Who are the Persians and where are they now? Appearance of the Slavs

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The Persian Empire was destroyed, and its capital, Persepolis, was sacked and burned. The last of the kings of the Achaemenid dynasty Darius III with his retinue he went to Bactria, hoping to gather a new army there. But Alexander managed to catch up with the fugitive. To avoid being captured, Darius ordered his satraps to kill him and to flee further.

After the death of the king in conquered Persia, the era of Hellenism began. For ordinary Persians it was like death.

After all, there was not just a change of ruler, they were captured by the hated Greeks, who quickly and harshly began to replace the original Persian customs with their own, and therefore completely alien.

Even the arrival of the Parthian tribe, which occurred in the 2nd century BC. didn't change anything. The nomadic Iranian tribe managed to expel the Greeks from the territory of ancient Persia, but they themselves came under the influence of their culture. Therefore, even under Parthian rule, it was used exclusively on coins and in official documents. Greek language.

But the worst thing was that the temples were built in the Greek image and likeness. And most Persians considered this blasphemy and sacrilege.

After all, Zarathushtra bequeathed to their ancestors that it was impossible to worship idols. Only the unquenchable flame should be considered as a symbol of God, and sacrifices should be made to it. But the Persians were unable to change anything.

Therefore, out of impotent anger, they called all the buildings of the Hellenic period “buildings of the Dragon.”

The Persians tolerated Greek culture until 226 AD. But eventually the cup overflowed. The revolt was launched by the ruler of Pars, Ardashir, and he managed to overthrow the Parthian dynasty. This moment is considered to be the birth of the second Persian power, headed by representatives of the Sassanid dynasty.

Unlike the Parthians, they tried in every possible way to revive the very ancient culture of Persia, which was started by Cyrus. But this turned out to be difficult, since Greek dominance almost completely erased the Achaemenid heritage from memory. Therefore, the society about which the Zoroastrian priests spoke was chosen as a “guiding star” for the revived state. And it so happened that the Sassanids tried to revive a culture that in reality never existed. And religion came first.

But the people of Persia enthusiastically accepted the ideas of the new rulers. Therefore, under the Sassanids, the entire Hellenic culture began to quickly dissolve: temples were destroyed, and the Greek language ceased to be official. Instead of statues of Zeus, the Persians began to build fire altars.

Under the Sassanids (3rd century AD), there was another clash with the hostile Western world - the Roman Empire. But this time this confrontation ended in victory for the Persians. In honor of the significant event, King Shapur I ordered a bas-relief to be carved into the rocks, depicting his triumph over the Roman Emperor Valerian.

The capital of Persia was the city of Ctesiphon, once built by the Parthians. But the Persians essentially “combed” it to match their newfound culture.

Persia began to develop rapidly thanks to the competent use of land irrigation systems. Under the Sassanids, the territory of ancient Persia, as well as Mesopotamia, became literally permeated with underground water pipelines made of clay pipes (kariza). Their cleaning was carried out using wells dug at intervals of ten kilometers. This modernization allowed Persia to successfully grow cotton, sugar cane and develop winemaking. At the same time, Persia became perhaps the world's main supplier of a wide variety of fabrics: from wool to silk.

Who are the Persians?

1. the Persians made children from iron
2. The people are like that. Once there was a great Persian empire, and now there is a small state of Iran.
3. Persians are Persians!
4. The Persians are the people of Iran (Persia), they are mistakenly called Iranians because of the name of the country, Iran is Persia, the authorities just asked to officially call their country Iran. It is a mistake to call them Iranians, because in Iranian language group besides the Persians there are many other Iranian peoples (related to the Persians, of course). Therefore they should be called Persians.
5. Is it too lazy to type in Wikipedia?
6. modern Tajiks, Iranians and Afghans
7. Residents of what is now Iran
8. Persians are different ancient peoples, Tats, Talysh, Kurds...
9. They were an ancient people who inhabited the territory of modern Iran. In 538 BC. e. it was ruled by King Cyrus. He conquered the land of Babylon and plundered its capital. In battles, Cyrus never showed cruelty, respected the customs of the vanquished and revered the local gods.

