Chapter 7: The Empires of Persia
Greco-Persian Wars
Were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC.
Magi
Zoroastrian priests
Thrace
Collection of territories north of Thessaly, many different tribes, controlled by the Persian Empire
Achaemenids
First Persian Empire founded by Cyrus II
Persian Gulf
This body of water separates the Arabian peninsula from the more mountainous land of Persia
Mediterranean Sea
This body of Water separates Europe and Africa
Red Sea
This body of water separates the Arabian Peninsula from Africa.
Macedonia
An ancient kingdom north of Greece, whose ruler Philip II conquered Greece in 338 B.C.
Caspian Sea
A large saltwater lake between Iran and Russia fed by the Volga River, world's largest inland body of water located between Europe and Asia
Hindu Kush
A mountain range along the northern border of India
Caucasus Mountains
A mountain system in southeastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
The Hellespont (Dardanelles)
A narrow, natural strait and internationally-significant waterway in northwestern Turkey that forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia, and separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey.
Armenia
An area in Eastern Anatolia (east of Turkey today) and the western Caucasus and occupied by speakers of the Armenian language. The Ottoman Empire is accused of systematic mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century.
Jerusalem
Capital of Israel and a holy city for Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
Persepolis
Greek name for the ancient city of Parsa, located in present-day Iran. The name Parsa meant 'City of The Persians' and construction began at the site in 518 BCE under the rule of King Darius the Great.
Ahura Mazda
In Zoroastrianism, the good god who rules the world.
Medes
Indo-European branch that settled in northern Persia and eventually fell to another branch, the Persians, in the sixth century.
Parthians
Iranian ruling dynasty between ca. 250 B.C.E. and 226 C.E.
Alexander The Great
King of Macedonia; conquered Persia and Egypt and invaded India
Black Sea
Large body of water separating Ukraine from Turkey
Sasanids
Last powerful Persian dynasty of the classical period that would reach its peak under Shapur I and later fall to Islamic/Arabic expansion.
Iranian Plateau
Middle Eastern region including most of Iran. Large Plateau; ring of mountains; dry and arid; not fertile, no rivers. Few people in this area mainly because of mountain resources and trade via land.
Zagros Mountains
Mountains on the western side of Iran help isolate that country from the rest of Southwest Asia. The birthplace of agriculture located in northeastern Iraq.
Darius
Persian King who defeated the rebels and vowed to defeat Athens A great Persian king who ruled from about 522 to 486 B.C.E.
Seleucids
Persian empire (323-83 B.C.E.) founded by Seleucus after the death of Alexander the Great.
Zoroastrianism
Persian monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Zarathustra.
Zarathustra
Persian prophet who founded Zoroastrianism
Aegean Sea
Sea that separates Greece from western edge of Asia, or Asia Minor.
Satrapies
Province governed by a local ruler
Gathas
Sacred texts for Zoroastrianism
Xerxes
Son of Darius, led the Persian army in the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis
Indian Ocean
This area possessed the biggest network of sea-based trade in the postclassical period prior to the rise of Atlantic-based trade.
Anatolia
The Southwest Asian peninsula now occupied by the Asian part of Turkey— also called Asia Minor.
Qanat
Underground canal first built by the ancient Persians
Persian Royal Road
Was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian king Darius the Great of the first Persian Empire in the 5th century BCE
Mithradates I
Was king of the Parthian Empire from 165 BCE to 132 BCE
Cyrus
Was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire