Online Document Assignment 2

CYRUS THE GREAT

Building on a Ruler's Greatness

Cyrus the Great spent much of his life on the march. In this, he was not unique. For many of the peoples of the ancient Near East, to be a king was to be a warrior, and to be a great king was to be a conqueror. Thus, when Cyrus set out to unite the Medes and Persians and to use the combined strength of those two peoples to win an empire, he was participating in a long-established tradition created by previous warrior-kings. And, like the rulers of earlier Near Eastern empires, Cyrus and his successors found that successful conquests were only the beginning of true empire building. Far more challenging than the achievement of military victories was the task of governing an empire, of binding together far-flung and diverse peoples and harnessing their energies and resources to the royal will.

As you learned in your textbook, an important part of the Persian imperial strategy was to present Persian kings as righteous rulers. Cyrus's generous treatment of the Jews of Babylonia was more than an act of kindness. By returning the Jews to their homeland and helping them rebuild their temple, Cyrus presented himself as a champion of right order. Another crucial element of Persian government was the creation of connections between the center and the periphery. A network of roads crisscrossed the empire. A well-developed and efficient bureaucracy ensured that the government of every province included men who were loyal to the king. Finally, at the center of the Persian imperial system was Persepolis, the royal capital founded by Darius the Great in 518 B.C.E. It was from Persepolis that Persian rulers issued their laws and decrees, and it was to Persepolis that the tribute and dignitaries of conquered peoples traveled. As you explore these sources related to Persian rulers and their capital, consider what they tell us about how the Persians viewed, and ruled, their empire.

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