Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By Jose Rosario
The City of Persepolis
A. Persia, a new power, arose east of Mesopotamia,
in modern Iran.
1. Mesopotamia had good farmland & was rich in minerals -- copper,
lead, gold, & silver.
2. The Persians defeated the Assyrians around 550 B.C., & began their
own conquests.
3. King Cyrus led his army to conquer a huge empire which it stretched
from India to Anatolia (Turkey) 2,000 miles, in just over 10 years.
4. Cyrus won all this land in part because of the wise way he treated the
people there.
a. He did not destroy towns & cities, like the Assyrians, & his army
avoid to harm the people he conquered.
b. He let the people to practice their old religions, ex. The Hebrews
were allowed return to Jerusalem & rebuild their temple
5. Cyrus , a great warrior, but was killed in battle.
Cyrus, Darius & Xerxes
B. Cyrus son, Cambyses, conquered Egypt, but
unlike his father, he did not respect the Egyptians
way of life.
1. The next king, Darius, extended the empire, only Greece
escaped his control.
2. Darius divided the land into 20 provinces, & allowed each
of them practice its own religion, speak its own language,
& obey their own laws.
3. He built a 1,677 miles Royal Road to unite the empire,
messengers on horses made communication better.
4. He had metal standard value coins made that could be used
for business anywhere in the empire to increase trade.
5. During the Persian Empire, a new religion arose with the
concept of good (light) & evil (darkness) --these two spirits
were in a constant struggle.
6. These ideas influenced later religions.
Section 4 - The Unification of
China
A. After the fall of the Zhou dynasty, China became
a land of troubles.
1. Ancient Chinese values were forgotten, but thinkers such as Confucius
tried to find ways to restore them.
2. Confucius (born in 551 B.C) believed:
1. People would have to work at five basic relationships.
1. ruler & subject,
2. father & son,
3. husband & wife,
4. older & younger brothers, &
5. friend & friend.
2. The family relationships were the most important & children should
practice filial piety or respect for parents & elders.
3. Confucius tried to improve government by creating the basis of a
bureaucracy or a system of departments & agencies for running the
government. Educated people were needed in these jobs.
Confucianism: focuses on developing the ideal
relationship between individuals and society