The Persian Empire of Ancient Iran

The Persian Empire of Ancient Iran Irans history as a nation of people speaking an Indo-European language did not begin until the middle of the second millennium B.C. Before then, Iran was occupied by peoples with a variety of cultures. There are numerous artifacts attesting to settled agriculture, permanent sun-dried- brick dwellings, and pottery-making from the sixth millennium B.C. The most advanced area technologically was ancient Susiana, present-day Khuzestan Province. By the fourth millennium, the inhabitants of Susiana, the Elamites, were using semipictographic writing, probably learned from the highly advanced civilization of Sumer in Mesopotamia (ancient name for much of the area now known as Iraq), to the west. Sumerian influence in art, literature, and religion also became particularly strong when the Elamites were occupied by, or at least came under the domination of, two Mesopotamian cultures, those of Akkad and Ur, during the middle of the third millennium. By 2000 B.C. the Elamites had become sufficiently unified to destroy the city of Ur. Elamite civilization developed rapidly from that point, and, by the fourteenth century B.C., its art was at its most impressive. Immigration of the Medes and the Persians Small groups of nomadic, horse-riding peoples speaking Indo-European languages began moving into the Iranian cultural area from Central Asia near the end of the second millennium B.C. Population pressures, overgrazing in their home area, and hostile neighbors may have prompted these migrations. Some of the groups settled in eastern Iran, but others, those who were to leave significant historical records, pushed farther west toward the Zagros Mountains. Three major groups are identifiablethe Scythians, the Medes (the Amadai or Mada), and the Persians (also known as the Parsua or Parsa). The Scythians established themselves in the northern Zagros Mountains and clung to a seminomadic existence in which raiding was the chief form of economic enterprise. The Medes settled over a huge area, reaching as far as modern Tabriz in the north and Esfahan in the south. They had their capital at Ecbatana (present-day Hamadan) and annually paid tribute to the Assyrians. The Persians were established in three areas: to the south of Lake Urmia (the tradional name, also cited as Lake Orumiyeh, to which it has reverted after being called Lake Rezaiyeh under the Pahlavis), on the northern border of the kingdom of the Elamites; and in the environs of modern Shiraz, which would be their eventual settling place and to which they would give the name Parsa (what is roughly present-day Fars Province). During the seventh century B.C., the Persians were led by Hakamanish (Achaemenes, in Greek), ancestor of the Achaemenid dynasty. A descendant, Cyrus II (also known as Cyrus the Great or Cyrus the Elder), led the combined forces of the Medes and the Persians to establish the most extensive empire known in the ancient world. By 546 B.C., Cyrus had defeated Croesus*, the Lydian king of fabled wealth, and had secured control of the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, Armenia, and the  Greek colonies  along the Levant. Moving east, he took Parthia (land of the Arsacids, not to be confused with Parsa, which was to the southwest), Chorasmis, and Bactria. He besieged and captured Babylon in 539 and released the Jews who had been held captive there, thus earning his immortalization in the Book of Isaiah. When he died in 529**, Cyruss kingdom extended as far east as the Hindu Kush in present-day Afghanistan. His successors were less successful. Cyruss unstable son, Cambyses II, conquered Egypt but later committed suicide during a revolt led by a priest, Gaumata, who usurped the throne until overthrown in 522 by a member of a lateral branch of the Achaemenid family, Darius I (also known as Darayarahush or Darius the Great). Darius attacked the Greek mainland, which had supported rebellious Greek colonies under his aegis, but as a result of his defeat at the  Battle of Marathon in 490  was forced to retract the limits of the empire to  Asia Minor. The Achaemenids thereafter consolidated areas firmly under their control. It was Cyrus and Darius who, by sound and farsighted administrative planning, brilliant military maneuvering, and a humanistic worldview, established the greatness of the Achaemenids and in less than thirty years raised them from an obscure tribe to a world power. The quality of the Achaemenids as rulers began to disintegrate, however, after