Episode chosen by PATREON patrons of $ 5 or more The following story takes place between 4000 and 248 BC BUT THAT IS ANOTHER STORY PERSIA ANTIGUA 1: Elam, Means and Achaemenids What we now call Iran was known for a long time and until relatively recently as Persia. Many of you have asked me why I have not spoken about Ancient Persia until now. Mainly because there are hardly any illustrations or quality videos on the subject, and I thought that with the information distributed between the episodes of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome, there would be enough. But I was wrong, and from the Patreon surveys I see that you want me to talk about Persia, so here is a brief summary of the cultures that populated ancient Iran. ELAM In what we now know as the region of Khuzestan, the first culture of Iran was formed: Elam. The first mention of this kingdom is found in the Sumerian Royal List, around 2700 BC Despite their clashes and confrontations, throughout his life Elam traded a lot with Mesopotamia, and imported products such as wood, copper, tin, silver, marble and also horses. The first known dynasty was that of Awan, who adapted the Sumerian cuneiform script to represent their language, the Elamite. The capital, Susa, was invaded by the Akkadians of Sargon of Akkad, but the last king of Awan, Kutik-Inshushinak, managed to recover it around 2240 BC However, neither of them counted on the guteos, or the gutis, crazy tribes of the Zagros Mountains that killed them and filled the area with destruction and shit. "Horrible, of grief ... of grief, of crying" In 2100 BC the Shimaski dynasty arrived in Elam, but the neighboring 3rd Dynasty of Ur, managed to subdue them until around 2000 BC, more or less, the Elamite king Kindattu captured the king of Ur Ibbi-Sin, and on top he managed to take the territory of Anshan, which would later be known as the Persis region. In the year 1890 BC the dynasty of the epártidas, led by Eparti I, ascended to the power of Elam. These Elamites had some rather rare customs. The levirate and incest were the most, and in the government the king commanded, but his brother and his eldest son also had a lot of power, if any, forming a kind of triarchy. It would be very nice everything, but in 1764 BC King Hammurabi of Babylon arrived and again Elam was defeated. He had to pay tribute to Babylon, but he remained independent. However, after the reign of Kutir-Nahhunte I begins a period of darkness where there is hardly any data. This is going to be quite usual in the area, getting used to it. Around the year 1275 Elam met an amazing rebirth at the hands of the igehálkida dynasty and its king Untash-Napirisha. Although it has the name of Belarussian cocaine addict, with it Susa developed culturally and artistically. Ziggurats and temples stand out to their gods: Inshushinak, Insnikarab, Napirisha, Kiririsha, Pinigir ... they had many. And he also made a statue of his wife, Queen Napir-Asu. But the most important thing came in the year 1205, with the arrival of the dynasty of the Shukukids. Shutruk-Nahhunte I got it on the basis of good, not only in the cultural field, but also in the conquests, achieving some booty to shit, as the wake with the code of Hammurabi and a very important statue of the Babylonian god Marduk ... almost nothing. THE IRANIAN TRIBES AND THE MEDOS Between the years 1700 and 1200 BC, many Indo-European tribes from the Russian steppes began to arrive in the area of Iran. The Hircans and Parthians settled east of the Caspian Sea; the Bactrians and Sogdians north of the Hindu Kush mountain range; Aryans, Drangians and Arachthians east of the Iranian Plateau ... and the most important now, the Medes just below the Caspian Sea, in the Hamadan area, and the Persians in the Anshan area. They were not any civilization yet, but a group of tribes dedicated to the pasturing and the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. The first mention of the Medes as a rock to be taken into account took place in the reign of Shalmaneser III, around 850 BC It was due to the Assyrian pressure that these tribes united forming the Media by 672 BC, with a king at the head, Kashtaritu, or Fraortes or as it was actually called. His father, Deioces, had founded the capital of Ecbatana, and laid the foundations of this new unitary kingdom. The beginnings were not easy, because the Assyrians allied themselves with other Iranians: the Scythians and the Cimmerians, who helped them against Urartus and Medes and left them rather badly. However, King Ciaxares managed to remove the Scythians from above and also reform his army following the Assyrian scroll. Archers, spearmen and horsemen were the most important troops, and even had some siege engines. Within the Medes there were many tribes: busas, paretacenos, strujates, arizantos, budios and magicians. The latter were conforming an incipient clerical class dedicated to the religious rituals and of divination, although the majority was in general shepherds, agriculturists or metallurgists. -Well, it's more or less straight, is not it, Antonio? -Recta? Straight? Look, let's wash our hands ... They believed in benefactor gods, the asura; and malignant, the daevas, the forces of nature. The struggle between good and evil will always be present in their way of seeing the world. Many Iranian gods are related to the Vedic gods. Ahura Mazda, Mitra, Varuna, Atar ... One of the Assyrian kings, Ashurbanipal, put an end to the story of Elam by conquering Susa in 646 BC Yes, Anshan remained independent ... but not for long. When this Asurbanipal died, Ciaxares de Media and Nabopolassar of Babylon allied to crush the Assyrians, and had a success of the milk. They took Nineveh and Assyria was erased from the map in 609 BC Here begins the great expansion meda, and had it not been for an eclipse that made the soldiers go home, they would have managed to take the kingdom of Lydia from King Aliates. But moments of glory are always spoiled by spoiled children. That was King Astiages, who was left to luxury and the good life. And the tribes began to plan to remove him from power. THE PERSIAN AQUEMÉNIDA As I said, one of the most powerful Iranian tribes was that of