THREE THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE ACHAEMENIDS

The Achaemenid Empire was the first to achieve a dominant position over the greater part of the ancient world. In creating this universal state its rulers were faced with both problems and responsibilities. The main issue was how this great empire was to be maintained. This was achieved by the creation of an internal organization, which, as has been seen, was based on the satrapies – provinces – ruled by the satraps, or governors. Along-side this came the establishment of a legal system. Everybody except for the Shahanshah himself was subject to the law and this was designed to ensure the fair treatment of all. In one of his inscriptions in Susa, Darius asserts, ‘My law, of that they are afraid, so that the stronger does not strike the weak, nor destroy [him].’ In another inscription in Naqsh-i Rustam, Darius asserts that it is ‘not my desire that the weak should have wrong done by the strong’. There was always the support of the god Ahuramazda in the establishment of order; the same inscription in Naqsh-i Rustam continues, ‘Ahuramazda, when he saw this earth disturbed, after that bestowed it on me’. Darius then ‘put it down in its place’. In the sense used here, ‘to put it in its place’ meant replacing chaos with order, and this was certainly one of the major achievements of the empire.

The conquered peoples were also treated in a humane manner. Like all subjects, they were protected by the laws, but additionally their own laws, cultures and religions were treated with respect. After his conquest of Babylon, Cyrus worshipped in the Temple of Marduk, and after his suppression of the revolt there Darius did the same. There was no attempt to convert the subject peoples to the religion of the conquerors. The conquered peoples were permitted, and even encouraged, to continue their own worship as they had before. One of the most notable examples of this was the freeing of the Jews from the so-called Babylonian Captivity and the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.

The system of government that Cyrus established and Darius consolidated can thus be considered to have been both liberal and enlightened. As a result of the freedoms they were given, most of the subject peoples became more contented and willing to accept Persian hegemony. Arnold Toynbee was of the opinion that the Achaemenid Empire actually developed many of the characteristics of a federal system, under overall Persian supervision.1 Whether it could be called the first empire or the first federation, the political structure created by the Achaemenids succeeded in bringing order to the Middle East and enabled it to function as an organized whole for the best part of two centuries.

Another Persian achievement was success in creating what was perhaps the world’s first common market. Old boundary restrictions were removed and as a result trade flourished throughout the region as it never had before. This led to considerable prosperity among its diverse peoples. The Phoenicians of the Levant coast, now within the Persian Empire, had been largely excluded from maritime trade by the Greeks. These Phoenicians now had the market of the entire Persian Empire at their disposal. Much of the Persian knowledge of ships and maritime activity actually came from the Phoenicians. Likewise, the Ionian Greeks of western Anatolia also benefited from this imperial common market and were less enthusiastic than their kinsfolk across the Aegean to regain their independence. The common language facilitating transactions was Aramaic, and this Syriac language was used widely by the merchant classes. Farsi, the language of the dynasty, became the language of government and administration throughout the empire. Commerce was further facilitated by the establishment of a common currency and a common system of weights and measures.

Above all, maximizing the benefits of the Persian common market also necessitated the construction of an efficient road system. The main axis of the empire was the Royal Road, which connected Sardis with Susa and Persepolis. Linked with this were other roads to the eastern Mediterranean coast, Mesopotamia, and the north and east. As well as for use by merchants, this road system was designed to ensure rapid communications across the empire for couriers and the imperial postal service. Herodotus was clearly highly impressed with the speed that was possible on these roads. He describes the couriers in some detail as follows:

No mortal thing travels faster than these Persian couriers. The whole idea is a Persian invention, and works like this: riders are stationed along the road, equal in number to the number of days the journey takes – a man and a horse for each day. Nothing stops these couriers from covering their allotted stage in the quickest possible time – neither snow, rain, heat nor darkness. The first, at the end of his stage, passes the dispatch to the second, the second to the third, and so on along the line . . . the Persian word for this form of post is aggareïon.2

Gold plaque featuring winged creatures, said to be from Ziwiyeh, 7th century BC.

Frieze at Susa depicting palace guards.

The importance of trade is clearly demonstrated in the cuneiform inscriptions in Susa relating to the building of the royal palace there. According to these inscriptions the cedar wood was brought from Lebanon, while ‘yaka’ wood was brought from Gandhara. The gold came from Sardis and Bactria, and the blue precious stones (lapis lazuli) and the red (carnelian) from Sogdiana. Other precious stones were brought from Chorasmia, and silver and ebony from Egypt. The ivory was from Ethiopia and India while the ornamentation was the work of the Ionians. The Ionians worked the stone and the Medes and Egyptians worked the gold. The bricks were made by Babylonians. As a result of all these things, said Darius, ‘In Susa a very excellent thing was ordered, a very excellent thing was (accomplished).’3 This splendid result is an example of the bringing together of the huge wealth of precious materials which the empire produced and the diverse craftsmen who were able to work with them.

