Annals of Global Volume 1, Issue 2, 2019, PP 17-24 ISSN 2642-8172

Analysis of the Achaemenid Decline Based on the Theory of Political Instability Saunders

Zahra Hosseinpour1*, Majid Rafiei2, Abdolreza Alishahi3, Zahra Pakzad4 1Master's degree in Executive Master of Business Administration at University, Tehran, 2Graduate Master of International Relations at University, Isfahan, Iran 3Ph.D in Political Science at Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran 4MSc International Relations at the University of Guilan, , Iran *Corresponding Author: Zahra Hosseinpour, Master's degree in Executive Master of Business Administration at Tehran University, Tehran, Iran, Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT The Achaemenids are one of the most powerful and lasting dynasties in ancient Persia, founded by the Great. The territory of this dynasty was very wide, extending from the Sind Valley in to the in and the in today and from the River in to Central . In this vast , many tribes lived in their own customs, and maintained their own state and ethnic culture. In fact, the country's most important characteristic was respect for individual and ethnic freedom and the respect for and order, and the encouragement of indigenous and culture as well as the promotion of commerce and . This authoritative and widespread government process continued to evolve to a point where the dynasty led to the collapse of this powerful dynasty. In this article, the writers' efforts are about providing a consistent answer to the question what is the most important reason for the collapse and annihilation of the Achaemenid kingdom? The hypothesis that writers will experiment with the methodology of historical sociology and the use of written and librarian resources will be based on the principle that the causes of tyranny, injustice, racial and religious discrimination, the change of status And the Achaemenid Kings' nationalist were confronted with widespread protests and revolts. The findings of the paper, based on the theory of political instability, David Saunders, confirm that the change in the political regime includes changes in norms and , the occurrence of successful coups and the change of military status on the one hand and the challenge to the political regime and government Riots and political demonstrations, unsuccessful coups and deaths from political violence led to the collapse and decline of the Achaemenid rule. Keywords: Achaemenid, consolidation of power, legal separation, political instability, David Saunders

Another approach to political stability and the INTRODUCTION growing development of power among the One of the ranks of powerful governments that Achaemenid kings has been the concept of reigned in the was the Farrah Izadi, which is somewhat derived from Achaemenids. The dynasty was named as the the religious shackles of Mazda. In fact, 's largest in terms of the world's the concept of Farrah Izadi was a concept that population, in which more than 49 million established the of the Iranian kings. people from the 112 million Farah Izadi, as a concept that considered the lived in this empire. In the era of the kings as representatives of in the land, Achaemenid kings, about thirty different nations allowed them to rule. Therefore, the central were under the banner of this empire (Shapur denominator of the discourse of the kingdom in Shahbazi, 2005: 11).The way of governing this ancient Persia is the presence of the king as the dynasty has been such that religious and racial representative of the on earth and the tolerance and religiousness are its hallmarks. organization of people's lives based on the For this reason, a very important part of the wishes of the gods, so the king is the ruler of the forces under the reign of this dynasty was laws of the gods on earth. In this discourse, the informed with the satisfaction of the kingdom finds the divine origin through the Achaemenid kings (Golshanirad & Hazarian, religious worldview to guide the affairs of the 2014: 233). world. In the texts of the Achaemenid kings,