   During the reign of Cyrus, the Persian state reached its greatest prosperity. All peoples who agreed to recognize his power (Jews, Greeks, Babylonians) were allowed to maintain their national clothing, religion and even government.

   In response to the constant concern of this unusual king for his people, the Persians called him the father of nations. In 530, Cyrus died in a battle with the Massagetae on the eastern bank of the Amu Darya River.

   Later the Persians were ruled by King Darius. He expanded the borders of the kingdom to the Balkans in the east and India in the west. However, the conquered lands were administered fairly.

   The entire kingdom was divided into 20 provinces, each province was headed by a governor who ruled on behalf of the king. He was called a satrap, and the province a satrapy. Various parts of the state were connected by a network of caravan trade routes.

   The development of trade was also facilitated by the system of unified monetary circulation. Darius directed strict order in collecting taxes. In most satrapies, taxes were taken in silver, and every year over two hundred tons of silver entered Darius's storehouses. That is why Darius received the nickname “trader” from his contemporaries.
   2) Persian - abbreviated character
   3) cat breed

10. Residents ancient Iran. And there is slang "Pers" character in the game)))))
11. P? ERS (Farsi, self-name of Iran), a people in the Middle East, the main population of Central (south of the Elborz ridge) and Eastern Iran. The population in Iran is 35.199 million people (2004). They speak Persian language, anthropologically belong to the southern branch of the great Caucasian race. Shiite Muslim believers. The penetration of Iranian tribes from the north into the territory of modern Iran presumably dates back to the second millennium BC. Persian tribes occupied a dominant position in the Achaemenid state. Later, the Persians were also influenced by Arab, Turkic and Mongolian peoples. The process of assimilation by the Persians of other nationalities of Iran (especially those speaking the language) continues Iranian group) . Islam spread among the Persians in the 7th century, after the Arab conquest. Before this, the Persians professed Zoroastrianism, which was preserved in a modified form among the Hebrians. Most Persians villager, whose main occupations are agriculture (largely based on artificial irrigation), gardening and vegetable growing, and cattle breeding. Carpet weaving and hand weaving are developed. IN family relationships traditions are strong Islamic law. The Persians have a rich tradition of oral folk art, poetry.
12. modern Iranians, Tajiks, Afghans - they are Persians
13. now Iran, or as the person above said)
14. Persians, Persian Iranians are an ethnolinguistic community of numerous regional population groups of Iran and some adjacent countries, whose native language is Persian, represented by various dialects. The largest and leading component of the Iranian nation, united by a common settled agricultural and urban culture.

To find out who the ancient Persians considered themselves to be, you don’t have to go very far. “I, Darius, am a Persian, the son of a Persian, an Aryan with Aryan roots...” says their famous leader, who reigned from 521 to 486 BC ( see on the left - an image of a Persian warrior from the time of Darius I on glazed brick, which is kept in the Louvre, Paris. Pay attention to eye color; click on the picture to enlarge the image).
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The descendants of the Persians - modern Iranians, despite their Islam, also remember well who their ancestors were. For example, an article about the history of this country posted on the websites of Iranian embassies abroad usually begins with the words: " Iran is the oldest Aryan civilization...“And, perhaps, everyone agrees with this - even the most ill-wisher of Iran.
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However, among us, the Slavs, who, unlike the vast majority of other peoples, have the most direct relation to this civilization, according to genetic science, such a statement can only cause best case scenario mistrust - they say, well, which of them, these dark-skinned Muslims, are Aryans. And it’s somehow hard to believe in our own involvement in the all-powerful ancient Persians. For a thousand years, we were so intensively burned with religious napalm and zombified that today not everyone can believe that we are anything else.
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However, we should not react so categorically to information just because it seems incredible to us. It needs to be checked.