the death of Darius in 486. His son and successor, Xerxes, was chiefly occupied with suppressing revolts in Egypt and Babylonia. He also attempted to conquer the Greek Peloponnesus, but encouraged by a victory at Thermopylae, he overextended his forces and suffered overwhelming defeats at Salamis and Plataea. By the time his successor, Artaxerxes I, died in 424, the imperial court was beset by factionalism among the lateral family branches, a condition that persisted until the death in 330 of the last of the Achaemenids, Darius III, at the hands of his own subjects. The Achaemenids were enlightened despots who allowed a certain amount of regional autonomy in the form of the satrapy system. A satrapy was an administrative unit, usually organized on a geographical basis. A satrap (governor) administered the region, a general supervised military recruitment and ensured order, and a state secretary kept official records. The general and the state secretary reported directly to the central government. The twenty satrapies were linked by a 2,500-kilometer highway, the most impressive stretch being the  royal road  from Susa to Sardis, built by command of Darius. Relays of mounted couriers could reach the most remote areas in fifteen days. Despite the relative local independence afforded by the satrapy system, however, royal inspectors, the eyes and ears of the king, toured the empire and reported on local conditions, and the king maintained a personal bodyguard of 10,000 men, called the Immortals. The language in greatest use in the empire was Aramaic. Old Persian was the official language of the empire but was used only for inscriptions and royal proclamations. Darius revolutionized the economy by placing it on a silver and gold coinage system. Trade was extensive, and under the  Achaemenids  there was an efficient infrastructure that facilitated the exchange of commodities among the far reaches of the empire. As a result of this commercial activity, Persian words for typical items of trade became prevalent throughout the  Middle East  and eventually entered the English language; examples are, bazaar, shawl, sash, turquoise, tiara, orange, lemon, melon, peach, spinach, and asparagus. Trade was one of the empires main sources of revenue, along with agriculture and tribute. Other accomplishments of Dariuss reign included codification of the data, a universal legal system upon which much of later Iranian law would be based, and construction of a new capital at Persepolis, where vassal states would offer their yearly tribute at the festival celebrating the spring equinox. In its art and architecture, Persepolis reflected Dariuss percept ion of himself as the leader of conglomerates of people to whom he had given a new and single identity. The Achaemenid art and architecture found there is at once distinctive and also highly eclectic. The Achaemenids took the art forms and the cultural and religious traditions of many of the ancient Middle Eastern peoples and combined them into a single form. This Achaemenid artistic style is evident in the iconography of Persepolis, which celebrates the king and the office of the monarch. Envisioning a new world empire based on a fusion of Greek and Iranian culture and  ideals,  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Alexander the Great  of Macedon accelerated the disintegration of the Achaemenid Empire. He was first accepted as leader by the fractious Greeks in 336 B.C. and by 334 had advanced to Asia Minor, an Iranian satrapy. In quick  succession,  he took Egypt, Babylonia, and then, over the course of two years, the heart of the  Achaemenid EmpireSusa, Ecbatana, and Persepolisthe last of which he burned. Alexander married Roxana (Roshanak), the daughter of the most powerful of the Bactrian chiefs (Oxyartes, who revolted in present-day Tadzhikistan), and in 324 commanded his officers and 10,000 of his soldiers to marry Iranian women. The mass wedding, held at Susa, was a model of Alexanders desire to consummate the union of the Greek and Iranian peoples. These plans ended in 323 B.C., however, when Alexander was struck with fever and died in Babylon, leaving no heir. His empire was d ivided among four of his generals. Seleucus, one of these generals, who became ruler of Babylon in 312, gradually reconquered most of Iran. Under Seleucuss son, Antiochus I, many Greeks entered Iran, and Hellenistic motifs in art, architecture, and urban planning became prevalent. Although the Seleucids faced challenges from the  Ptolemies of