The Persian power of the “king of kings” is one of the designations of the most ancient state, which was created by the Persian dynasty of the Achaemenids in the VI-IV centuries. BC e. It was also called the First Persian Empire. It was located in Asia Minor and northeast Africa. Closer to the end of the VI century. BC e. the territory of the country was so vast that at its borders were:
- in the east - the Indus River;
- in the west - the Aegean Sea;
- in the south - the rapids of the Nile River;
- in the north - Transcaucasia.
The end of Median rule
Before the formation of the Persian power of the “king of kings,” the situation on the Iranian Highlands was as follows. The founder of Persia located here is considered the legendary Hahamanish (700-675 BC), which belonged to the Achaemenid family. Hence the name of the inhabitants of the country - Achaemenids, the capital in it was the city of Anshan. In the VII century BC e. the people of the Persians came under the rule of Media.
In 553 BC e. oppressed by the Medes, the Persians rose to fight the rule of Media. The uprising led Cyrus II, who ruled them. He organized a strong army, and after three years he managed to defeat Media. But he did not stop there. With his huge army he went further west.
Conquest of peoples
Along the way, Cyrus conquered one country after another. Defeating Lydia, he set his sights on Babylonia. But to swoop down the large and very well-fortified city of Babylon was not possible. And then Cyrus went to the trick. One of the dark nights, the locals celebrated a big holiday. By order of their leader, the Persian warriors diverted the water of the Euphrates River into a different channel, previously prepared by them.
As a result of this, the river flowing through the city became shallow, and ford warriors waded through it into the city. They took the celebrated residents by surprise during a grand feast. Thus, Cyrus II conquered both the city and the Babylonian kingdom as a whole in one night.
After this, the power of the Persians over themselves voluntarily recognized Palestine, Syria, Phenicia. As a result, the state ruled by Cyrus II reached the Indian borders in the east, and Greek cities in the west.
The great advantage of Cyrus II as a ruler was that he respected the orders, laws and religion of the conquered peoples. This contributed to the fact that in the conquered territories local residents rarely expressed their discontent and did not raise uprisings.
Persian power of “king of kings”
After Cyrus II died in the battle against the Masaghite tribes at the age of 70, the conquests did not stop, they were continued by his son Kambiz. In 525 BC e. he subjugated Egypt, but soon died. After him, Darius I, his cousin (522-486 BC), who ruled Persia for 36 years, ascended the throne. Citizens called him the title "king of kings."
He inherited a huge country, the borders of which he constantly expanded. He made successful trips to such regions as Greece, India, Asia Minor, and the Northern Black Sea Region. The king surrounded himself with unprecedented luxury. He had a detachment of security guards, numbering up to 10 thousand. In his state, Darius I carried out a number of fundamental reforms aimed at improving governance in the territories subject to him.
Reforms of Darius
Improvements made in his power by King Darius I were as follows.
- The country was divided into 20 separate regions, called satrapies, headed by the governor - satrap. He controlled the collection of taxes, the performance of military and labor duties, as well as daily business affairs.
- The military units in the satrapies were placed under the command of individual military leaders who were subordinate to the tsar himself and independent of the governors. Both the military leaders and the satraps pledged to follow each other and report to the king.
- Throughout the country, Darius sent officials called the ears of the king. When they suddenly ran into one or another satrapy, they reported to the tsar about violations. The punishment for the crimes was terrible. Thieves and robbers lost their arms and legs, and traitors suffered terrible torture.
- Each satrapy had its own taxes. A single monetary unit was introduced - the golden darik. In 515 BC e. the capital Persepolis (or Parsus) was laid, which became a symbol of royal power.
Having existed for about two centuries, the Persian power of the “king of kings” fell about 330 AD. e. under the strong pressure of the troops of Alexander the Great, becoming part of his great empire.
Further, a little information about the two attributes of tsarist power, which were symbols of dominion of the rulers of large states.
Symbols of power
In addition to the designation of a large state, the word "power" has another meaning. This is a symbol of the monarchy of power along with the scepter.
The first is a golden ball that crowns a crown or cross, which implies power over the earth. The sovereign apple is already found on Roman coins issued under the emperor Augustus.
The second is a rod, the prototype of which is a shepherd’s staff. Initially, it was borrowed by the bishops of the church as a sign of the power of the pastor, and then, in shortened form, by the European sovereigns. They already existed in ancient Greece.
There was a power and a scepter and the Russian tsars. The first attribute came to us from Poland, was first used as a symbol of imperial power in 1557 under Ivan the Terrible. The scepter began to be used from 1584, when Fedor Ioannovich was married to the kingdom.