John Yowan
Mr. Bruner
World History Cultures Hour 2
2 October 2002
The Persian Empire was
the greatest civilization because it was based on military
strength, its government and the road system.
The Persians had a
huge military system with a strong army and
navy. This military system also had great
tactics for fighting. One of their tactics for
fighting was to surround the enemy on all sides.
By fighting this way the empire was able
to overthrow the empires of the Medes, Lydians,
and Babylonians. The empire finally
stretched from India to the Mediterranean Sea.
Cyrus the Great was the founder of the
Persian Empire and ruled with strength and
tolerance. Cyrus the Great had a decree of his
aims and policies inscribed on a clay cylinder.
It is known as the first declaration of
Human Rights.
The
government of the Persian Empire was divided into Satrapies. Satrapies were
like states or provinces. Each province had a
Satrap that ruled over the province. A Satrap
was like a governor. To ensure loyalty of the
satraps the king would send out inspectors
to each province to check on the administration
of them. The people of the Persian
Empire had many freedoms like freedom of
religion, jobs and where they wanted to live.
The people got to speak their own language and
followed their own laws. Slavery was
not allowed and the Satraps were to treat the people
like their own children. Each
province also had a army leader and a tax
collector.
The
Persian Empire also made a royal road system that connected and expanded
the empire. The road was one thousand six
hundred and seventy seven miles long. There
were one hundred and eleven posts spaced about
fifteen miles apart along the road. At
each post there were messengers with horses that
could quickly reach most parts of the
empire. This way the king could get messages
about what was going on in the kingdom
and if there were a problem he would be able to
take care of it fast and sufficiently.
The royal road also had other roads that
branched off of it to other parts of the empire
and promoted trading. The royal road connected
Susa in Persia to Sardis in Anatolia,
making communication and transportation much
easier. Royal commands could quickly
reach all parts of the empire, making it one of
the most important parts of the
empire.
In conclusion, the
combination of the three factors listed in the opening and the
body of the essay in my opinion make the Persian
Empire the greatest Civilization
of its time.