Annals of Global History V1 ● 12 ● 2019 17 Analysis of the Achaemenid Decline Based on the Theory of Political Instability David Saunders they attribute victories and great deeds to implementation of ideal intentions. Then the Ahoura Mazda. The King is the epitome of writers continue to believe that the , in (Amanlou& Ahmadvand, 2015: ancient Persia, executes the most perfect people 111).Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the and the representative of the gods on earth, Achaemenid rule was the first example of a heavenly laws. centralized empire that did not compete before This article the question of how the and even 200 years after its founding. Hence, it ideals of the utopian kingdom in ancient Iran is important to know why this government that should be used to guide the Iranian city in such has remained stable for more than two centuries a way as to be a viable community of examples and it has once been extinct. With this brief of . The hypothesis of the article is that overview, the present paper tries to explain the this identity is characterized by attributes such reasons for the collapse and collapse of the as: ferah, race, justice and righteousness, . In other words, in spite of and righteousness, virtue, wisdom and the broad tolerance of racialism and respect for rationality, authority and courage, articulation the and culture of the various ethnic and articulation, centered on the central slab, groups that survived this dynasty, and despite That is, the king has been stabilized as the the realization of relative justice, why did this representative of the gods on earth. dynasty evolve and degrade? And why this empire did not to protect the glory of Cyrus the RouhAllah Eslami Great and his its authority? In the article entitled "The Pathology of RESEARCH METHOD Legitimacy in the Political Thought of the Achaemenids (Analyzing the Content of the The hypothesis of this paper has been tested on Inscriptions)," believes that Pegah has devoted a the basis of historical sociology and research history of humanity to the of Iran, and data has been gathered based on the library and they have been the subjects of looting, war, methodology. violence, Insecurity, instability, rioting and The methodology of historical sociology of aggression have led to development discourses, epistemology, tools and feedback of a tolerance, truth, morality and . The phenomenon is examined (Bordbar, 2014: 143- , according to Ibn Khaldun 146). For example, in order to investigate the and Hegel, is the beginning of human rule in causes of the consolidation of power or the . In this paper, the author tries to decline of the Achaemenids, using this type of answer the question by analyzing the research method, the approaches and inscriptions and inscriptions written by the instruments that led to the consolidation of Achaemenid period, who, with what features, power and the subsequent political instability in has the right to rule in this dynasty. the rule of the Achaemenid kings, and the The collection of inscriptions in the , repercussions of this instability Scientific Hamedan, Shosh, , Khorasan, Egypt, explanation. Therefore, the authors have used and ... that have recorded the statements and this approach to dynamism of readers' minds statements of the Shahans such as Cyrus, and better and better understanding of the , Cambyses, etc., are of the reasons for political instability in the political first and the direct direction Cognition and system of the Achaemenid kings. critique of Iranian political thought is PREVIOUS STUDIES considered. Who should be governed by what indicators should govern the state of the Earth, Shoja Ahmadvand and Hossein Amanloo which has half the residential area of the planet. In an article titled "Recognition of the Discourse In this paper, the technical aspects of the of the Shah's Identity in Ancient Persia", with Achaemenid rule are critically the aim of recognizing King's identity in the examined, in order to analyze the unknown and political thought of ancient Iran using the highly persistent nature of Iran's political method of discourse analysis. The authors thought. initially argue that the foundation of ancient Seyed Asghar Mahmoud Abadi Iranian political thought is based on the principle of the heavenly order and the political In a paper titled "Darius, the chosen King of model of the political system, which is based on Ahura Mazda," firstly points out that when the idea of the affairs of the people on the basis Darius Achaemenid, after tremendous struggles of the ideal of Armani as the agent of the with the geomat of the , and the serious

18 Annals of Global History V1 ● 12 ● 2019 Analysis of the Achaemenid Decline Based on the Theory of Political Instability David Saunders and decisive encounters with the claimants who institutionalization, some predictable political demanded a change in their situation and The behavior, some of the other continuity and Achaemenid government came out victorious. continuity of the political system, and some in In its first report on the vast and overwhelming the sense of the absence of violence, some in the rebellion, which was published in Bisotun of sense of The existence of a regime of law, a , it was designated as the official group means a lack of structural and other and lasting document for the . It was changes in the sense of a combination of chosen by Ahlul-e-Ahvazda. previous topics have received a special attention. Does the author continues to ask what motivates Darius to pass on such a new, enlightened In general, the definition of stability, while not message to the people of his time and the future having conflicts with transformation, must also for the first time in Iran. Some historians have entail the survival of the system (Pourfard, called him Zoroastrians, and many have also 2017: 47). looked at the subject with ambiguity, and some David Saunders mentions the inconsistencies of have also taken Darius not a loyal and loyal the five consequences of regime change, Zoroastrian, but a serious politician with a government change, community change, violent military and violent figure and a developer, and challenges, and peaceful challenges, along with eventually a well-known and efficient indicators and examples (Aghajani, 2018: 100), businessman. However, why Darius calls which, with the abolition of features, himself the triumphant and great triumphant Involvement, and adding some other things to Ahoura Mazda is not clear. The present article complete it, can be a success for the present tries to answer this question somewhat from study. Political instability has the same level of within the political complexities and social politics, levels and dimensions. unlocations and religious struggles of that time. The precise conceptualization and systematic But in the present paper, the writers' efforts are study of instability requires the separation and focused on the issue of political instability in the definition of these levels and dimensions. This Achaemenid rule, and the next most important paper identifies several main dimensions for factors that challenge the legitimacy and political instability: political system, political political stability of this government are to be regime, political norms, political authorities and addressed. An issue that eventually led to the political decisions (policies). Saunders considers collapse of this imperial dynasty. political instability to mean a change or a THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK, POLITICAL challenge in government, regime and political INSTABILITY THEORY DAVID SAUNDERS society outside the usual patterns, and emphasizes the variability and relative In general, the concept of stability and instability of times and places. He addresses the instability is identified with four characteristics. emergence of each of the phenomena of The first feature, "value and normative", and the challenge and change at two levels of political second feature, is "relative". The third feature is regime (goals, methods, and degree of political "the degree of affinity and distance from some characteristics," and the fourth feature is participation) and government (policy makers), "timing." In its operational definition, some and sets indicators for each of them. The mean the order in the course of political following table summarizes his discussions on interactions, some in the sense of political the indexation of political instability: Table1. Political Stability Indicator David Saunders Source: (Delavari, 2015: 77) Type of Instability indicators Scope of instability instability 1. The change of norms and rules; 2. The occurrence of Change in the political regime successful coups; 3.Changing the party system; 4. Goals, methods and degree of changing the position of the military political participation Change 1.Changing Executive Chiefs (President or Prime Change in government Minister) Custodians and executive 2.Change or repair the cabinet agencies 1. Guerrilla attacks; 2. Riots; 3. Deaths from political The challenge to the political violence; 4. Failure coups regime Challenge 1. Strikes; 2. Protest rallies The challenge to the government

