Persian Government and Power
These regional governors ruled provinces on behalf of the Persian king.
Who were the satraps?
This was the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire, built by Darius the Great.
What is Persepolis?
This peninsula, also known as Asia Minor, corresponds largely to modern-day Turkey.
What is Anatolia?
These people of the Central Asian steppes were famous for their horsemanship and archery.
Who were the Scythians?
This region on the western coast of Asia Minor was settled by Greeks and became a center of conflict under Persian rule.
What is Ionia?
This was another name for the Persian Empire, named after the semi-mythical founder of Cyrus's family.
What was the Achaemenid Empire?
These large pleasure gardens were maintained by Persian elites.
What were paradeisoi?
This Greek city was located on the western coast of Asia Minor and was the home of Thales.
What is Miletus?
This tribe lived between the Oxus and Jaxartes rivers and fought against Cyrus the Great.
Who were the Massagetae?
In ancient Greece, this was a ruler who gained power outside the normal political system, although the ruler was not necessarily cruel.
What is a tyrant?
This Persian king conquered Egypt in 525 BC but later lost an entire army in the Libyan desert while trying to conquer more territory.
Who was Cambyses II?
This gold coin was introduced by Darius the Great and used throughout the Persian Empire.
What was the Daric?
This Greek city was another important settlement on the western coast of Asia Minor.
What is Ephesus?
This military strategy involves destroying crops, supplies, and resources to make it difficult for an invading army to survive.
What are scorched earth tactics?
This leader of Miletus became an important figure in the Ionian Revolt beginning in 499 BC.
Who was Aristagoras?
This mountainside inscription recorded the official account of Bardiya's death and how Darius I came to power
What is the Behistun Inscription?
This widely spoken language became a common language for communication across much of the ancient Near East.
What is Aramaic?
This capital of Lydia later became an administrative capital of the western Persian Empire.
What is Sardis?
This type of bridge is made by tying boats together with ropes.
What is a pontoon bridge?
This ruler of Miletus was the father-in-law of Aristagoras, and his actions helped lead to the Ionian Revolt.
Who was Histiaeus?
This Persian king ruled from 522 to 486 BC and expanded the empire from the Indus River Valley to the Black Sea.
Who was Darius I?
This famous Persian road system connected Sardis in Asia Minor to Susa in Mesopotamia.
What was the Royal Road?
This region literally means “beyond the River Oxus” and marked a traditional boundary between Persia and the steppes of Central Asia.
What is Transoxiana?
According to Herodotus, this Persian prince's mysterious death in 522 BC led to a struggle for the throne and eventually Darius's rise to power.
Who was Bardiya?
This narrow waterway separates Europe from Asia and connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean world.
What is the Bosphorus Strait?