The Persian Empire had existed for many centuries when the Middle Ages began. It had been reassembled following conquest of Alexander in the 4th century BC and the subsequent break-up of his empire in following centuries. The Persians had been fighting the Romans since the 3rd century AD.
| Location |
|
The Persian Empire stretched from Mesopotamia to India and from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf, encompassing the modern nations of Irag, Iran, and Afghanistan. They fought the Romans, and later the Byzantines, for control of modern Syria, Turkey, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, and Arabia.
|
| Capital |
| The capital of the Persian Empire was Ctesiphon,
called Baghdad today.
|
| Rise to Power |
| During the 3rd and 4th centuries the Romans
made several attempts to subdue the Persians. In 364 a peace
treaty was signed between the two that allowed the Persians
to consolidate their power to the east and north. Beginning
with the 6th century, the Persians began attacking the Byzantine
Empire in Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and modern Turkey. The
war between the two powers went back and forth. In 626 the
Persians besieged Byzantium itself without success and the
Byzantines were able to invade Persia the following year.
Peace was made between the two exhausted empires in 628.
|
| Economy |
| The Persians occupied the ancient lands of
Mesopotamia and benefited from the agriculture wealth of
the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Trade between Asia and
the Middle East passed through Persia, as it had for thousands
of years, providing important revenues. Parts of the Silk
Road passed through Persia, as well.
|
| Religion |
| The Persian kings and much of the nobility
were Zoroastrians, an ancient religion named after its founder,
Zarathustra, called Zoroaster in Greek. This was a monotheistic
religion with important concepts that included good versus
evil, free will, and posthumous reward or punishment. The
good god Ormuzd was constantly struggling with Ahriman,
the evil god. At the same time, other religions and heresies
were popular within some noble circles and among the masses.
Around 500, the northeastern part of the empire completed
conversion to Buddhism.
|
| Military |
| The Persian army relied mainly on heavily
armored cavalry who fought with both bows and lances (but
without stirrups). They wore chain mail and iron helmets.
In their war with the Byzantines, they made extensive use
of Arabian mercenaries.
|
| Decline and Fall |
| The Persians weakened themselves in their
struggle over Asia Minor with the Byzantines. The fighting
there had dragged on for over a century when a new threat
appeared from an unexpected quarter. The Persians were unprepared
for the fury of the Islamic Arabs in the 7th century. The
Sassanid dynasty of Persia ended in battle in 636. The Persians
did not have a capital with defenses comparable to Constantinople.
Muslim conquest of Persia was completed by 651.
For more information
|
 "Age of Kings" is a game by Ensemble Studios Copyright © 1998-2004 HeavenGames. All Rights Reserved. Please see our Disclaimer and Privacy Statements |