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THE MAIN REASONS FOR THE INSTABILITY d'etat that had taken place by the princes and OF THE ACHAEMENID KINGS BASED ON THE the claimants. On the other hand, the THEORY OF DAVID SAUNDERS issue that affected the coups in the Achaemenid dynasty was the issue of the Change in the Political Regime tyranny of the kings. This, along with the  Changing norms and rules: One of the most cruelty of some of the Achaemenid kings, important norms and rules of the became the bedrock of their fall. For Achaemenid kings was the respect and example, Ardeshir III, due to the many reverence of the ethnicity, traditions and tyranny that he suffered, was confronted with cultures of the people who were in their the conspiracy and coup of some high- subcategory. This policy was even applied to ranking military men, accompanied by the enemies even later. For example, Cyrus Bogusas Khaje, the powerful minister, who the Great, the founder of this dynasty, after ultimately led to his murder (Briant, 2002: the of each state, settled the peace 688). and security of the whole, liberated the The occurrence of a coup and conspiracy captives in the form of adherence. Avoid any among the Achaemenid kings continued. bloodshed and plunder and left the Similarly, the Sogdinsans also provided the inhabitants of the rich countries in relative second Khershahriy with a soft coup, causing prosperity (Eslami Nodoshan, 1998: 22). the murder of his brother (Zarrinkoub, 2005: This policy went on to undergo a profound 152). Another example is the of transformation, in which the Achaemenid Xerxes. After the 20th anniversary of his king of Cambyses continued to plunder and reign, in October 465 BC, he was killed in bleed after conquering every place. In his dormitory by the Armanan royal army various ways, he humiliated the elders and and a Kwaja named Mitra or Spontomitra, the people of the states, in a manner that who had been collaborating with each other caused the anger of many people in the state. (Zarrinkoub, 2005: 169). The culmination of Of course, only the relatives of the victim the coup d'état among the Achaemenid kings, were not the victims of his anger and wrath, the conspiracy, the coup d'état and the but the and his closest brother also slaughter of Bardiy, was the legal heir of did not protect him from his actions (Bayani, Darwish I by the Cambyses II 2005: 107). Another important normative (Dunndamayef, 2010: 177). change, which the Achaemenid kings after and contrary to him do, is a  Changing the status of the military: the sexual encounter with slaves and women of successive changes among the commanders enemies, which was regarded as a booty of and their un installation and continuous war. This policy was implemented by Darius. installation on the one hand, and the It was normal that he received a certain dismissal of native commanders and the number of women from among the tribes to installation of commanders who were receive a certain amount of from any considered alien in different areas, on the people. In fact, it can be said that , other hand, not only did not have credit for including women, have behaved like the new commanders. But also caused commodities (Briant, 2002: 279). From other disturbance among former commanders, their normative changes and laws that were coalition against the central government and applied among the Achaemenid kings after even their absence in important wars. This Cyrus, Cambyses married his sisters. He then made it difficult for Darius III to fight in the ordered the judiciary to find a law in which battle with , the sympathy of the the king became the source of the law in the tribal elders and senior military commanders. country. In fact, he dismissed the rules of the This issue continued to be another important ruling and acted on the basis of personal result. When the core of the main opinion and opinion (Pirnia, 2006: 426). commanders split up and replaced by other commanders, the commanders' commitment  The occurrence of successful coups: In was also deeply transformed. In other words, principle, the occurrence of coups in the the new commanders did not show the Achaemenid dynasty can be divided into two fanaticism of a Persian commander. For categories. The first category was coup d'état example, in the battle of Mickal and when by military forces, ministers and reigning the defensive fence was defeated at the time forces, and the second one was the coup of Xerxes, all the Corps, with the exception

