Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great called himself the King of Kings because he ruled from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River. He allowed the customs and religions of other lands to be expressed under his rule. He issued the Edict of Restoration whereby the Jews were encouraged to return to Israel after the Babylonian exile. He commissioned the city of Pasargadae. His tomb is still today a place where modern Iranians go to worship his memory. Darius the Great married Cyrus' daughters Atossa and Artystone to solidify his legitimacy.

He designed the first Chahar Bagh which is a four-square garden based on the idea of Paradise. The Persian word pairi-daeza is the forerunner of the English word for paradise. The garden has a path or waterway that bisects it. The Persian gardens were protected by high walls and provided peace and refreshment to the owner. The gardens at the Taj Mahal are one of the famous examples of this style. Learn about Persian Gardens here.

The Darius Canal

In circa 500 BC the Canal begun by Pharaoh Necco was finished by Darius the Great. It connected the Nile with the Red Sea and was in use until 767 AD. It was reportedly 100 feet wide and increased the speed at which trade items could be transported. Persian engineers may have been the ones to solve the problem of elevation differences between the two bodies of water through a system of man-made locks.

Yakhchāl

In 400 BC, Persians were building large evaporative coolers out of a special recipe of water-resistant mud. These cone-shaped buildings were used to store ice and acted like a refrigerator to keep food cool or frozen. Many of these type of buildings from hundreds of years ago are still standing in Persia.

Qanat

A Qanat is an underground system designed to transport well water to the surface through an underground aqueduct without a pump. By building the aqueduct underground, a minimal amount of water is lost to evaporation in the desert climate. The technology to build a qanat was developed by the Persians.

Tomyris, Queen of the Massagetae

Tomyris, Queen of a tribe of the Massagetae, in modern-day Kazakhstan defended her people from an attack by Cyrus the Great and succeeded in killing him. The account of her exploits were recorded by the Greeks so some of the details are disputed. Tomyris is sometimes described as a Scythian Queen. The Scythian terminology was loosely used to describe any nomadic horse-riding people of the steppe.

Resources:

Books (all links go to Goodreads)

Persian Fire

The Secret Message JUV

Our Favorite Day of the Year JUV

Persian and Caucasus Myths

The Scythians

Shahnameh for Kids - The Bravery of Gordafarid JUV

Shahnameh for Kids - The Mighty Rostam JUV

Shahnameh for Kids - The Story of Zal & Simorgh JUV

Fereydoon and the Serpent King JUV

My Mother's Persian Stories JUV

Free E-Books

Cyrus the Great

Podcasts

King of Kings

Videos

Cyrus the Great

A new beginning for the Middle East: The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia

The Legend of Tomiris (This link is for the YouTube Feature Length film, the inserted image is the trailer)

Activities

1. Make a cake. Persians invented the birthday celebration. "Birthday celebrations originated (as they did in other cultures) with a festival honoring the monarch's birth but gradually spread to members of the nobility and then the lower classes. In ancient Persia, birthdays were celebrated with special foods the guest of honor would enjoy and a cake for dessert with candles. Entertainment might have included animation – as evidenced by artifacts such as a cup which, when rapidly turned, showed a goat leaping in the air to snatch leaves from a tree – and music featuring vocals accompanied by stringed instruments such as the cartar (also known as the tar) and the sestar, precursor of the modern-day guitar. The practice of serving dessert after a meal was not reserved only for birthdays but followed every day's evening meal." source

2. Make a pinwheel. The Persians invented the windmill for moving water and grinding grain.

3. Learn about the postal system. The Persians had the first postal system and Herodotus' description of the Persian messenger system was: “Whatever the conditions – it may be snowing, raining, blazing hot, or dark – they never fail to complete their assigned journey in the fastest possible time”

4. Design a Persian Garden. Draw a square on a piece of paper. Divide the square in half in both directions. This is where the water goes. In each of the four quadrants, draw trees, animals and flowers. The Persians loved roses and fruit trees, but you can draw any kind of plants you like.