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600-530 BCE.
Founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Between 550-530 BCE he conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylon. Revered in the traditions of both Iran and the subject peoples, he employed Persians and Medes in his administration and respected the institutions and beliefs of subject peoples. |
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558-486 BCE.
3rd ruler of the Persian Empire (521-486 BCE). He crushed the widespread initial resistance to his rule and gave all major government posts to provinces and tribute, began construction of Persepolis, and expanded Persian control in the East (Pakistan) and West (North Greece). |
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| The government of a province in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, often a relative of the king. HE was responsible for protection of the province and for forwarding tribute to the central administration. Satraps in outlying provinces enjoyed considerable autonomy. |
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| A complex of palaces, reception halls, and treasury buildings erected by the Persian Kings Darius I and Xerxes in the Persian homeland. It was believed that the New Years festival was celebrated here, as well as the coronations, weddings, and funerals of the Persian Kings, who were buried in cliff-tombs nearby. |
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| Religious originating Iran with prophet Zoroaster. It centered on a single benevolent deity-Ahuramazada-engaged in a 1200 year struggled with demonic forces before prevailing and restoring a pristine world. Religion demanded that humans choose sides in good and evil. Good: Ahuramazada, rewarded afterlife. Others would be punished. Religion of Achaemenid and Sasanid Persians, Zoroastrianism may spread within realms and influenced Judaism, Christianity, etc. |
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| The Greek term for city-state, and urban center and the agricultural territory under its control. It was the characteristic form of political organization in southern in central Greece in the Archaic and Classical periods. Of the hundreds of city-states in the Mediterrenean and Black Sea region settled by Greeks, some were oligarchic, others democractic, depending on the powers delegated to the Council and the Assembly. |
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| A heavily armored Greek infantryman of the Archaic and Classical periods who fought in the close-packed phalanx formation. Hoplite armies-militia composed of middle- and upper-class citizens supplying their own equipment -- were for centuries superior to all other military forces. |
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| The term the Greeks used to describe someone who seized and held power in violation of the normal procedures and traditions of the community. Tyrants appeared in many Greek city-states in the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, often taking advantage of the disaffect of the emerging middle class and, by weakening the old elite , unwittingly contributing to the evolution of democracy. |
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| A system of government in which all "citizens" have equal political and legal rights, privileges, and protections, as in the Greek city-state of Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. |
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| A gift given to a deity, with the aim of creating a relationship, gaining favor, and obligating the god to provide some benefit to the sacrificer, sometimes in order to sustain deity and thereby guarantee the continuing vitality of the natural world. Object devoted to deity could be as simple as a cup of wine poured on the ground, an animal skin, or in an extreme case the ritual killing of a human being. |
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485-425 BCE.
Heir to the technique of "investigation" developed by Greeks in the late Archaic period. Came from a Greek community in Anatolia and traveled extensively, collecting information with west Asia and Mediterrenean lands. Traced the antecedents of and chronicled the Persian Wars between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire, thus originating the Western tradition of historical writing. |
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495-429 BCE.
Aristocratic leader who guided the Athenian state through the transformation of full participatory democracy for all male citizens, supervised construction of Acropolis, and pursued a policy of imperial expansion that led to the Pelopannesian War. Formulated a strategy of attribution but died from the plague early in the war. |
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| Conflicts between Greek city-states and the Persian Empire, ranging from Ionian Revolt (499-494 BCE) through Darius's punitive expedition that failed at Marathon (490 BCE) and the defeated Xerxes' massive invasion of Greece by Spartan-led Hellenistic League (480-479 BCE). This first major setback for Persian arms productivity. Herodotus chronicled these events in the first "history" in the west tradition. |
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| Greek and Phoenician warship of the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. It was sleek and light, powered by 170 oars arranged in three vertical tiers. Manned by skilled sailors, it was capable of short bursts of speed and complex maneuvers. |
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| Athenian philosopher (470-399 BCE) who shifted the emphasis of philosophical investigation from questions of natural science of ethnics and human behavior. He attracted young disciples from elite families but made enemies by revealing the ignorance and pretensions of others, culminating in his tril and execution by the Athenian state. |
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431-404 BCE.
A protracted and costly conflict between the Athenian and Spartan alliance systems that convulsed most of the Greek world. The war was largely a consequence of Athenian imperialism. Possession of a naval empire allowed Athens to fight a war of attrition. Ultimately, Sparta prevailed because of Athenian errors and Persian financial support. |
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356-323 BCE.
King of Macedonia in northern Greece. Between 334 and 323 BCE he conquered the Persian Empire, reached the Indus Valley, founded many Greek-style cities, and spread Greek-culture across the Middle East. Later known as Alexander the Great. |
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| Historians' term for the era, usually dated 323-30 BCE, in which Greek culture spread across western Asia and northwestern Africa after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The period ended with the fall of the last major Hellenistic kingdom to Rome, but Greek cultural influence presisted until the spread of Islam in 17th century BCE. |
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| Macedonian dynasty, descended from one of Alexander the Great's officers, that ruled Egypt for 3 centuries (323-30 BCE). From their magnificent capital at Alexandria on the medit. Coast, the Ptolomies largely took over the system created by Egyptian pharaohs to extract the wealth of the land, rewarding Greeks and Hellenized non-Greeks serving in the military and administration. |
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| City on the Mediterrenean coast of Egypt founded by Alexander. It became the capitol of the Hellenistic kingdom of the ptolomies. It contained the famous Library and the Museum- a center for leading scientific and literacy figures. Its merchants engaged in trade with areas bordering the Mediterrenean and the Indian Ocean. |
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