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of , fled and fled because the among the Achaemenid kings after Cyrus can Persians defended their values, interests and be divided into several categories. The first interests, the interests and necessities which category was the political violence of the necessarily It was not the same with the king. In the same way that the Shah's interests and values of the other tribes that and considered had been mobilized to complete the Corps any kind of deliberate deliberation and (Kurt, 2007: 169-170). benevolence advocated by his bounty as an insult and immediately became the basis of The Challenge to the Political Regime the murder of that person. For example,  Exacerbation of riots and protest Darius III, when he saw the troops that had demonstrations: Unlike the rule of Cyrus the been prepared to confront Alexander, saw the Great that tolerance, respect and freedom great numbers of the Revolutionary Guards, were well implemented by ethnic groups, so proud that he considered the criticism and and cultures, many other logical guidance of his Greek commanding Achaemenid kings did not pay attention to officer insulting, ordered to be murdered He this principle. In other words, with the gave (Pirnia, 2006: 1060). The second type adoption and implementation of such a of deaths from political violence among the policy, Cyrus the Great created some unions, Achaemenid was the imbalance and some of the opposing ethnic groups, but this psychological distress of some of the kings policy was not only implemented after him, of this dynasty, such as Cambyses, who, with but also the bedrock of many riots. For the smallest, small event, issued murder example, at the time of Darius, the orders, so that even the most loyal forces His protested vastly. The main reason was that intimidation and murder were not safe they had a detailed background and wanted (ZarrinKoub, 2005: 137). more independence and freedom in order to The third type of deaths from political maintain their values. Indeed, the Egyptians' violence among the Achaemenid sultans has interest in their national and religious values, been to terrorize the opposition and to some which was ignored by Darius, was the main extent be a "lesson of making" for others. cause of the rioting of the peoples of that Ardeshir II condemned the judges who land. Most of the second cause of protests mistakenly made some time to revive their and demonstrations was due to its poor and to spread the justice of the court, so burden and heavy burden. The tax havoc on as to be an example to other judges and thus the peoples' and the stagnant to always see their wrongdoing (Pirnia, 2006: survivors of the treasury receipts did not 931). Also, Darius I murdered every person result in economic repression, which made it who avoided his support in the armed forces difficult for Darius III to fight with and considered the service of the system a Alexander, the companionship and sympathy duty of all the tribes (Mashkur, 1992: 63). of the affiliated peoples (KavianiPouya & The fourth type of deaths from political Daghmehchi, 2014:179). During the reign of violence among the Achaemenid sultans was Xerxes to Darius III, the central government the murder and plunder of the conquered was severely challenged; insurrection and territories and the religious opposition of rebellion were common in some states; even those cities. Xerxes, unlike Cyrus the Great, during the ardashir II, the ' power and after the victory in the war with the , disobedience had reached a level where some the Acropolis fire to , killing all in their own were multiplied. It the clerics of this city, along with a large can be said that at the time of the late number of its inhabitants. The fifth type of Achaemenid kings, there was no need for the murder was the elimination of rival forces account of the return and response of the from the Achaemenid kings. Ardeshir III, satraps to the king, and each of the satraps after his stability, initially executed all his was the absolute ruler of their territory; close relatives so that he would not plot in therefore, the tyranny of each of the satraps the future until he killed his eighty brothers was the highest It was clear that this was the within a day (Zarrinkoub, 2005: 201). C. subject of the most protests and protests followed by chaos (Bryan, 2008: 107-108).  Failed Coups  Deaths Caused by Political Violence: The Among other things, based on the theory of political violence that has been committed David Saunders, the political instability

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underlying the challenge to the political the Shah. Ardavan temporarily put regime is a matter of unsuccessful coups on the bed, and he himself, against the governing body. In this regard, through his sons, wanted to eliminate him at after the rule of Cyrus the Great, one of the the time, but Ardashir became aware of the important components of the weakening and coup and deflected him. Artaxerxes killed gradual decline of the Achaemenids was the Ardavan and his sons and called himself the unsuccessful coups of the claimants of power King of the Shah (Azad; Jafarpour & in this dynasty. One of the examples in this Tavousi, 2004: 34-35). However, the regard was the failed Ardavan coup against behavior of Cyrus the Great, arranged by the Ardeshir I. Ardeshir I, after the assassination name of the Phoenician who was intended to of his father and his brother Darius, who was assassinate him, has been repeatedly the legal successor, down on the throne of mentioned in the history of ancient Iran Ardavan, commander of the guard guard of (Dammamayef, 2007: 241).