Egypt  and from the growing power of Rome, the main threat came from the province of Fars (Partha to the Greeks). Arsaces (of the seminomadic Parni tribe), whose name was used by all subsequent Parthian kings, revolted against the Seleucid governor in 247 B.C. and established a dynasty, the Arsacids, or Parthians. During the second century, the Parthians were able to extend their rule to Bactria, Babylonia, Susiana, and Media, and, under Mithradates II (123-87 B.C.), Parthian conquests stretched from India to Armenia. After the victories of Mithradates II, the Parthians began to claim descent from both the Greeks and the Achaemenids. They spoke a language similar to that of the Achaemenids, used the Pahlavi script, and established an administrative system based on Achaemenid precedents. Meanwhile, Ardeshir, son of the priest Papak, who claimed descent from the legendary hero Sasan, had become the Parthian governor in the Achaemenid home province of Persis (Fars). In A.D. 224 he overthrew the last Parthian king and established the Sassanid dynasty, which was to last 400 years. The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers achieved by the Achaemenids  [c, 550-330 B.C.;  with the capital at Ctesiphon. The Sassanids consciously sought to resuscitate Iranian traditions and to obliterate Greek cultural influence. Their rule was characterized by considerable centralization, ambitious urban planning, agricultural development, and technological improvements. Sassanid rulers adopted the title of shahanshah (king of kings), as sovereigns over numerous petty rulers, known as  shahrdars. Historians believe that society was divided into four classes: the priests, warriors, secretaries, and commoners. The royal princes, petty rulers, great landlords, and priests together constituted a privileged stratum, and the social system appears to have been fairly rigid. Sassanid rule and the system of social stratification were reinforced by Zoroastrianism, which became the state religion. The Zoroastrian priesthood became immensely powerful. The head of the priestly class, the  mobadan  mobad, along with the military commander, the  eran  spahbod, and the head of the bureaucracy, were among the great men of the state. Rome, with its capital at  Constantinople, had replaced Greece as Irans principal Western enemy, and hostilities between the two empires were frequent. Shahpur I (241-72), son and successor of Ardeshir, waged successful campaigns against the Romans and in 260 even took the emperor Valerian prisoner. Chosroes I (531-79), also known as Anushirvan the Just, is the most celebrated of the Sassanid rulers. He reformed the tax system and reorganized the army and the bureaucracy, tying the army more closely to the central government than to local lords. His reign witnessed the rise of the  dihqans  (literally, village lords), the petty landholding nobility who were the backbone of later Sassanid provincial administration and the tax collection system. Chosroes was a great builder, embellishing his capital, founding new towns, and constructing new buildings. Under his auspices, too, many books were brought from India and translated into Pahlavi. Some of these later found their way into the literature of the Islamic world. The reign of Chosroes II (591-628) was characterized by the wasteful splendor and lavishness of the court. Toward the end of his  reign  Chosroes IIs power declined. In renewed fighting with the Byzantines, he enjoyed initial successes, captured Damascus, and seized the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. But counterattacks by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius brought enemy forces deep into Sassanid territory. Years of warfare exhausted both the Byzantines and the Iranians. The later Sassanids were further weakened by economic decline, heavy taxation, religious unrest, rigid social stratification, the increasing power of the provincial landholders, and a rapid turnover of rulers. These factors facilitated the Arab invasion in the seventh century. Data as of December 1987Source: Library of Congress Country Studies Corrections *Jona Lendering  points out that a 547/546 date for the fall of Croesus is based on the  Nabonidus Chronicle  whose reading is uncertain. Rather than  Croesus  it may have been the ruler of Uratu. Lendering says the fall of Lydia should be listed as the 540s. **He also advises that cuneiform sources start to mention Cambyses as sole ruler in August 530, so the date of his death the following year is wrong.