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Already the most superficial glance at the results genetic research will convince us that the average resident of today's Iran is still 20 percent Aryan - Slavic. In addition, it turns out that the Iranians, although in a smaller size, also have another Slavic haplogroup - the haplogroup of the Varangian-Russians! That is, the average Iranian is still more than 20 percent Slavic. And this in the 21st century, after almost a thousand years of existence in an isolated state among a not very friendly environment, thanks to which the Persians could not help but undergo intensive assimilation!
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When, in addition to everything else, we turn to ancient sources that shed light on what the appearance of the ancient Persians was, we will finally be convinced that the Persians were tall, fair-haired people with blue eyes, and not a people whose appearance is characteristic of the inhabitants of the Middle Eastern region. In addition to meaningful texts, many images have also been preserved, which adequately reflect appearance an ordinary citizen of the ancient Persian state ( See left:"Head of a Dead Persian", 230 - 220 BC, Terme Museum, Rome; click on the picture to enlarge the image).
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When meeting historical sources It is also impossible not to notice the fact that the territory of modern Iran began to be settled by migrants from the North somewhere in the 9th millennium BC, and, as it becomes clear, this settlement took place in several stages. It is also striking that on different stages history THE SAME PEOPLE of migrants from the North had different names.
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I will not list them so as not to drive the dear reader crazy. The situation is very similar to the story with the so-called " Slavs"when a half-blooded people was artificially and brazenly divided into many different" Radimichi", "Vlachs", "Etruscans", "clearing", "ants", "Germans"etc., punched them in the mouth different religions instead of their Universal Cosmic Worldview, based on KNOWLEDGE, and not on FAITH, they divided them, in addition, into " Western", "eastern", "southern" or even, " white and piebald"with the aim of presenting them as separate tribes or even races hostile to each other, so that we - modern descendants those supposedly" tribes"We never found the ends.
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So, for example, it is very painful to see on the pages of history textbooks something like: " Scythians(or Slavs) The Black Sea region was unlucky, as they were constantly threatened by Persian raids from the south..." It is clear from everything that the author of such lines is so zombified by traditional clichés that, regardless of what scientific degree he has, the benefit of such a scientist-historian will be zero. The poor fellow, apparently, has never even allowed such a thought that How " Scythians" (Slavs), and " Persians"from the point of view of genetic science are integral parts of the same people ( look on the left - this is how many of them look quite Slavic"Persians" even today, despite the passing millennia. These are ordinary Iranian citizens from different strata of modern Iranian society; click on the picture to enlarge the image and dispel your doubts regarding the questions of who the ancient Persians were and what they looked like).
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In fact, everything happened much simpler. Climatic conditions of the latter " small"Cold temperatures pushed the carrier of haplogroup R1a Slavyanin-Ariya from his Arctic ancestral home to the south. He came to Iran mainly using the Ra River basin ( Volga) and the waters of the Caspian Sea, which, by the way, in those distant times was much larger and occupied space right up to its confluence with the Aral Sea.
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On the way to Iran, the Slavic Aryan at one stage of his journey to the south - ATTENTION, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! - genetically " touched"the carrier of the Russo-Varangian haplogroup I - his brother Slav-Rus, who, as we already know, was the original inhabitant of the European continent, and partially assimilated with it, adding to his Slav-Aryan markers the genetics of the Slav-Rus.
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In turn, Slavic-Rus at the same time completely scooped up the Slavic-Aryan genes of refugees from the north. This happened no less than 10,000 years ago in geographical region, where today's Belarus and its adjacent territories lie. This is how the genetic composition of Belarusians, northern Ukrainians and Russians of the Smolensk region of Russia was formed, which, unlike the vast majority of other peoples, has retained its primary characteristics to this day and which, in its properties, represents an elite example of the genetic core of a white Caucasian.
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It simply could not be otherwise, since the territory of today's Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia was, at the time of the Slavic-Aryan exodus from the North, the eastern borderland of the settlement of the Slavic-Russians. Elementary logic suggests that the Slavs-Aryans could not wedge themselves in large numbers into the possessions of the Rus, already well established in Europe, who were at approximately the same level of technological progress as the Aryans. The Aryans needed living space and they found it by going further south.
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However, since the migration of the Slavs-Aryans had to be quite long, in the zone of their direct contact with the Slavs-Russians, which passed precisely through the land where Belarus, northern Ukraine and the Smolensk region of Russia now lie, a certain kind of permanent relationship was formed between these two great nations. These relations ultimately led to the formation of a powerful Russian-Aryan community, which later, spreading throughout North-Central Europe and also forming its outposts on the Apennine Peninsula, the Balkans and the Middle East, was finally embodied in a number of famous statehoods of antiquity and the Middle Ages.
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This circumstance is responsible for the presence of haplogroup I among the inhabitants of today's Iran, which, as is known, is located far from Europe - the area of ​​traditional settlement of the bearer of haplogroup I Slavyanin-Rus. As we already know, artifacts in the territory of settlement of the genetic Slavs are necessarily characterized by the presence of swastika motifs, and Iran is no exception here ( see above left - chain decoration dating back to the 1st millennium BC, found in Iran, Kularaz in the Gilan region).
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It should be noted that Iran is the easternmost point on the geographical map where the presence of the Russo-Varangian genetics of the Slavs-Russians generally reached. The fact that ancient Persian was with the modern Slavs and, in particular, with the Belarusians, in a blood relationship, which is confirmed not only by genetics.
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In conclusion, I will repeat: if we take a look at the inhabitants of today's Iran, we cannot help but notice that among them there are many representatives with the most Caucasian appearance. Take another look and you're in once again make sure that, for example, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mr. A. Larijani, in appearance, is more reminiscent of a Belarusian teacher than a person from the Middle East ( see above left Mr. Larijani).
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Seen among modern Iranian citizens white man from among the indigenous people is not a very difficult matter. In Iran there are still many not only light-skinned, completely European-looking people, but also real blondes ( right: children from a village in northwestern Iran).

