Exercises on the Persians

(Ufam) The Persians were, in antiquity, one of the most important peoples to occupy the region of Mesopotamia. About its history and culture, it is possible to say that:

a) The victory of Darius I over the Greeks marked the beginning of the Persian rise in the Mediterranean, favoring the expansion of cuneiform writing and monotheistic cults.

b) They developed their own religion, Zoroastrianism, and began their territorial expansion after the conquests led by Cyrus the Great.

c) Famous for their architectural works, the Persians built the largest pyramids in Mesopotamia in Babylon, making that city the center of their Empire.

d) The decline of the Persian Empire was marked by the defeat of Xerxes to the Assyrians at the Battle of Susa.

e) Adopting a religion that opposed, in a Manichean way, good and evil, the Persians dominated the Mediterranean trade after conquering Egypt, Asia Minor and Macedonia, under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar.

(PUC-SP) It can be said that one of the fundamental elements of the Persian religion in Antiquity, after Zarathustra, is:

a) polytheism, characterized by the practice of worshiping zoomorphic idols in religious temples.

b) the local character of the cult, as each region had its own supreme deities.

c) the dualism represented by the opposition between the principle of good and evil.

d) strict obedience by the entire population to the religious precepts contained in the Vedas.

e) disbelief in the immortality of the soul and resurrection.

To facilitate the administration of the vast Persian territory, the division of the empire into satrapies was established, which basically consisted of provinces ruled by people appointed by the Persian kings and known as satraps. The satraps often did not trust the kings of their honesty, so officials were assigned to monitor them. We're talking about:

a) king ravens.

b) eyes and ears of the king.

c) emissaries of the king.

d) bearers of glad tidings from the king.

e) sent from Zarathustra.

The Persians conquered countless peoples and formed one of the greatest empires of antiquity. One of the great achievements of the Persians took place in 525 BC, when they conquered Egypt. This feat was attributed to:

a) Cyrus the Great

b) Cambyses II

c) Dario I

d) Xerxes

e) Darius III

Letter B

The Persians adopted Zoroastrianism as their official religion from the preaching of Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra. The adoption of Zoroastrianism caused the Persians to abandon ancient religious practices, which were inspired by those practiced in Ancient India and which were precursors of Hinduism. The centralization and unification of the Persian Empire took place under the leadership of Cyrus the Great from 550 BC.

Letter C

Zoroastrianism had a dualistic notion in which good and evil fought a spiritual battle, which would result in the victory of good over evil. Within the religious conception of Zoroastrianism, good was represented by Ahura-Masda and evil was represented by Ahriman. Much of the knowledge we have about Zoroastrianism is recorded in chants produced by Zoroaster, called Gathas, and by the holy book of religion, which is called Avesta.

Letter B

The so-called "eyes and ears of the king" were the officials appointed by the Persian kings to monitor the satraps in office. These officials kept the Persian kings informed about possible embezzlement of tax money levied in the Persian Empire for their satrapies and, especially, their allegiance. If there was evidence of corruption and/or conspiracy, the satraps were executed and replaced.

Letter B

The person responsible for carrying out the conquest of Egypt was Cambyses II, son of Cyrus the Great. Cambyses assumed the Persian throne after his father died in battle against the Massagets in 530 BC. Cambyses defeated the Egyptians of Pharaoh Psamtik III in 525 BC, during the Battle of Pelusium. The records say that the war between the Egyptians and Persians took place after a disagreement between Cambyses II and Amosis II (father of Psamtik III).