primarily
used by soldiers and royal couriers, and as
such were even interspersed by government-
maintained way-stations and resting inns.
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improve your improvement of the
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inter-connectivity
it! also favored the large
trade networks that crisscrossed the length
and breadth of the expanding realm.
Such infrastructural endeavors were

complemented by a complex bureaucratic
scope that was used for administering the
provinces (satrapies). To that end, the king
and his supporting staff decided on the
revenues expected from each satrapy (that
mainly depended on its resources,
population and relative geographical
position). Moreover, members of the royal
court and other important of cials were
granted food and other provisions from
strategically supplied royal storehouses. By
the time of Darius, such of cials also
discreetly included imperial spies known as
the ‘king’s ears’. They were responsible for
secretly keeping tabs on the provincial
governors and military commanders, and
reported back to Darius through the
aforementioned postal service.
6. The rise of organized heavy cavalry –
it!
The Achaemenid Persian Empire can be

credited for the development of organized
cavalry forces that were tactically used on
the battle eld along with other mixed forces
like Sparabara (archers with large shields)
and Takabara (heavy peltasts). Seemingly
inspired by the neighboring Sakas (many of
whom were later used as mercenaries), some
of the native Persians adopted formations of
shielded cavalrymen who carried smaller,
lighter versions of the spara (shield). A
Persian document dating from 421 BC also
mentions some other equipment of the
cavalrymen, and this list included items like
– a horse harness, a helmet, a leather
cuirass, shield, arrows, two spears and some
ration money.
Intriguingly enough, the later half of the 5th

century BC also coincided with the rise of
the shock cavalry that sort of mirrored the
knightly class of Medieval Europe. Such
heavily armored regiments (called the
Persian Cuirassiers by Xenophon) were
usually furnished by the rich Persian nobility
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your disparate civil
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more.
clashes it!
that frequently plagued the empire.
And they were supposedly used in the
battle eld as armored ‘battering rams’ that
smashed through the enemy ranks in their
column-like formations. Furthermore, there
are also literary sources (like the Persika)
that mention how these elite cavalrymen
sometimes took part in joust-like duels that
usually pitted the commanders (or kings) of
the opposing forces against each other. Such
personal duels possibly involved the use of
arms like the palta, a type of specialized
ghting spear made of cornel wood.
7. A preference for mercenaries –
While we have talked at length about the

national conscripts and cavalry forces of the
Achaemenid Persian empire, the trend of
employing foreigners into the army was also
on the rise even during the reign of Cyrus.
This website uses cookies toAnd by the

improve time
your of DariusLearn
experience. the Great,
more.theGot
conscription
it! of foreign mercenaries almost
became a centralized system. This was due
to the incorporation of various ‘fringe’
territories into the empire, especially
relating to the Saka tribes of Central Asia
and the Indians along the borders of river
Indus. It should be also noted that both of
these cultures additionally brought forth
new and interesting military ideas that were
quickly adopted by the Persians. But the real
extent and in uence of the Achaemenid
Persian Empire was grandly demonstrated
during the invasion of Greece by the ‘multi-
cultural’ forces of Xerxes. In that regard, a
group of Athenian vases also showcase black
soldiers in Persian panoply, and these were
probably depictions of the Ethiopian
marines who disembarked and fought in the
Battle of Salamis and possibly even in the
Battle of Plataea. Such forces consisting of
Sakas (Scythians), Medes, Hycarnians,
Bactrians, Indians, Egyptians and Ethiopians
were also accompanied by lesser known
factions, like the Sagartians who were
Iranian nomads that fought as cavalrymen
with lassos and battle-axes.
But when it came to the west, Greece itself

was the greatest source of mercenaries for
the Persian empire. Interestingly, the
geographical aspect of Greece played a
crucial role in establishing the realm as a
major pool of mercenaries. This is due to the
rugged terrain of many of the Greek lands
that mostly allowed animal husbandry as the
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improveform
your of economy.Learn
experience. Suchmore.
pastoralGot
tendencies
it! (as opposed to large scale
agriculture) could also be managed by the
womenfolk and the old people, and thus
‘freed’ many men to take part in military
activities beyond their borders. For example,
more than half of the famed ‘ten thousand’
Greeks mercenaries (mentioned in
Xenophon’s Anabasis) apparently came from
hilly areas such as Arcadia and Achaea.
There are also evidences of so-called
military settlements within the Achaemenid
empire where ‘high-value’ mercenaries and
Persian war-veterans (kardaka) were
encouraged to settle by exempting them
from taxes. These special villages and towns
were usually established in strategic areas –
so as to mitigate the threat of local revolts
and unrest.
8. Fall into decadence after a string of

defeats –
Once again reverting to the movie 300, the

lm portrays Xerxes (son of Darius) as a
decadent fool with a god complex who
invaded Greece on almost a whim. Now
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improve yourthe opposite of
experience. thismore.
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was quiteit! true. While Xerxes did carry
himself more loftily than his predecessors
(after all, he was in the royal line that
boasted names like Cyrus and Darius), the
Achaemenid Persian empire that Xerxes
inherited was beset by rebellions on all
corners. These chaotic times demanded
rigorous measures, and Xerxes’ reactions to
such problems proved his practical nature
(as opposed to decadence and cultural
jingoism). For example, while previous
Persian rulers grandiosely identi ed
themselves as the chosen of Marduk (a
Babylonian god), Xerxes promptly destroyed
the deity’s solid gold statue (that was
supposedly taller than the combined height
of three men) in a bid to ll up the royal
exchequer. This desperate action was taken
in reaction to riots fermenting inside the
great city of Babylon.
However, Xerxes’ fall into excess and