the Persians, but within it the hegemony was held by the family of the Achaemenids, who thanks to the decay of Elam had taken the area of Anshan, that happened to be called Pars, Fars or Persis, of there the name of Persia. From here arose a fucking master named Cyrus II the Great, who managed to ally himself with the great majority of Iranian tribes and cast the Median king to place himself on the throne. By 530 BC, the Persians had already ruled Babylon, Syria and also took Asia Minor when Cyrus defeated the Lydian king Croesus. "Figure, crack, champion" Unlike other monarchs of the time, Ciro treated the subject peoples with great benevolence and respect. In fact, he freed the Jews from their captivity in Babylon and allowed them to return to Israel. In those years Ciro began the construction of a new capital, Pasargada, in the north of Fars. Here we find the enormous palace of Ciro, with a garden patio in the middle; and also his grave, where he was buried after his death. His son Cambyses II managed to take Egypt after a lot of fighting. It was famous the Battle of Pelusio where according to legend the Persian released cats to avoid the arrows of the troops of Psamtik III, because it was a sacred animal. In addition the first great Persian fleet was created. But perhaps the greatest glory of the empire took place with the reign of Darius I, who organized the great empire in satrapies, as provinces, trying to respect the natural entities of each tribe, and making them pay taxes but without bleeding anyone. Coins such as the Dárico or the Shekel were created, and many of them were invested in roads, especially on the Camino Real from Susa to Sardes, where the first postal service in history was installed. It also highlights the most famous Persian text, that of Behistun, engraved on the wall of a cliff. He also created what would be the great Persian capital par excellence, Persepolis. The royal palace stands out, an enclosure within which the following Achaemenian monarchs were building their palaces. It was accessed by a large staircase that led to the door of all nations, with Lammasu statues of Assyrian style and columns of colors, and on the right was the apadana, the audience room. The royal Persian tombs of Naqsh-e Rostam, very close to the royal city, are also very popular. The Persian monarchy was of an absolutist nature, the king controlled everything, but unlike other places, he was not considered a god. The capital varied depending on the time of year: Persepolis, Pasargada, Ecbatana, Susa, Babylon ... they had a choice. They also chose the satraps, almost always from the Achaemenid family, and they were in charge of administering the provinces, collecting taxes and creating garrisons with the locals, who were part of the imperial army during times of war. In addition Darío I was the one who put Mazdaism as the official religion of the empire. This religion was founded by Zoroaster, or Zarathustra, 200 years before. He said that men had to follow a pure life and full of good deeds so that good, Ahura Mazda, or Ajura Mazda, or Ormuz, triumphed over evil, Ariman or Angra Mainyu. It was a kind of dual god, which was not built temples, but altars outdoors, with candles and those little things. All his thoughts were collected in a book called Avesta, of which only one quarter of the total has reached the present day. The decline of Achaemenid Persia began with the Medical Wars against the Greeks. They are called "medical" because the Greeks incorrectly considered Medes and Persians as the fucking same, and no. The defeat of Darío in the Battle of Marathon, the delay of his son Xerxes I in the passage of Thermopylae against the Spartan Leonidas I ... and his subsequent defeat in the battles of Salamis and Plataea put an end to the Persian aspirations to conquer Hellas. The Empire was in the shit. -Cara-anchovy? If I give you a host ... -It's a joke with a hidden camera. It's a joke with a hidden camera. -And the camera? -We are live. -I do not mean it. - What are you doing, clown? The following Persian kings had to face a lot of internal rebellions, conspiracies and that kind of shit. During the Peloponnesian War, the Persians had an alliance with the Spartans. In this context, Greek mercenaries went to Persia to support the rebellion of Prince Cyrus the Younger against his brother, King Artaxerxes II. Cyrus died at the Battle of Cunaxa and the Greeks found themselves in the middle of nowhere without help and in hostile land, and had to return home in an epic known as the Retreat of the Ten Thousand, which was narrated by one of these mercenaries , Xenophon. "You stay like the birds but well ... this is healthy" Some time later, Alexander the Great would finish the Achaemenids definitively. After defeating Darío III in Gaugamela, the Macedonian, with great rapidity was taking the Persian capitals until destroying the palace of Persepolis. Alexander continued conquering more and more Iranian tribes until he palmed it and all his conquests were shared among the Diádocs, his successors. THE SELEÚCIDA EMPIRE During the following two centuries, the area of Persia was under the command and influence of the Seleucid Empire, one of several Hellenic states founded by the Diadocs. This in particular was founded by Seleuco I Nicátor. Although it is one of my favorite historical periods, it is a fucking mess, and you have everything explained in this other video. The Seleucid domain did not last long in some areas of Persia. Around 250 BC the satrap of Bactria Diodoto founded the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, and shortly afterwards it was the turn of the satrap of Parthia Andragoras. But this rebel rebel came out within their territory, the tribe of the Dahae, who were native, and led by Arsaces I managed to throw the Greeks to create the Kingdom of Parthia. Next week I will continue with the last video dedicated to Ancient Persia, and then ... Byzantine Empire. If you want to go deeper into this topic you can do it in my book Imperios y Espadazos, which since a few days ago is available in audiobook, to learn history without you get tired eyesight. And I also leave you down a few maps that may be useful.