Author: Dr. Tomaj Arian*
The Achaemenid dynasty was a dynasty that created a large empire and ruled from 550 BC to 330 BC. The Iranian Empire during the Achaemenid rule covered five and a half million square kilometers and was the largest empire in the world since the beginning of history.
The empire extended from the northeast to Samarkand and Bukhara in present-day Uzbekistan, from the southeast to the borders of present-day India, from the northwest to Greece and Macedonia, from the southwest to Libya, from the south to present-day Oman, and from the north to Ossetia in southern Russia.
This empire included various nations with different languages, and all of these nations enjoyed freedom of worship and language.
The question arises: how was a government able to create a unified system of government and rule over a vast area 2,500 years ago?
This article is the answer to this question.
The Achaemenid dynasty was founded by Cyrus the Great. He was from the Persian branch of the Iranians, but before him, the Median dynasty ruled Iran. In fact, the Achaemenid dynasty was built on the rule of the Median dynasty and had many symbols from the Median dynasty. The great Pars tribe lived in the Zagros Mountains in southwestern Iran and was neighboring the Elamite civilization, and parts of the Pars tribe lived in areas under the influence of the Elamites. The Pars tribe learned a lot from the great Elamite civilization, and the combination of what they learned from the Elamite civilization and the Median dynasty led to the creation of the Persian Empire.
The Median dynasty was founded by Diako. He was an elected king. Diako was a judge and judged fairly among the people. This theory of justice was one of the foundations of the Median government in Iran, and Cyrus the Great later used this idea. After its establishment, the Median dynasty was able to defeat the Assyrian government and add this civilization to its lands. The Medians learned many things from the Assyrian civilization and used them in their governance, including the style of governance and symbols of Assyria, their myths, and their religious symbols.
In fact, the Achaemenid dynasty established by Cyrus the Great was a combination of Iranian justice, Assyrian and Elamite styles of government, ancient Assyrian and Elamite-Babylonian religious and symbolic symbols, and its combination with ancient Aryan symbols.
The Pars people in southwestern Iran were Mehr worshippers and had very good relations with the surrounding governments and civilizations, especially the Elamites. This continuous and good relationship, as well as the Mehr ritual, created a sense of tolerance towards foreign cultures, and after the formation of the Achaemenid dynasty, this tolerance also spread to governance.
In fact, Cyrus the Great was the only person at that time who, after conquering Elam, Babylon, and other regions, respected their religions, did not commit massacres, and kept their king in power. This phenomenon was not observed in the world until the 20th century.
This unique phenomenon could only have been created by the blending of the Mehri ritual, Iranian culture, and the justice of the Median dynasty, and it has never been repeated in history.
Cyrus the Great was able to create an empire that was a mixture of ethnicities and nations with different languages, and he created a centralized government system in which all nations could live comfortably in this empire and their languages and religions were preserved and not harmed.
After Cyrus, Darius the Great continued Cyrus’ path and continued the centralized and modern government system, and created the Chapar and the express post.
The Achaemenids used Persian, Aramaic, Elamite, and Akkadian (Neo-Babylonian) as the international languages of their empire, and this empire did not have a single national language.
Elamite was the common administrative language in the Achaemenid capitals, including Susa and Pars.
Akkadian (Neo-Babylonian) was the administrative and diplomatic language in the Mesopotamian region.
Aramaic was the language of trade and commerce, and all of the empire conducted business in Aramaic.
In addition, each region had and preserved its own language, and local affairs were conducted in local languages.
There was no official religion in the Achaemenid Empire. In western and central Iran, there was the Mehr religion. In the northeast, there were Zoroastrians, and they slowly spread to the west.
Among the Romans, Babylonian and Assyrian gods such as Marduk and Ishtar were worshipped. In Egypt, Amon and other Egyptian gods were worshipped. In Israel, Judaism was present. In Greece, Greek gods were worshipped. In the east of the empire, Vedic and Buddhist religions were also worshipped.
In the government system, apart from the elected ruler sent by the king and the military commander of each region, the rest of the government organs were elected from local people, and local people played a large role in administering the regions of the empire.
This order lasted for 220 years and was destroyed by Alexander the Great’s attack on Iran. After the Achaemenids, the Parthian and Sasanian dynasties came to power, but they were unable to follow the path of the Achaemenid dynasty.
In fact, the 220 years of the Persian Empire under the rule of the Achaemenid dynasty were the most peaceful and best period in the history of the Middle East since the beginning of history.
Religious tolerance and freedom of worship, freedom of speech and language, government justice, an advanced administrative and governmental system, and lasting security were among the characteristics of this period that were never repeated.
The result is that the combination of religious and linguistic tolerance and the use of the successful experiences and methods of other nations and civilizations creates a phenomenon that is a source of pride for the world and a historical model for all humans on earth.
In fact, the Iranian Empire during the Achaemenid era was the first globalist government. A government that had no official religion. There were international administrative and commercial languages. Local authorities had great power, stable security was guaranteed by the central government, free trade throughout the empire was guaranteed by the Achaemenid government, and various nations and ethnicities lived in great security and peace.
This model can be repeated in new dimensions. Perhaps it has been implemented and succeeded in the European Union, and it can be recreated in the Middle East region, with all this bloodshed and ignorance, and guide this region towards peace.
Countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran must provide a secular system with religious freedom and freedom for the lives of diverse ethnicities and dynasties. With modern laws and human rights standards, religious extremists and reactionaries should be suppressed and a peaceful environment for life, trade, cultural exchange, and religious freedom should be provided.
In fact, these regions can create a Middle East or West Asia union with a set of standard rules in all these countries so that they can solve these insoluble problems of the Middle East with each other’s help.
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*PhD in Political Science, Writer, Political Analyst