ORG - The First Imperial Control Experiments (Lesson)

The First Imperial Control Experiments

In the last unit, you learned that the region of Mesopotamia was called the "Cradle of Civilization" since it was the site where the first cities of its kind in history surfaced. In the 3^rd Millennium BCE, city-states emerged in Mesopotamia. In the 2^nd Millennium BCE, the first small empires, often referred to as territorial-states, emerged in Mesopotamia. During the 1^st Millennium BCE, the first large-scale empires emerged in Mesopotamia, culminating with the Persian Empire (560-331 BCE)—the largest empire in the world, at the time. This lesson will look at its predecessors and how the Persian Empire came to be as Mesopotamia experimented with building and managing empires. These new empires essentially replaced the previous territorial-states and introduced the world to an era of empires with larger territorial, political, economic and cultural goals, and accomplishments.

We ended our discussion on Mesopotamia in the last unit by bringing up the subject of outside invaders storming the region of Sumer. These outsiders were the Hittites of Anatolia- and they really put the "mess" in Mesopotamia. (At least from the point of view of the locals there- the Hittites ruled Mesopotamia for hundreds of years before an uprising of locals ended the foreign intervention.)

The Hittites were eventually ousted by the Assyrians in c. 911 BCE, creating the Neo-Assyrian Empire. It was the first attempt in creating a large-scale empire and its existence resulted from an evolution of...

1. Urban Growth
2. Agricultural Production Improvements (if the cities were growing, that meant more mouths to feed)
3. Military Innovations (one had to be able to protect one's accomplishments, plus they figured out the uses for iron)
4. Evolution of Governing (new forms of government developed in order to rule so many diverse people)

 

Neo-Assyrian Empire

The Neo-Assyrian Empire stretched from Persia (modern-day Iran) to Egypt and lasted three hundred years by literally keeping an iron grip on their territory. By the time the Assyrians rose to power, the Mesopotamians were masters of smelting iron and using it for weapons and armor—and with that knowledge, the Assyrians became masters themselves. The Assyrians maintained their power through warfare, exploitation of subjects, and mass deportations. During their three centuries of rule, they relocated (or deported) roughly four million people as a strategy to break resistance among dissidents and to provide slave labor for the empire. That labor went into the building of roads to ease communication and troop movement over the vast territory, the mining of precious metals for tributes to the king and wealth for the empire, the distribution of a propaganda machine that praised the Assyrians and depicted the bad things that happened to their enemies, and the growing of food to feed everyone. Also, with each new region the Assyrians conquered, they found groups of people gifted in myriad areas that could be exploited for Assyrian gain.

The Neo-Assyrian Empire depended on occupying armies to keep their vast territories and diverse people in line—theirs was a "rule by might" rather than a "rule by right." Under such conditions, the empire grew increasingly unstable and in c. 612 BCE the vanquished became the vanquishers by finally overthrowing the Neo-Assyrian government after decades of civil wars. Thus ending the first Mesopotamian experiment in imperial control.

 

Neo-Babylonian Empire

The second experiment began immediately with the Neo-Babylonian Empire. (Remember how the discussion on Mesopotamia in the last unit ended with the statement that "over a thousand years passed before Babylon reemerged as an independent and powerful city-state?"— Well, the thousand years were up and Babylon returned to the stage.) Following the decades of civil wars, a Babylonian king was able to defeat the Neo-Assyrians and set up the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Unfortunately (for him, but not his son), he died shortly after finding so much success and his son rose to the throne calling himself Nebuchadnezzar II. From c. 604 to 561 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II ruled Babylon and the surrounding areas. He spent his time on the throne remaking the famous city. He ordered the construction of fabulous gates to be built around the city's border, rebuilt Babylon's ziggurat and was responsible for the creation of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. He also destroyed the Israelites' Temple in Jerusalem and moved them to Babylon. Perhaps he shouldn't have made Babylon so nice—or made so many enemies (he spent a great deal of his time trying to conquer surrounding areas.) Twenty two years after Nebuchadnezzar's reign ended, Persians from the north invaded and conquered the city. The "experimentation" was over and the Persians built an empire founded on persuasion and mutual benefit rather than simple military power.

 

Persian Empire

The first king of the Persian Empire was Cyrus the Great (starting the tradition of naming great leaders "Great.") He united the different tribes of Persia (located in modern-day Iran) and then conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire. His reign over the Persian Empire lasted from 559 to 529 BCE. During those thirty years, Cyrus the Great was busy...

 

Cyrus the Great's Accomplishments

By the time of his death (c.529 BCE), Cyrus the Great's empire was on a trajectory to rule the lands from the Indus Valley to northern Greece, from central Asia to southern Egypt. But more importantly, his reputation as the embodiment of all the good qualities wanted in a ruler became the stuff of legend that lived on well after his death and influenced leaders to come. The example he left could be seen in his successor, Darius I, who spent his time on the throne (521-486 BCE) adding to and improving on that which Cyrus the Great had built. Perhaps one reason that Cyrus the Great and Darius I were so effective is that the Persian Empire was built on an ideology based on religion—they practiced "Rule by Right" rather than "Rule by Might." Roughly 500 years before the Persian Empire emerged, a man named Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra) took the traditional religious beliefs among the different regions of Persia and turned them into a formal religion. His religion- Zoroastrianism- held that the world and the good belonged to the god Ahura Mazda and that the deceitful and wicked belonged to Ahriman (or Angra Mainyu.) According to Zoroaster, people could choose to be good or wicked and could expect consequences in the afterlife based on their choices. He also argued that kings were appointed by Ahura Mazda and had absolute authority among the people. In exchange for this absolute authority, the kings were to be the epitome of superior moral and ethical behavior as well as physical prowess. These values were deeply ingrained within the community at large as well. The Greek historian, Herodotus, later said that boys in Persia were taught three things- "to ride, to shoot with the bow, and to tell the truth." This was the culture that Cyrus the Great and Darius I were born into and later led. Under their watch, the Persian Empire established a social structure with a ruling class, an administrative and commercial class, an artisan class, and a peasant class. But perhaps their greatest achievement was the infrastructure of the Persian Empire. Most notably-

• The Royal Road- a 1600 mile road that ran from the western Anatolian Peninsula through the Iranian Plateau into central Asia;
• A 50 mile canal that linked the Red Sea to the Nile River;
• Qanats- underground tunnels that captured, contained and transported water;
• Grand architectural projects that depicted the tributes given to the worthy king from his honored people.

During its heyday, the Persian Empire was the largest empire in the world—which means two things: One, the southwest Asian experiments on imperial control resulted in an empire that worked and whose leaders would serve as role models for later empires; and Two, the Persian Empire was a fairly large and glamorous target for any peoples with imperial aspirations. So where would the next threat to the largest empire in the world come from? Let's quickly examine those people living among and on the fringes of the Persian Empire to see if any likely candidates materialize—

 

 

Recap Section

 

Review what you've learned in the videos below.

 

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.

TOMB OF DARIUS I - THE ERNST HERZFELD PAPERS. FREER GALLERY OF ART AND ARTHUR M. SACKLER GALLERY ARCHIVES. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D.C