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The Ancient World Part VII:
Persia under the Sassanids, 162 to 500 CE
Time Line of Art History:
In his famous book, "Organism," Abraham Maslow originated the idea of self-actualization within a hierarchial structure of physilogical and psychological needs. Within this structure are what Maslow calls "esteem needs." From the very beginning of time historians have made manifest evidence of man's expression of "esteem needs." Over 30,000 years ago in Chauvet France the discovery of dynamic, vibrant paintings of animals drawn on limestone cave walls stand as a testament to man's need to express his world through art.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty,
That is all ye know on earth and
All ye need to know.
-------- John Keats (1819) "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
Take the time to see the truth, to see the beauty that man has created across time and space. "Click away!"
Time Line Index:
A timeline of ancient Mesopotamian history up to and including the Persians. Mesopotamia stands at the very dawn of human recorded history; we are often fooled into think...
Readings:
Ardashir and the Persians, to 241
Persian culture and the Sassanid Empire begins
Ardashir Encourages the Zoroastrian Priesthood
The Persians
Manichaeism, a Universalist Faith
The Zoroastrians priesthood against religious innovation
The Prophet Mani
Manichaean Doctrine and Organization
Mani, Shapur and Zoroastrianism
Mani's Martyrdom
Shapur the Great, war, weakness, communist revolution, and defeat
Bahram II and Narseh
Shapur II (the Great)
Persecutions, Tolerance and War to the mid-400s
Communist Revolution
Additional Links:
Until the sixth century BC, they were a people shrouded in mystery. Living in the area east of the Mesopotamian region, the Persians were a disparate group of Indo-European tribes, some nomadic, some settled, that were developing their own culture and religion unique from that of the great cities to their west.
Zarathustra (Greek Zoroaster): legendary
religious teacher from Bactria, founder of Zoroastrianism. Hardly anything
is known about Zarathustra's life. For example, it is uncertain when he lived.
The ancient Greeks speculated that he lived six thousand years before the
philosopher Plato and several scholars have argued for a date at the beginning
of the sixth century BCE.
The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers achieved by the Achaemenids, with the capital at Ctesiphon. The Sassanids consciously sought to resuscitate Iranian traditions and to obliterate Greek cultural influence. Their rule was characterized by considerable centralization, ambitious urban planning, agricultural development, and technological improvements
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