c. This empire was successful because they used the individual strengths and talents of the people they conquered; in doing this they were able to conserve resources. They were also successful because they didn’t suppress the people they conquered. They let them keep their own religions, languages, and general way of life. The Persian kings would often embrace the religion and culture of the people they conquered. In addition, the Persian Empire was very interconnected, which made communication easier. They also had an effective system of government. They used satraps (A provincial governor) to govern a certain territory. Satraps were Persian, but they had local people of that region …show more content…
The Persian Empire allowed all of the people they conquered to keep their culture, so the Persian Empire didn’t really have a “glue”. In the beginning we can argue that the glue was the overall theme of tolerance, but because the people in the Empire didn’t share a common language, religion, or any customs, this tolerance caused their downfall. The individual people in the Persian Empire didn’t feel a connection to the other people, which caused the central government to eventually lose control.
e. The beginning of the rule of Xerxes was the pivotal turning point of the Persian Empire. It is said that he was an unjust ruler, who was growing intolerant of the different people in his empire. In order to take out rebellions happening in the empire, he would destroy temples, kill religious leaders, and enslave some of his people. His rule is quite a contrast to that of those before him. He also started promoting the Persian gods above the others, something that was different to what other Persian kings did. What Amy Chua says at the end of this chapter pretty much sums up why the Persian Empire eventually