In the middle of the 6th century. BC e. The Persians entered the arena of world history - a mysterious tribe that the previously civilized peoples of the Middle East knew only from hearsay.

About morals and customs ancient Persians known from the writings of the peoples who lived next to them. In addition to their powerful growth and physical development, the Persians had a will, hardened in the fight against harsh climates and dangers. nomadic life in the mountains and steppes. At that time they were famous for their in a moderate way life, self-control, strength, courage and unity.

According to Herodotus, the Persians wore clothes made from animal skins and felt tiaras (caps), did not drink wine, ate not as much as they wanted, but as much as they had. They were indifferent to silver and gold.

Simplicity and modesty in food and clothing remained one of the main virtues even during the period of Persian rule over, when they began to dress in luxurious Median outfits, wear gold necklaces and bracelets, when fresh fish from distant seas was brought to the table of the Persian kings and nobility, fruits from Babylonia and Syria. Even then, during the coronation rites of the Persian kings, the Achaemenid who ascended the throne had to put on the clothes that he had not worn as king, eat some dried figs and drink a cup of sour milk.

The ancient Persians were allowed to have many wives, as well as concubines, and to marry close relatives, such as nieces and half-sisters. Ancient Persian customs forbade women to show themselves to strangers (among the numerous reliefs in Persepolis there is not a single image of a woman). The ancient historian Plutarch wrote that the Persians are characterized by wild jealousy not only towards their wives. They even kept slaves and concubines locked up so that outsiders could not see them, and they transported them in closed carts.

History of ancient Persia

Persian king Cyrus II from the Achaemenid clan for short term conquered Media and many other countries and had a huge and good armed army, which began to prepare for a campaign against Babylonia. Appeared in Western Asia new power, who managed in a short time - in just a few decades- completely change political map Middle East.

Babylonia and Egypt abandoned many years of hostile policies towards each other, for the rulers of both countries were well aware of the need to prepare for war with the Persian Empire. The outbreak of war was only a matter of time.

