Iran - Andrew Burke [10]
Darius had won an empire in disarray and had to fight hard to re-establish it, dividing his sprawling inheritance into 23 satrapies to make it easier to govern. The magnificent complex at Persepolis was created to serve as the ceremonial and religious hub of an empire whose primary god was Ahura Mazda, also the subject of Zoroastrian worship. The Median capital at Shush became the administrative centre, but Persepolis was the imperial showcase, extravagantly decorated to intimidate visitors and impress with its beauty. The Apadana Staircase, which depicts 23 subject nations paying tribute to the Achaemenid king, is arguably the artistic apex of the site. Darius eventually expanded the empire to India and pushed as far north as the Danube River in Europe.
* * *
Persian Fire, by Tom Holland, is a page-turning history of the Persian Wars, the first battles between East and West, and the Achaemenid empire at its most powerful. Recommended reading before visiting Shush or Persepolis.
* * *
It was the greatest of the early civilisations. Paved roads stretched from one end of the empire to the other, with caravanserais at regular intervals to provide food and shelter to travellers. The Achaemenids introduced the world’s first postal service, and it was said the network of relay horses could deliver mail to the furthest corner of the empire within 15 days.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. When the Greek colonies of Asia Minor rebelled against their Persian overlord, Darius decided to invade mainland Greece to make an example of those states that refused to subject themselves. It didn’t work. In 490 BC Darius’s armies were defeated at Marathon near Athens. He died in 486 BC.
The subsequent defeat of Darius’s son Xerxes at Salamis in Greece in 480 BC marked the beginning of a long, slow decline that would continue, with glorious interludes, for another 150 years.
Return to beginning of chapter
ALEXANDER THE GREAT & THE END OF PERSEPOLIS
The end of the First Persian Empire finally came at the hands of Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia. Having defeated the Greeks and Egyptians, Alexander saw off Persian armies at Issus in Turkey (333 BC) and Guagamela in present-day Iraq (331 BC). By the time he arrived in Persia proper the end of the Achaemenid empire was almost inevitable, and it wasn’t long before the last remaining armies of Darius III were swept aside. Darius himself fled east to Bactria, only to be murdered by his cousin. In the wake of his victory, Alexander spent several months at Persepolis, before the finest symbol of Achaemenid power was burned to the ground. Even today experts argue whether this was the accidental result of a drunken party or deliberate retaliation for the destruction of Athens by Xerxes.
* * *
In 311 BC the Macedonian ruler Cassander had Alexander the Great’s Persian widow, Roxana, and their son, Alexander IV, put to death to stave off any threat to his rule.
* * *
Alexander’s empire soon stretched across Afghanistan, Pakistan and into India, but after his death in 323 BC it was divided between three squabbling dynasties, with Persia controlled by the Macedonian Seleucids. Gradually the Greek language replaced Aramaic as the lingua franca, new towns were set up all over the region and Greek culture stamped itself on the older Persian one. However, ambitious satraps and feisty ethnic minorities were bucking the system, particularly