The Persian Empire: By Jackson Sharpe

Hi, my name is Jackson B. Sharpe and my favorite subject is history, specifically ancient history.  I love learning about the origins of modern countries and the battles and strategies used to form the nations of the current world.

81.8 million people and 454 billion dollars, that’s part of the impact Iran has on the world today.  We have a man named Cyrus to thank for these contributions.  It all began back in 550  BCE.  

In 550 BCE a man named Cyrus united the people of the Persian tribes and conquered the king of the Median Empire named Astyages.  Astyages controlled the tribes before Cyrus united them.   But it wasn’t until in 539 BCE when Cyrus defeated the mesopatanian state of Babylon in 539. In 480 BCE the Persians invaded Greece because Greece was helping rebels in Armenia. The first battle was fought at Thermopylae where the Greek city states united to take down the Persians. In the end Persia won the battle of Thermopylae but with heavy casualties and only won because a greek spy showed them a way behind the mountains.  Even though the Persians won the battle, the Persians lost the war with Greece and would never be able to expand into Europe again. These failed attempts to invade Greece weakened the Persian Empire.

In 330 BCE, Alexander the Great invaded Persia and conquered much of the Persian Empire but a small part of it was left intact.  Fast forward about 900 years to when Rome collapsed 476 CE and split into two with the west falling quickly and the east surviving until 1400 when the Ottomans took them over. Eastern Rome and Persia had been at peace for a while but when Eastern Rome stopped paying for the Cacastion Gates, they invaded. At this point what was left of Persia was on the brink of collapse and war is not good for empires on the brink of collapse. and surprisingly Persia won, and  got a lot of gold out of it. Meanwhile the Eastern Roman empire was also toying with Persias allies in Italy and in the Arabic peninsula. When the Persians found out they went to war and destroyed the Eastern roman empire but only taking small land amounts in exchange for money. Then their Turkish allies (in Turkestan) declared war on the Persia empire bringing it to an end. It is these lands that become Iran at the conclusion of WWI when the land that was Persia becomes known as Iran. 

Though what’s left of Persia is left in ruins, it has left a huge mark on Iranian culture to this day. It had one of the oldest religions that is still used today. Also, it has made Iran the center of attention around the world. The Middle East, especially Iran, has had a huge mark on the world and it is thanks to the great Persian Empire. If you would like to read more on this interesting subject, visit my sources here.