The campaign against the Persians began in 539 BC. e. Decisive battle between the Persians and Babylonians occurred near the city of Opis on the Tigris River. Cyrus won here complete victory, soon his troops took the well-fortified city of Sippar, and the Persians captured Babylon without a fight.

After this the eyes Persian ruler turned to the East, where for several years he waged a grueling war with nomadic tribes and where he eventually died in 530 BC. e.

Cyrus's successors, Cambyses and Darius, completed the work he had begun. in 524-523 BC e. Cambyses' campaign against Egypt took place, as a result of which Achaemenid power was established on the banks of the Nile. turned into one of the satrapies of the new empire. Darius continued to strengthen the eastern and western borders empires. Towards the end of the reign of Darius, who died in 485 BC. e., the Persian power dominated on huge territory from the Aegean Sea in the west to India in the east and from the deserts Central Asia in the north to the rapids of the Nile in the south. The Achaemenids (Persians) united almost the entire civilized world known to them and ruled it until the 4th century. BC e., when their power was broken and conquered by the military genius of Alexander the Great.

Chronology of the rulers of the Achaemenid dynasty:

• Achaemen, 600s. BC.
• Theispes, 600s BC.
• Cyrus I, 640 - 580 BC.
• Cambyses I, 580 - 559 BC.
• Cyrus II the Great, 559 - 530 BC.
• Cambyses II, 530 - 522 BC.
• Bardia, 522 BC.
• Darius I, 522 - 486 BC.
• Xerxes I, 485 - 465 BC.
• Artaxerxes I, 465 - 424 BC.
• Xerxes II, 424 BC
• Secudian, 424 - 423 BC.
• Darius II, 423 - 404 BC.
• Artaxerxes II, 404 - 358 BC.
• Artaxerxes III, 358 - 338 BC.
• Artaxerxes IV Arses, 338 - 336 BC.
• Darius III, 336 - 330 BC.
• Artaxerxes V Bessus, 330 - 329 BC.

Map of the Persian Empire

The Aryan tribes - the eastern branch of the Indo-Europeans - by the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. inhabited almost the entire territory of present-day Iran. Self the word "Iran" is modern form the name "Ariana", i.e. country of the Aryans. These were originally warlike tribes semi-nomadic pastoralists who fought on war chariots. Some of the Aryans migrated even earlier and captured it, giving rise to the Indo-Aryan culture. Other Aryan tribes, closer to the Iranians, remained nomadic in Central Asia and the northern steppes - the Sakas, Sarmatians, etc. The Iranians themselves, having settled on fertile lands Iranian highlands, gradually abandoned the nomadic life, took up farming, adopting skills. It reached a high level already in the XI-VIII centuries. BC e. Iranian craft. His monument is the famous “Luristan bronzes” - skillfully made weapons and household items with images of mythical and real-life animals.

"Luristan Bronzes"- a cultural monument of Western Iran. It was here, in close proximity and confrontation, that the most powerful Iranian kingdoms arose. The first of them Media has strengthened(in northwestern Iran). The Median kings took part in the destruction of Assyria. The history of their state is well known from written monuments. But Median monuments of the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. very poorly studied. Even the capital of the country, the city of Ecbatana, has not yet been found. All that is known is that she was in the vicinity modern city Hamadan. Nevertheless, two Median fortresses already studied by archaeologists from the times of the fight against Assyria speak of a fairly high culture of the Medes.

In 553 BC. e. Cyrus (Kurush) II, the king of the subordinate Persian tribe from the Achaemenid clan, rebelled against the Medes. In 550 BC. e. Cyrus united the Iranians under his rule and led them to conquer the world. In 546 BC. e. he conquered Asia Minor, and in 538 BC. e. fell The son of Cyrus, Cambyses, conquered, and under King Darius I at the turn of the 6th-5th centuries. before. n. e. Persian power reached its greatest expansion and prosperity.

