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Persian Kingship - Coggle Diagram
Persian Kingship
Titulature
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'King of Anshan' is reminiscent of the royal title of the Elamite Kings, who were Kings of Anshan and Susa
adoption by the early kings reflects their ambition to be regarded as successors to the kings of Elam
Darius I
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'king of kings' was used in a historical sense - he saw himself as the last in line of his royal predecessors
the 'Achaemenid' kings
the Achaemenid king was 'king of lands' - they did not use the term empire as the Romans later did, but referred to their territory as 'lands'
reflects the policy of leaving in place local customs and religion, and even forms of political rule and semi-autonomy, as long as the lands paid tribute to the king
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The King's Benefactors and Friends, gift-giving
HDT 3.140
"Syloson then learned that the successor to the throne was the man to whom he had given the garment in Egypt"
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Syloson (Polycrates' brother) had earlier given Darius a cloak in Memphis, and in return Darius gave him his home-island of Samos
Ctesias FGrH 688 F9
Cyrus II 'made Amorges (the Scythian King) their friend by putting their right hands into each other's"
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HDT 3.84.1
"if another of the Seven than Otanes should gain royal power, Otanes and all his descendants should receive as a mark of honour an annual gift of a Median robe and all such presents as the Persians hold most precious"
Because Otanes was the first to plan the coup and organize the group, the others agreed that if another man from the Seven were chosen as king, Otanes and his descendants would receive these royal honors
Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 8.2.7-8
"Though he (Cyrus II) far exceeded all other men in the amount of revenues he received, yet he excelled still more in the quantity of presents he gave"
"it was Cyrus, therefore, who began the practice of lavish giving"
"whose gifts are so readily recognised as some of those that the king gives, such as bracelets, necklaces, and horses with gold-studded bridles?"
the royal practice of gift-giving rewarded noble Persians for their service to the king and ensured their loyalty and support
pieces of jewellery, crafted in the Achaemenid style, identified the special status of the recipient amongst other Persian nobles
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Satrapal Emulation
royal estates
in the Persepolis Fortification texts (specifically PFa 33) we see recordings of seedlings for trees for three different royal estates
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satrap estates
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"my father left me (Pharnabazus) fine houses and parks, full of trees and wild animals, in which I took delight. Now they are either cut down or burnt down"
parks were also enjoyed by satraps - satraps copied the lifestyle of the Persian king on a local scale, representing the king in the satrapies
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Royal residences
Xenophon, Cyropaedia
"Cyrus (II) himself made his home in the centre of his domain, and in the winter season he spent seven months in Babylon"
"In the spring he spent three months in Susa and at the height of the summer two months in Ecbatana"
significance:
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when moving between the cities, the king travelled with his whole entourage - a massive spectacle that demonstrated the king's power in the empire
as manifestation of his kingship, Cyrus II built Pasargadae, and later Darius I built Persepolis
the successors of Darius all followed the architectural style he had created with Persepolis - each king saw himself as part of dynastic tradition, and perpetuated almost eternal values