~550 B.C. he began to conquer several neighboring kingdoms
~he was a military genius
~he led his army from victory to victory between 550 and 539 B.C.
~in time, he controlled an empire that spanned 2,000 miles from the Indus River in the east to Anatolia in the west
~Cambyses' successor, a noble of the ruling dynasty, had begun his career as a member of the king's bodyguard
~An elite group of Persian soldiers, the ten thousand immortals, helped Darius seize the throne around 522 B.C.
~he spent the first 3 years putting down revolts
~he brought peace and stability to the empire
~he was a great warrior, but his genius lay in administration
~a Persian prophet, lived around 600 B.C. taught that the earth is a battleground where a great struggle if fought between the spirit of good and the spirit of evil
How has Zoroaster's teaching been connected to monotheistic faiths?
Because he teaches the belief in one God.
~dreamed of taking control of Greece and then moving against Persia to seize its vast wealth
~hoped to avenge the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C.
~in 359 B.C. he became the king of Macedonia
~he quickly proved to be a brilliant general and a ruthless politician
~at his daughter's wedding in 336 B.C. he was stabbed to death
Alexander the Great
~son of Philip
~proclaimed himself king after his father's death
~was only 20 years old
~he had learned science, geography, and literature
~he had learned to ride a horse, use weapons, and command troops at a young age
Why did Greeks look down on Macedonians?
Because they didn't have any great philosophers, sculptors, or writers
Describe Alexander's strategy at the Granicus River.
Instead of waiting for the Persians to make the first move, Alexander ordered his cavalry to attack
Describe what happened in at Gaugamela?
The two armies met at Gaugamela. Alexander launched a massive phalanx attack followed by a cavalry charge.
By 326 BC, how far and for how long had Alexander's army been fighting?
They had been fighting for 11 years and had marched more than 11,000 miles
-in Teotihuacán, Central America
-the city's most valuable trade item
-a green or black volcanic glass
-found in the Valley of Mexico
-used to make razor-sharp weapons
-around 900, the Toltec's rose to power
-they ruled over the next 3 centuries, ruled over the heart of Mexico from their capital of Tula
-built pyramids and temples
-carved tall pillars in the shape of armed warriors
-were an extremely warlike people whose empire was based on conquest. They worshiped a fierce war god who demanded blood and human sacrifice from his followers
-in 1428, the Aztecs joined with two other city-states, Texcoco and Tlacopan
-this alliance became the leading power in the Valley of Mexico and soon gained control over neighboring regions
-by the early 1500s, they controlled a vast empire that
covered some 80,000 square miles stretching from central Mexico to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and south into Oaxaca
-it was divided into 38 provinces and had an estimated pop. between 5 and 15 million people
-they generally exercised loose control over the empire,
often letting local rulers govern their own regions
-in 1502 he was crowned emperor
-under his rule, the Aztec Empire began to weaken
-Aztecs had been demanding tribute and sacrificial victims from the provinces under their control
-now, with the population of Tenochitilán growing ever greater, he called for even more tribute and sacrifice
-over time, he tried to lessen the pressure on the provinces, he reduced the demand for tribute payment by cutting the number of officials in the Aztec government
people who settled in the alley and developed advanced civilizations that controlled much of the area
a different god that the Topiltzin tried to convince people to worship; also known as the Feathered Serpent
How do historians think that the city collapsed?
Either from an invasion by outside forces or conflict among the city's ruling classes
Describe where Aztec wealth came from?
Their wealth came from gold, maize, cacao beans, cotton, jade, and other products
Describe the 