Monuments of its greatness are the royal capitals excavated by archaeologists - the most famous and best researched monuments of Persian culture. The oldest of them is Pasargadae, the capital of Cyrus.

Sasanian revival - Sasanian power

In 331-330 BC e. The famous conqueror Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian Empire. In retaliation for Athens, once devastated by the Persians, Greek Macedonian soldiers brutally plundered and burned Persepolis. The Achaemenid dynasty came to an end. The period of Greco-Macedonian rule over the East began, which is usually called the Hellenistic era.

For the Iranians, the conquest was a disaster. Power over all neighbors was replaced by humiliated submission to long-time enemies - the Greeks. Traditions Iranian culture, already shaken by the desire of kings and nobles to imitate the vanquished in luxury, were now completely trampled upon. Little changed after the liberation of the country by the nomadic Iranian tribe of the Parthians. The Parthians expelled the Greeks from Iran in the 2nd century. BC e., but they themselves borrowed a lot from Greek culture. The Greek language is still used on the coins and inscriptions of their kings. Temples are still being built with numerous statues, according to Greek models, which seemed blasphemous to many Iranians. In ancient times, Zarathushtra forbade the worship of idols, commanding that an unquenchable flame be venerated as a symbol of deity and sacrifices made to it. It was the religious humiliation that was greatest, and it was not for nothing that the cities built by the Greek conquerors were later called “Dragon buildings” in Iran.

In 226 AD e. The rebel ruler of Pars, who bore the ancient royal name Ardashir (Artaxerxes), overthrew the Parthian dynasty. The second story has begun Persian Empire - Sassanid Empire, the dynasty to which the winner belonged.

The Sassanians sought to revive the culture of ancient Iran. The very history of the Achaemenid state had by that time become a vague legend. So, the society that was described in the legends of the Zoroastrian Mobed priests was put forward as an ideal. The Sassanians built, in fact, a culture that had never existed in the past, thoroughly imbued with a religious idea. This had little in common with the era of the Achaemenids, who willingly adopted the customs of the conquered tribes.

Under the Sassanids, the Iranian decisively triumphed over the Hellenic. Greek temples completely disappear, the Greek language goes out of official use. The broken statues of Zeus (who was identified with Ahura Mazda under the Parthians) are replaced by faceless altars of fire. Naqsh-i-Rustem is decorated with new reliefs and inscriptions. In the 3rd century. The second Sasanian king Shapur I ordered his victory over the Roman emperor Valerian to be carved on the rocks. On the reliefs of the kings, a bird-shaped farn is overshadowed - a sign of divine protection.

Capital of Persia became the city of Ctesiphon, built by the Parthians next to the emptying Babylon. Under the Sassanids, new palace complexes were built in Ctesiphon and huge (up to 120 hectares) royal parks were laid out. The most famous of the Sasanian palaces is Tak-i-Kisra, the palace of King Khosrow I, who ruled in the 6th century. Along with monumental reliefs, palaces were now decorated with delicate carved ornaments in lime mixture.

Under the Sassanids, the irrigation system of Iranian and Mesopotamian lands was improved. In the VI century. The country was covered by a network of kariz (underground water pipelines with clay pipes), stretching up to 40 km. The cleaning of the curtains was carried out through special wells dug every 10 m. The curtains served for a long time and provided rapid development agriculture in Iran during the Sasanian era. It was then that cotton and sugar cane began to be grown in Iran, and gardening and winemaking developed. At the same time, Iran became one of the suppliers of its own fabrics - both woolen, linen and silk.

Sasanian power was much smaller Achaemenid, covered only Iran itself, part of the lands of Central Asia, the territories of present-day Iraq, Armenia and Azerbaijan. She had to fight for a long time, first with Rome, then with Byzantine Empire. Despite all this, the Sassanids lasted longer than the Achaemenids - more than four centuries. Ultimately, the state, exhausted by continuous wars in the West, was engulfed in a struggle for power. The Arabs took advantage of this, bringing a new faith - Islam - by force of arms. In 633-651 after a fierce war they conquered Persia. So it was over with the ancient Persian state and ancient Iranian culture.

