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IRANIAN HISTORY: ACHAEMENIDS Persian Syria (538-331) Two Centuries of Persian Rule By: Adnan Bounni
Introduction
Syria's fall to the
Persians ended two thousand years of Semitic dynasties that are
relatively well documented. The history of Syria during the Persian
Achaemenid Empire is, however, relatively poorly documented. The lack of
epigraphic documentation is the result, probably, of the fact that
Persian and local administrations wrote, in Aramaic, mostly on
perishable materials. In addition, the refounding of Syrian urban
centers in the Greco-Roman periods caused additional destruction. It is
only recently that archaeological research has been able to contribute
to a better understanding of Syria under the Persians.
Persian Syria
(538-331 BCE)
In 538 BCE, Cyrus II,
the Great, became master of Mesopotamia and Syria. The annexation of
Syria-Palestine was peaceful, except for Gaza, which submitted only
trough force (Polybius 16.40). Cyrus the Great allowed the return of the
Jews to Jerusalem, where, as sympathizers of Persian rule, their
presence in Palestine was likely intended to balance power in a district
that was mostly pro-Egyptian. The Babylonian texts of Nerab suggest that
deported Syrians also were sent back to the Aleppo region then, or soon
after, for a similar purpose.
Cyrus the Great’ son,
Cambyses II (529-522 BCE), occupied Egypt. Cambyses probably died in
Damascus (Josephus, Antiq. 11.2), then the most important city in Syria
(Strabo 16.2.20) and the center of the Persian forces. Darius III stored
his treasures and furniture there before his battle with Alexander
(Arrianus 2.6.3.
Darius I, the Great
(521-486 BCE) divided the extensive Persian Empire into satrapies
(provinces - the Greek form of the Persian khshathrapan-"king" in
Old-Persian). At his death there were twenty satrapies. Syria
constituted one satrapy with Babylonia. Later, Syria alone became the
fifth satrapy under the name Ebimari in Babylonian, or Abar-Nahra in
Aramaic-Persian, which means "beyond the river [Euphrates]."The province
extended from the Amanus to Sinai and included Cyprus. The
administrative divisions of the Syrian province were likely the same as
during Neo-Babylonian rule (e.g., Damascus, Hama, Hauran) and the
capital was probably Damascus or Sidon. Arwad served as a royal
residence as well.
Syria's geographic
location, its forests, and its navy were of great importance for the
Persians' Mediterranean projects, even though its annual tribute was
only 350 talents, a relatively moderate sum compared with Egypt's
tribute of 700 talents.
Under Persian rule,
local Syrian dynasties permitted to govern in different coastal cities
(mainly Arwad, Byblos, Sidon, Tyre), treated as allied-subjects. Under
the Persian freedom-laws, these cities continued to practice their own
religions, carrying out their own commercial activities, and establish
colonies along the Mediterranean coast. These small Canaanite kingdoms
(universally known as Phoenician) refused to help Cambyses, who, while
in Egypt, planned to attack Carthage, their ancient colony. However,
they sided with the Persians against the Greeks in the wars (490-449
BCE), which were, from the Syrian point of view, a precious occasion for
getting rid of the Greek presence in the Mediterranean. Phoenician
possessions had extended to the Palestinian coast since the beginning of
the fifth century BCE. In the fourth century BCE, Arwad, Byblos, Sidon,
and Tyre constituted a federation, with Tripolis as the center of the
federation.
When Xerxes I (486-465
BCE) planned to invade Greece, the Phoenicians built a bridge for him on
the Bosporos that enabled the Persian armies to reach the interior.
Arwad, then a maritime power, put its fleet at his disposal. He was thus
the victor at Thermopilae, but he lost his fleet at Salamis (480 BCE)
and withdrew. Artaxerxes 1 (465-424 BCE) also failed in Greece and
Egypt, but permitted the return of a second wave of Jews to Jerusalem.
In the time of Xerxes II (404-359 BCE), his brother, Cyrus the Younger,
satrap of Asia Minor, attempted a revolt. Cyrus mobilized an army and
ten thousand Greek mercenaries to attack his brother. The mercenaries
crossed northern Syria and the Euphrates River, but after Cyrus's death
in battle returned to Greece under the command of Xenophon, whose
travelogue Anabasis documents the history and the historical topography
of northern Syria during this period. During the reign of Xerxes II, the
Egyptian pharaoh Tachos occupied Syria (361-360 BCE), aided by the
Spartan king Aegesilaus; however, he evacuated the country when a
revolution began in Egypt.
