Assyrian Empire

Built upon:

• A very large army
• Iron weapons
• Cavalry

Nebuchadnezzar Babylonian King, r. 605-562 B.C.

Lydia coinage

Croesus; Lydian King, r. 560-546 B.C.

Cyrus; Persian Shah, r. 559-530 B.C.

Persian Imperial Success

1. A very large army; approx. 300,000 men; the 10,000 Immortals
2. Cavalry tactics
3. Tolerant of local customs; Satrap, Persian administrator; "eyes and ears of the king", state spies
4. A common system of weights and measures
5. A single coinage
6. Roads
7. Language of imperial administration was Aramaic (Semitic language)

Persian Religion

Zoroastrianism; Zarathustra (Zoroaster) ca. 1000, ca. 750, ca. 550 B.C.; Gathas, songs, poems; Avesta, spiritual scriptures of Zoroastrianism; Ahura Mazda, Zoroastrian God; Dualism, involved in a series of polarities