Persian system of government

Ancient Greeks who became acquainted with the organization government controlled in the Achaemenid Empire, they admired the wisdom and foresight of the Persian kings. In their opinion, this organization was the pinnacle of development monarchical form board.

The Persian kingdom was divided into large provinces, called satrapies by the title of their rulers - satraps (Persian, “kshatra-pavan” - “guardian of the region”). Usually there were 20 of them, but this number fluctuated, since sometimes the management of two or more satrapies was entrusted to one person and, conversely, one region was divided into several. This pursued mainly taxation purposes, but sometimes the characteristics of the peoples inhabiting them and historical characteristics were also taken into account. Satraps and rulers of smaller regions were not the only representatives local government. In addition to them, in many provinces there were hereditary local kings or ruling priests, as well as free cities and, finally, “benefactors” who received cities and districts for life, or even hereditary possession. These kings, governors and high priests differed in position from satraps only in that they were hereditary and had a historical and national connection with the population who saw them as bearers of ancient traditions. They independently carried out internal governance, retained local law, a system of measures, language, imposed taxes and duties, but were under the constant control of satraps, who could often intervene in the affairs of the regions, especially during unrest and unrest. Satraps also resolved border disputes between cities and regions, litigation in cases where the participants were citizens of various urban communities or various vassal regions, and regulated political relations. Local rulers, like satraps, had the right to communicate directly with the central government, and some of them, such as the kings of the Phoenician cities, Cilicia, and Greek tyrants, maintained their own army and fleet, which they personally commanded, accompanying the Persian army to big hikes or fulfilling military orders from the king. However, the satrap could at any time demand these troops for the royal service and place his own garrison in the possessions of local rulers. The main command over the provincial troops also belonged to him. The satrap was even allowed to recruit soldiers and mercenaries independently and at his own expense. He was, as they would call him in a more recent era, the governor-general of his satrapy, ensuring its internal and external security.

The highest command of the troops was carried out by the commanders of four or, as during the subjugation of Egypt, five military districts into which the kingdom was divided.

Persian system of government provides an example of the victors’ amazing respect for local customs and the rights of conquered peoples. In Babylonia, for example, all documents from the times of Persian rule are legally no different from those dating back to the period of independence. The same thing happened in Egypt and Judea. In Egypt, the Persians left the same not only the division into nomes, but also the sovereign surnames, the location of troops and garrisons, as well as the tax immunity of temples and priesthood. Of course, the central government and the satrap could intervene at any time and decide matters at their own discretion, but for the most part it was enough for them if the country was calm, taxes were received regularly, and the troops were in order.

Such a management system did not emerge in the Middle East right away. For example, initially in the conquered territories it relied only on the force of arms and intimidation. The areas taken “by battle” were included directly in the House of Ashur - the central region. Those who surrendered to the mercy of the winner often preserved their local dynasty. But over time, this system turned out to be poorly suited for managing the expanding state. Reorganization of management carried out by King Tiglath-pileser III in the UNT century. BC e., in addition to the policy of forced relocations, it also changed the system of governing the regions of the empire. The kings tried to prevent the emergence of overly powerful clans. To prevent the creation of hereditary possessions and new dynasties among the governors of the regions, the most important posts eunuchs were often appointed. In addition, although major officials received huge land holdings, they did not constitute a single tract, but were scattered throughout the country.

But still, the main support of Assyrian rule, as well as Babylonian rule later, was the army. Military garrisons literally surrounded the entire country. Taking into account the experience of their predecessors, the Achaemenids added to the force of arms the idea of ​​a “kingdom of countries,” that is, a reasonable combination of local characteristics with the interests of the central government.