This gold plaque of a winged lion-monster features heavy rings, suggesting it may have been worn on a leather belt. Achaemenid culture, Iran, c. 6th–4th century BC.

The overall achievements of this first world empire are thus seen to have been considerable. They were able to push their opponents to the very peripheries of the known world and for the most part to secure the frontiers. Although the objective of Xerxes was never fully achieved – ‘all lands’ never actually became ‘one land’ – most of the immediate dangers to the hegemony of the Persians were removed. By their benign treatment of the subject peoples they created the conditions for internal peace and the consolidation of their power. The common market that came into existence also resulted in the creation of far greater wealth than had previously been possible in such a politically divided area. This all gave the Achaemenids the resources they needed to administer and defend the enormous territories that came under their rule. The creation of the universal state brought together a diversity of peoples and gave them peace and freedom from conflict. They were able to flourish in the cosmopolitan conditions and to a large extent came to accept their overlords in a way that was rare with future empires.

In the course of the two centuries of the Achaemenid dynasty, the Persians had changed from being pastoral nomads to living predominantly sedentary and urbanized lives. This brought about a surge in prosperity and a corresponding flourishing of arts and crafts. Objects were no longer fashioned simply for everyday use, but became valued as things of beauty and indicators of wealth. This process was enriched by the endless willingness of the Persians to borrow, learn and adapt the skills of various conquered peoples and also to use the materials obtained from all over the empire.

Buildings changed from being relatively simple wooden or mud-brick structures to being elaborate edifices in stone, such as those at Susa and Persepolis, designed to impress all who saw them. Craftsmen from all parts of the empire brought their own particular skills. Buildings were adorned with striking carvings and stuccowork. Glazed bricks were used to decorate internal walls. In the palace of Darius at Susa, one panel of such bricks shows a pair of winged lions with human heads, while another shows a procession of royal guards.

While there are few surviving examples of Achaemenid pottery, there is enough to show that here again they developed the skills already present in the conquered lands. What have survived are many fine examples of metalwork in the form of drinking vessels, bowls and cylinder seals as well as military objects such as ivory and gold scabbards. Some of the finest examples of metalwork form part of the so-called Oxus treasure, found in the late nineteenth century in the northeast of the Achaemenid Empire near the borders of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Among some artefacts from later periods, many objects that have been dated to the Achaemenid period were discovered. These include a heavy gold bracelet incorporating a pair of winged griffins, a golden jug with a lion-headed handle and several silver statuettes of human figures. Neil MacGregor chose a small model chariot in gold from this hoard as one of his ‘100 objects’ of world history, and expertly shows its significance in the history of the Achaemenid Empire.4

A cylinder seal and its print, Achaemenid period, Iran, c. 550–330 BC.

The skill of patterned carpet weaving was also valued, again a ‘refinement’ from what were undoubtedly important domestic items in the tents of the early nomadic peoples. Jewellery was also highly prized. This gives an overall picture of a people enjoying the comforts and luxury of a civilized existence. This led the Greeks to admire the Persians on one hand but also to look down on them as having abandoned their frugal way of life and having become ‘effeminate’.

The Persians’ love of luxury even extended to the battlefield, and Herodotus frequently refers to the splendour of the Persian army and the lavishness of their equipment and way of life. He recounts that after the battle of Plataea, in which the Persians were defeated and forced to retreat from Greece, the Spartan leader Pausanias saw the splendour of the abandoned tent of Xerxes, with the table set in preparation for a feast. As a joke, he ordered an ordinary Spartan dinner to be prepared next to it. Summoning his commanders, he compared the two tables and laughingly commented on ‘the folly of the Persians, who, living in this style, come to Greece to rob us of our poverty’.5 Such luxury was perhaps the culmination of the Persian move from the simplicity of life on the steppes to the possibilities offered by the huge resources that the creation of the empire had placed at their disposal.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Achaemenids lay in the demonstration of what it was possible to become. Another of the inscriptions of Darius at Susa reads, ‘By the favour of Ahuramazda I made everything beautiful.’ The linking together of the utilitarian and the beautiful was certainly something the Persians did with great effect and they did it in many walks of life. The aim to make everything beautiful may not have been fully achieved but the fact that it was the objective of the Shahanshah pointed to the possibilities for the way in which empires could behave.

The gold chariot from the Oxus treasure.