degeneracy came after the defeats suffered
at the hands of the Greeks in 480 BC.
Severely affected and even disgraced by the
setbacks in his European campaign,
especially after the Battle of Salamis, Xerxes
came back to Asia and subsequently
‘retreated’ into the luxury of his court and
harem. This trend of Achaemenid Persian
rulers being isolated in their lavish palaces,
driven by decadent pleasures, court intrigues
and corrupt of cials, continued for almost
200 years – thus leading to the rise of the
power of provincial governors (satraps). And,
This website uses cookies toas the Persian

improve empire gradually
your experience. degenerated
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into a weave
it! of decentralized, autonomous
zones with their unique cultural fronts, the
time became ripe for a Macedon prince
named Alexander, the greatest military
commander of his age, to launch a
spectacular invasion from across Europe.
9. The loaning of entire armies from

Greek city-states –
By the later half of 4th century BC, the

Greeks city-states themselves were going
through periods of political turmoil and
armed clashes. One of the effects of these
tumultuous times was the adoption of newer
military reforms that sort of phased out the
heavy hoplites in favor of the epilektoi
(picked troops). Unlike hoplites however,
these epilektoi had to be paid on a regular
basis. Unfortunately, the Greek scal
reforms didn’t keep with such measures, and
This website uses cookies tosoon many

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your the city-states found
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themselves
it! in debt and yet ‘burdened’
with able bodied soldiers of the highly-
trained epilektoi. On the other side of the
Aegean, a rebel Persian satrap named
Artabazus was desperately in need of quality
troops, and he had the money to spent on
such ritzy military endeavors. Suf ce it to
say, a mutually bene cial agreement was
soon drawn up where entire contingents of
the Greek armies were loaned to Persian
commanders – with lump-sum amounts
being directly paid to the city-state instead
of individual compensations. Many of these
epilektoi companies fought deep inside the
territories of the Persian empire – and some
of them even took the service of the
Achaemenid emperor.
10. A penchant for purple –
During ancient times, one of the most

expensive materials in terms of both rarity
and monetary value pertained to the ‘sea
purple’ (also known as Tyrian red), a
bromine-containing reddish-purple natural
This website uses cookies todye obtained

improve your from the murex
experience. shells.
Learn more.In fact,
Got
the renown
it! of such ‘pure’ murex-obtained
dyes was so widespread, especially among
the royalty, nobles and rich merchants, that
even other cheaper alternatives with the
purplish hue were costly beyond the reach of
common folk. This opulent nature value and
status associated with these dyes inspired
many Persian royals to hoard purple-tinted
clothes that were given as gifts to higher
ranked of cials.
Even Alexander the Great came across a

huge stash of the purple-dyed clothes that
were secretly enclosed inside the Royal
Treasury at Susa (in western part of Persia).
According to Plutarch, the total weight of
this particularly expensive hoard was around
5,000 talents (or roughly 288,500 lbs, if
measured in Attic talents) – and the dye still
maintained its rich color after 190 years of
storage. Unfortunately for Alexander, he
soon ran out the ‘purple stash’ after deciding
to gift every one of his Companions with a
sea purple cloak.
Sources: Ancient.eu / MetMuseum /

IranicaOnline / Livius
Book References: The Persian Army 560-330

BC (by Nicholas Sekunda) / The Greek and
Persian Wars 499-386 BC (by Philip de Souza)
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How the ancient Greek

YOU SHOULD KNOW 1. Cyrus the Great and the drafting of the

12 incredible things you

Ruled by the legendary King Croesus (who

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Segui next spring. But Cyrus took a gamble of a

In any case, Croesus’ life was probably

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This incredible event was epitomized by the

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2. A feudal society that existed long

Post 6th century BC, the Achaemenid

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3. A ‘uniformed’ presence of the Persian

As we mentioned before, according to

Interestingly, as opposed to the Greeks

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4. Amrtaka – The Persian Immortals –

The ancient Persians almost had an

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Of all the troops in Persian army, the

The Greek historian further mentions their

As can be comprehended from such

5. The largest ‘superpower’ in the ancient

At its greatest extent, the Achaemenid

However, beyond just conquering new lands,

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Such infrastructural endeavors were

6. The rise of organized heavy cavalry –

The Achaemenid Persian Empire can be

Intriguingly enough, the later half of the 5th

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7. A preference for mercenaries –

While we have talked at length about the

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But when it came to the west, Greece itself

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8. Fall into decadence after a string of

Once again reverting to the movie 300, the

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However, Xerxes’ fall into excess and

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9. The loaning of entire armies from

By the later half of 4th century BC, the

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10. A penchant for purple –

During ancient times, one of the most

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Even Alexander the Great came across a

Sources: Ancient.eu / MetMuseum /

Book References: The Persian Army 560-330

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10 ancient 25 incredible Christmas 8 Of The

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