Free Essays on I See Things

I See Things Most people would probably be terrified of the things I’ve seen. In fact, if anyone were scared after watching The Six Sense they would not want to be in my shoes seven years ago. Although my experience wasn’t as illustrated as the movie, it came close. I was about ten years old when scary dreams started to occur. In these dreams were devil-like images that would do negative things to my family and I. I would constantly tell my parents about the dreams, but the dreams would always come back. It came to the point that I couldn’t sleep because I was afraid of what I might dream. As the years past I began to realize that for some strange reason the devil was trying to keep me afraid. Over coming bad dreams was nothing compared to what I would encounter at the age of twelve. I started to see images while I was awoke. All the fears that I just got over were starting to resurface. I remember when my family had come to visit from out of town. Everyone was having a good time playing cards on the dinning room table. I sat down in a fold down chair about eight feet away from the table just watching. While sitting there I looked up at the chandelier above the table and started to see streaks that came in the formation of a hall. For a brief moment every thing around me disappeared except the streaks. There were two hands coming slowly towards me like they were welcoming my presents. Then as quickly as they appeared they vanished. I thought it nothing but my imagination so I just forgot about it. Things like â€Å"the hands incident† kept reappearing in a consistent pattern for about three years. Until after the day I saw the last and most disturbing image of them all. The sun was getting ready to set and end a very beautiful day. I was standing outside with my father and his fellow pastor. As I watched the sunset, an image started to appear very clear. It looked like a man walking on the street about t... Free Essays on I See Things Free Essays on I See Things I See Things Most people would probably be terrified of the things I’ve seen. In fact, if anyone were scared after watching The Six Sense they would not want to be in my shoes seven years ago. Although my experience wasn’t as illustrated as the movie, it came close. I was about ten years old when scary dreams started to occur. In these dreams were devil-like images that would do negative things to my family and I. I would constantly tell my parents about the dreams, but the dreams would always come back. It came to the point that I couldn’t sleep because I was afraid of what I might dream. As the years past I began to realize that for some strange reason the devil was trying to keep me afraid. Over coming bad dreams was nothing compared to what I would encounter at the age of twelve. I started to see images while I was awoke. All the fears that I just got over were starting to resurface. I remember when my family had come to visit from out of town. Everyone was having a good time playing cards on the dinning room table. I sat down in a fold down chair about eight feet away from the table just watching. While sitting there I looked up at the chandelier above the table and started to see streaks that came in the formation of a hall. For a brief moment every thing around me disappeared except the streaks. There were two hands coming slowly towards me like they were welcoming my presents. Then as quickly as they appeared they vanished. I thought it nothing but my imagination so I just forgot about it. Things like â€Å"the hands incident† kept reappearing in a consistent pattern for about three years. Until after the day I saw the last and most disturbing image of them all. The sun was getting ready to set and end a very beautiful day. I was standing outside with my father and his fellow pastor. As I watched the sunset, an image started to appear very clear. It looked like a man walking on the street about t...

How to Use the Spanish Word Como

How to Use the Spanish Word Como Como is a common and useful word in Spanish that is frequently used to compare two things, persons, or actions that are similar. Como Often Equivalent to Like or As Como is frequently used as a preposition or conjunction that means like or as. Regardless of which of the two parts of speech it is used as, it is generally understood much the same way by English speakers, so this introductory lesson will look at examples of its usage as both parts of speech together. (Note: English translations used in this lesson reflect English as it is frequently spoken rather than distinguishing among proper uses of like and as.) Como nearly always means something similar to in the manner of and/or is used to make actual or implied comparisons: Piense como un millonario. (Think like a millionaire.)Dice que usa las redes sociales como un presidente moderno. (He says he uses social networks like a modern president.)Si se parece a un pato, anda como un pato y grazna como un pato, entonces es un pato. (If it seems like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then its a duck.)Te quiero, pero como amigo. (I love you, but as a friend.)No hay nadie como Francisco. (There is nobody like Francisco.) ¡No me trates como un perro! (Dont treat me like a dog!)Como tu profesor, quiero ayudarte y ser tu amiga. (As your teacher, I want to help you and be your friend.)No duermo