New
New
Year 4

The Persian Empire

I can explain how the Persian Empire became so powerful.

New
New
Year 4

The Persian Empire

I can explain how the Persian Empire became so powerful.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In Mesopotamia, where Sumer had once flourished, warring city-states continued to vie for supremacy.
  2. Cyrus, king of Persian Achaemenids, conquered the kingdom of Medes and the city of Babylon, creating the Persian Empire.
  3. Cyrus' son Cambyses went on to conquer Egypt, so that the pharoahs were now controlled by Persia.
  4. By 490 BCE, a king named Darius ruled over the Persian Empire, adding to it with territory in the Indus Valley.
  5. Darius wanted to add the Greek city-states to his empire and so the two civilisations went to war.

Common misconception

That the historical places named still exist today.

Over time, names and boundaries of places can change. Some places cease to exist entirely while the locations of some places do still exist but they have a different name today. A large area of Persia for example is in the modern-day country of Iran.

Keywords

  • Mesopotamia - meaning 'between two rivers', Mesopotamia is the name given to the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

  • Sumer - Sumer was the earliest ancient civilisation to be known about and was located in the south of Mesopotamia

  • Persian Empire - the civilisation that rivalled Ancient Greece to its east was Persia, all the lands they ruled were the Persian Empire

  • Territory - a territory is an area of land that is far away from a country but is still ruled by the country

  • Indus Valley - the Indus Valley surrounds the River Indus, a powerful river that flows through India and Pakistan

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the Ancient Greek word to its description.
Correct Answer:polis,an Anciety Greek city state

an Anciety Greek city state

Correct Answer:agora,a market place in Ancient Greece

a market place in Ancient Greece

Correct Answer:acropolis,an area built high-up overlooking the city

an area built high-up overlooking the city

Q2.
What is the correct definition of a city-state in Ancient Greece?
a country ruled by a king
Correct answer: a city that rules itself
a state which has lots of cities in it
Q3.
Which was one of the largest city-states in Ancient Greece?
Correct answer: Athens
Delos
Aegina
Q4.
True or false: There are many legacies of Ancient Greece that still exist in the modern world.
Correct answer: True
False
Q5.
Which of the below are Ancient Greek legacies that still exist today?
mosaics used in architecture
Correct answer: democracy as a form of government
hieroglyphics as a form of writing
Correct answer: stone columns used in architecture
Q6.
What is the name of the famous temple at the top of acropolis in Athens?
The Colosseum
Correct answer: The Parthenon
The Pyramids

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the below are locations that relate to the Persian Empire?
Correct answer: Metasiopoma
Athens
Correct answer: Babylon
Corinth
Q2.
Why had there been many wars to gain control of Mesopotamia?
Correct answer: There were two rivers that flowed through it.
There was a democratic government.
Correct answer: Areas around the rivers were good for farming.
There were valuable gold mines .
Q3.
What was the name of the king who ruled over the early Persian Empire?
Correct Answer: Cyrus, cyrus
Q4.
Which country did Cambyses and the Persian army take control of to expand their territory?
Correct answer: Egypt
Greece
Persia
India
Q5.
Which statements about the Persian king Darius are correct?
Correct answer: He was king around 490 BCE.
Correct answer: He took control over lands in the Indus Valley.
Correct answer: He wanted to expand the Persian Empire territories further.
He only wanted to expand into territories to the North.
Q6.
Which ancient civilisation was Persia in conflict for about 50 years from 499 BCE to 449 BCE?
Correct Answer: Ancient Greece, Ancient greece, ancient Greece, ancient greece

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