Artaxerxes III (358-338
BCE) repressed the revolutions in Sidon, the most powerful Phoenician
maritime city in the Persian period. From the beginning of the fourth
century BCE, the iconography of Sidon's coinage showed its redoubtable
towering rampart and its navy. Sidon allied with Egypt and with eleven
Phoenician cities and, encouraged by the agitation in the empire, moved
against the Persian Emperor but was defeated. Diodorus of Sicily reports
that Sidon was destroyed and burned with its inhabitants. Egypt also was
restored to Persian rule. Artaxerxes III and his son were poisoned, and
one of their relatives, Darius III Codomannus, took the throne front 338
to 331 BCE. He would have been able to restore Persian rule if he had
not been defeated by Alexander at Issus, on Syrian territory, in 333
BCE.
The satrap of Syria
resided at Damascus, Sidon, or Tripolis in the fourth century BCE.
Gubaru, an Iranian companion of Cyrus the Great, was the first Persian
satrap of Syria and Babylonia, before their separation. The last satrap
was Persian Mazdai, satrap of Cilicia, to which Syria was added after
the revolution of 345 BCE. In Arwad. Tripolis, and Akko the
fortifications were defended by Persian officers. Persian tolerance was
a necessity because their numerical presence in the province of Syria
was very weak. Tolerance was not only a matter of strategic and
commercial interest but also a Persian way of life, as well: the Persian
rulers built imperial roads connecting the empire across the Euphrates
with the Syrian coastal cities and fortified the coastline. The Persians
also created a unique and rapid postal system and an emergency force of
about three hundred Phoenician military boats.
In the Persian period,
Syrians spoke mostly Aramaic, but Canaanite was used in the coastal
cities. Aramaic was also dominant in southern Syria. Hebrew, a Canaanite
dialect, was limited to religious use after the fourth century BCE. The
northern Arabic dialect was the language of desertic Syria but was not
yet written. The Persian administration used Aramaic as an official
language in the western provinces and Aramaic script was used to
transcribe Persian.
Under Persian rule
Syria's ancient local cultures were allowed to develop; the
administration oriented its efforts mostly toward the duration and the
integrity of the regime that is, the Achaemenid state was a power of
conquest, administration, and military organization, which never imposed
their Iranian culture on their subjects, and gave them permission to
practice their own religion and beliefs.
Zoroastrian religion and
Persian beliefs in general found few sympathizers among the Syrians,
while Judaism and Christianity adopted some fundamental elements of
Persian religious doctrine. Persian paganism was represented in the
Syrian pantheon by only two deities, Anahita and Mithra. Persian
onomastica and toponyms are rare. Religious banquets (Gk., thiases) may
be of Persian origin.
Zoroastrian religion was not permitted
to be practiced by non-Iranians, and in case of disobedient and
conversion, the punishment was severe.
Persian rule encouraged
agriculture in Syria. Official and private projects existed in different
places: a renowned orchard was located near Sidon and cedar was
exploited near Tripolis. A vast agricultural domain was created in the
northern Biqa' and one belonging to the wife of Darius II existed
between the Qweiq River in Aleppo and the Euphrates. A species of grape
was introduced to Damascus and the pistachio but to Aleppo by the
Persians.
During the two hundred
years of Persian rule, Persian influence on material culture was slight.
The predominant architecture and arts were Syro-Babylonian in inner
Syria. A Greco-Egyptian impact was, however, clear on the coast and in
the south. Along the eastern Mediterranean coast, at nearly every site
or level of the Persian period, Attic ceramics dominate, with Canaannite
jars and some East Greek and Cypriot pottery. The Cypriot style was also
often adopted for sculpture.
In modern Lebanon,
vestiges of Apadanas have been found at Sidon and at Umm
el-`Amad, but none have yet been excavated at sites in Syria-nor have
fire towers or any glazed bricks. Almost the only examples of
characteristic Persian architecture area Persian column base at Tell
Denit and at Tell al-Kazel, a merlon at Ras Ibn Hani, and a Persian
capital found in ancient Damascus. At Tell Mardikh/Ebla (level VIA 1-3)
a building in a settlement from the Persian period, which served a
military and commercial function, may resemble contemporary buildings in
Palestine, but all lack a typical Persian architectural plan and
decoration. The rocky temple at `Amrit, south of Tortosa, is also dated
to this period, but both as a whole and in detail it has a Canaanite
(Phoenician), Egyptianized style with little Persian influence.
In the domain of art,
the Achaemenid influence is limited mostly to terracotta figurines
representing horsemen. Metal weapons and bowls have been found in
cemeteries at Nerab, Sarepta, and Kamid el-Loz. Some scholars find a
probable relationships between the tower tombs at Palmyra, Zenobia, and
`Amrit and the monumental altar with stairs in Syrian temples (e.g.,
Palmyra, Baalbek) and the fire towers of Persia, however.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/History/hakhamaneshian/persian_syria.htm