como antes. (I dont sleep like I did before.)He decidido vestirme como quiero. (I have decided to dress myself the way I want.)Te odio como jams he odiado a nadie. (I hate you like Ive never hated anyone before.)Como era de esperar, la pelà ­cula ha batido todos los rà ©cords. (As expected, the film has broken all records.)Mà ­rame como si fuera la prim era vez. (Look at me as if it were the first time.) Salieron como si nada hubiera pasado. (They left as if nothing had happened.)El cine se lo conoce como el sà ©ptimo arte. (Cinema is known as the seventh art.)Quiero la piel como estaba antes. (I want my skin to like it was before.) Como the conjunction/preposition should not be confused with the homonym como, the first-person singular indicative form of comer that means I eat. Como in Approximations Colloquially, como is sometimes used for approximations. Typical translations include about and approximately. Tengo un primo que pesa como 200 kilogramos. (I have a cousin who weighs approximately 200 kilograms.)Maneje como dos millas pasando la gasolinera Texaco. (Drive about two miles, passing the Texaco gas station.)Al final me costà ³ como mil dà ³lares tomar el examen. (In the end, it cost me something like $1,000 to take the text.)Llevo como dos semanas intentando comprar los boletos en là ­nea para el concierto. (I spent about two weeks trying to buy the tickets online for the concert.) Using Como for How With an orthographic accent, cà ³mo becomes an adverb and is often translated as how. This occurs most often in questions and indirect questions:  ¿Cà ³mo ests? (How are you?) ¿Cà ³mo puedo adquirir un pasaporte? (How can I get a passport?) ¿Cà ³mo puede algo tan pequeà ±o hacerte sentir tan grande? (How can something so small make you feel so great?)No sà © cà ³mo bajar los fotos del servidor. (I dont know how to download the photos from the server. Note: This is an example of cà ³mo being used in an indirect question.)No me importa cà ³mo lo haces. (It doesnt matter to me how you do it.)

Second paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Second paper - Essay Example Baker succinctly elucidates on the favorable commitment that should be used by a family to ensure their family member is of sound health (Baker and Buchanan-Barker, 2005). Therefore, the paper will give the initial commitments that are involved during family integration, in accordance to the Baker theory (Baker and Buchanan-Barker, 2005). This means that there are various steps that are used by a family in ensuring their close family member is responding positively to treatment. In the end, the family will appreciate positive results as the affected person will have a positive reaction to treatment. Though the affected person may not be fully reverted to normal health, he or she will be in a positive mode when there is increased positive reaction from the family members. This reflects on the positivity of using family integration in treatment of mentally retarded people in the family. Belief and Metaparadigms In Baker’s perspective, there is a belief that nursing is a professi on that denotes people with a caring notion and have responsibility of the patients in their midst. Baker states that, nursing ensures that there is an amicable solution to the illness or disease, reflecting a healing to the affected person. ... There is no need to pay the family for the services that are offered. In addition to this, this theory refers to the positivity of the inception of the practice. The negative side is not considered as it may affect the use of the process. Since time immemorial, the tidal theory has been used and records plausible results, hence the reliance on the theory. Personal philosophy Baker states that development in the current world strongly depends on evidence-based treatment. The mental health is a considerable focal point that should be treated with evidence based treatment (Baker and Buchanan-Barker, 2005). Continuous reflection on the mental health of a person is therefore a guarantee to sound health. According to Baker, the family is the basic group in a community that has close relationship to each other. The family is the basic interaction that involves people with a connection, as either in blood or adoption. Therefore, they are in the best point of having a close connection to each other. This is partially due to the blood and other connection. However, the family becomes a basic interaction as the people are in a daily basis of connecting to each other (Rose-Ackerman, 1982). In essence, the family spends most of their time bonding with each other. This involves sharing meals, playing together and teaching each other mannerisms. This philosophy makes each of the families connected in most of their activities. This calls for a caring and responsible family unit that will give the best treatment to all the family members, though there could be absence of any disease. In recent times, philosophy dictates that families are a growing unit, as the