The vast state needed the means of communication necessary to control the central government over local officials and rulers. The language of the Persian chancellery, in which even royal decrees, was Aramaic. This is explained by the fact that it was actually in common use in Assyria and Babylonia back in Assyrian times. The conquests of the western regions, Syria and Palestine, by the Assyrian and Babylonian kings further contributed to its spread. This language gradually took the place of ancient Akkadian cuneiform in international relations; it was even used on the coins of the Asia Minor satraps of the Persian king.

Another feature of the Persian Empire that delighted the Greeks was there were beautiful roads, described by Herodotus and Xenophon in stories about the campaigns of King Cyrus. The most famous were the so-called Royal, which went from Ephesus in Asia Minor, off the coast of the Aegean Sea, east to Susa, one of the capitals of the Persian state, through the Euphrates, Armenia and Assyria along the Tigris River; the road leading from Babylonia through the Zagros mountains to the east to another capital of Persia - Ecbatana, and from here to the Bactrian and Indian border; road from Issky Bay Mediterranean Sea to Sinop on the Black Sea, crossing Asia Minor, etc.

These roads were not only built by the Persians. Most of them existed in the Assyrian and even more early time. The beginning of the construction of the Royal Road, which was the main artery of the Persian monarchy, probably dates back to the era of the Hittite kingdom, which was located in Asia Minor on the way from Mesopotamia and Syria to Europe. Sardis, the capital of Lydia conquered by the Medes, was connected by a road to another big city- Pteria. From there the road went to the Euphrates. Herodotus, speaking about the Lydians, calls them the first shopkeepers, which was natural for the owners of the road between Europe and Babylon. The Persians continued this route from Babylonia further east, to their capitals, improved it and adapted it not only for trade purposes, but also for state needs - mail.

The Persian kingdom also took advantage of another invention of the Lydians - coins. Until the 7th century. BC e. subsistence farming dominated throughout the East, money turnover was just beginning to emerge: the role of money was played by metal ingots of a certain weight and shape. These could be rings, plates, mugs without chasing or images. The weight was different everywhere, and therefore, outside the place of origin, the ingot simply lost the value of a coin and had to be weighed again each time, i.e., it became an ordinary commodity. On the border between Europe and Asia, the Lydian kings were the first to begin minting state coins of clearly defined weight and denomination. From here the use of such coins spread throughout Asia Minor, Cyprus and Palestine. The ancient trading countries -, and - retained the old system for a very long time. They began minting coins after the campaigns of Alexander the Great, and before that they used coins made in Asia Minor.

Establishing a single tax system, the Persian kings could not do without minting coins; in addition, the needs of the state that kept mercenaries, as well as the unprecedented prosperity international trade necessitated the need for a single coin. And the kingdom was introduced gold coin, and only the government had the right to mint it; local rulers, cities and satraps received the right to mint only silver and copper coins for payment to mercenaries, which remained an ordinary commodity outside their region.

So, by the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. In the Middle East, through the efforts of many generations and many peoples, a civilization arose that even the freedom-loving Greeks was considered ideal. Here is what the ancient Greek historian Xenophon wrote: “Wherever the king lives, wherever he goes, he makes sure that everywhere there are gardens, called paradises, full of everything beautiful and good that the earth can produce. In them he spends most time, if this is not prevented by the season... Some say that when the king gives gifts, first those who distinguished themselves in war are called, for it is useless to plow a lot if there is no one to protect, and then - the best way cultivating the land, for the strong could not exist if there were no cultivators...”

It is not surprising that this civilization developed in Western Asia. It not only arose earlier than others, but also developed faster and more energetically, had the most profitable terms for its development through constant contacts with neighbors and the exchange of innovations. Here, more often than in other ancient centers of world culture, new ideas arose and important discoveries were made in almost all areas of production and culture. Potter's wheel and wheel, bronze and iron making, war chariot as a fundamentally new means of warfare, various shapes writing from pictograms to the alphabet - all this and much more genetically goes back to Western Asia, from where these innovations spread throughout the rest of the world, including other centers of primary civilization.