American Airlines Bankruptcy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American Airlines Bankruptcy - Essay Example The airline company which was known to be the worlds largest carrier five years ago was forced into bankruptcy on account of various reasons including mergers and acquisitions which significantly affected its business in terms of reduction in number of customers. The company’s position declined steadily from number one to number 3, over the years behind United Continental and Delta Airlines. Source: CBS News (2011a) Furthermore the profits of the company were steadily declining since a long time now. It reported profits in only one quarter during the entire year in 2007 and recorded losses amounting to approximately $4.8 billion over a period of 3-3.5 years. Various airline analysts and experts estimated these losses to either shoot up or continue throughout 2012 (CNN Money, 2011). The American Airlines have filed for Chapter 11 Reorganization for Industry Competitiveness, bankruptcy protection. This type of bankruptcy is usually used by companies which are struggling financially and have large public debts, in order to reorganize their business. Unlike the other types of bankruptcies the Chapter 11 Reorganization bankruptcy allows the company to seek help in reorganizing its business, by restructuring its debts; prevents the creditors from suing or selling off the debtors assets to pay off the debts; and have the opportunity to resume business and emerge from bankruptcy. (Elias, 2011). The board of Directors at AMR decided to file for bankruptcy under this category considering the best interests of its stakeholders and at the same time gain time to restructure its debts, costs and obligations (American Airlines, 2011). The American Airlines will continue to operate according to its normal flight schedules and no changes will be made in the customer reservations. The operations will resume as usual. The company is likely to honor tickets and

What are some of the psychoeducational interventions used in managing Assignment

What are some of the psychoeducational interventions used in managing bipolar personalities - Assignment Example Its symptoms are often misdiagnosed because it is not easy to arrive at a definitive conclusion; it is a life-long chronic ailment but can be managed properly to enable having a normal life just like anybody else. There are some interventions in this regard which can be quite helpful. Despite individuals or patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder having different types of personalities, character and temperament (Goodwin & Jamison, 2007, p. 324), it is still possible to develop beneficial interventions to mitigate the ill effects of this mental ailment. One of those commonly tried are the psycho-educational interventions suitably developed for each person and these include seminars and workshops for both parent and the afflicted teen or adolescent to educate them and disabuse their minds of wrong notions and false or dysfunctional beliefs about depression (Geller & Delbello, 2008, p. 188). The purpose of this is to recognize the symptoms early and to seek immediate treatment before the episode becomes a full-blown crisis (NIMH, 2012, p. 1) and another very helpful intervention is self-help, derived from increased knowledge, which essentially involves avoiding episode triggers or crisis situations that cause the depression. Psycho-educational interventions are me re adjuncts to normal treatment that involves the use of both medication and psychotherapy (or talk therapy that preferably involves family members). It is the right combination of these treatment factors that can avoid a relapse of bipolar

Organizational Role Description Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Role Description Paper - Essay Example The director also has a role of maintaining creativity in developing new performance programs. In collaboration with the nurses’ executives and managers, the director ensures establishment of nursing care standards and evaluation of staff compliance. Another role is to ensure protocols of research affecting the population of patients and ensuring that the nursing staff is informed about them. Another role is ensuring accountability in provision of support services for the benefit of patient care. The director also ensures that there is a caring and safe environment maintained for the benefit of patients and ensures that the programs that are implemented within the service line are in support of cultural diversity. The director also develops service objectives and goals that are in support of values and goals of the institution. In addition, the director has a role of analyzing findings from satisfaction survey conducted by patients to ensure that agendas that are customer based are developed with input of staff and nursing management. The director also ensures that there is an effective plan for the delivery of nursing care and that these are developed and implemented within the service plan of nursing. The director also conducts an analysis from the satisfaction survey of staff to ensure that recruitment and retention of employees is service based and ensure that unit b ased agendas are developed with inputs from nursing management and the staff. The director also conducts meetings with the management of nursing to address any issue related to equipments and any other concern held by the staff. The director in collaboration with the human resource manager ensures that recruitments are made in the right way and ensures that counseling, disciplining and termination of staff is carried out when need arise. The director also has a role of making recommendations and providing growth opportunities,