Figure1. The Deaths Caused by Political Violence in the Achaemenid Government CONCLUSION ruled by its own local and regional culture and structure. The Achaemenid rule was not based This article is an attempt to explain the set of on the exploitation of nations under its reasons for the weakness and decline of the and did not exploit the resources of Achaemenid dynasty based on the theory of these lands, nor did it want to integrate all political instability David Saunders. The Great cultures under a social, cultural, and political Cyrus is an important milestone in the center. "Although there was always a central development of the Achaemenid dynasties. On authority for rule: "As a result, the Achaemenid- the one hand, the presence of this royal dynasty controlled areas, despite the solidarity of these was minimal in areas under its rule, gentle in parts of Iran with the empire, were not directly appearance or in other words. affected by the central government's program First, because the Iranians in the empire were in with long-term effects." The structure of the a minority, and they found that they could Achaemenid empire based on the political balance with tolerance only in the various areas domination of a power It was focused on under their jurisdiction. The Achaemenid "exploiting the peripheral economy, central tolerance method was to allow each region to be processing, and the distribution of economic

22 Annals of Global History V1 ● 12 ● 2019 Analysis of the Achaemenid Decline Based on the Theory of Political Instability David Saunders resources", in fact, in the form of a global only such policies were not applied, but tyranny, system that can be explained. self-rule, justice, extreme , radical readings of religion, humiliation of non-Iranian Understanding the of Iran during the races ... and the cause of the collapse and Achaemenid period, which has a fundamental collapse of this dynasty. effect on the later periods, is indispensable for a comprehensive understanding of Iranian culture. REFERENCES From the point of view of the and title, it is [1] Aghajani, A. (2018).Formation of Impact of true that the great Imperial Meditate extended its Disputed Political Discourse of “Domain of period and then placed its place in the Religion” on the political Rivalries of Islamic Achaemenid Empire, but the very important of Iran, Journal of Transcendent point was that the Achaemenid monarchy was Policy, 6(20), pp 99-120. (in persian) nothing but a continuation of the state and [2] Amanlou, H & Ahmadvand, Sh. (2015). material civilization. Discourse Recognition of Royal Identity in Ancient Iran, Journal of Strategic Research of The same families and the same people Politics, 4(14), pp 103-133. continued the process that they chose to move [3] Bayani, Sh. (2005). The History of Ancient Iran forward with more dynamism and growth, and (2): From Arriads to Iran to the End of the in a vast space, they expanded it to the base of Achaemenids, Tehran: SAMT Publications. the world's largest known empire. The [4] Azad, M.; Jafarpour, M., & Tavousi, M. (2004). Achaemenid Empire was 220 years old. Their The study of the influence of the Achaemenid rule in the realms of the kingdom - especially at religion on their inscriptions and their religious the beginning, has led to the expansion of effects, Journal of and Planning, (16), pp 9-44. , the provision of trade and even encouragement of scientific and geographical [5] Bordbar, A. (2014). The Impact of Great Britain on Iran's Political Crisis Since the research. Beginning of the Pahlavi Reign until 2011, The moral foundations of this monarchy, Ph.D ., Allameh Tabataba'i University, especially in the era of those like and Faculty of Law and Political Science. , include respect for the beliefs [6] Briant, Pierre. (2002). From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire, of the peoples of the world and the support of Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbraun Publications. the disadvantaged against the mighty, is [7] Bryan, Pier. (2008). Achaemenid Empire, interesting from a historical point of view. The translated by Foroughan, Tehran: Farzan famous statement of Cyrus during the victory Rouz Publications. over , researchers have been an example [8] Delavari, A. (2015). Introduction to Political of the foundations of the rights of people in Instability: Towards a Comprehensive and ancient times. The Achaemenid 220 years (from Updated Model, Quarterly Studies the States, 550 BC before 330 BC) commanded a large part 1(2), pp.59-93. of the world known that day from the to [9] Eslami Nodoushan, M. (1998). Iran and Danube in Europe and from to in the Ancient Bed, Iran Luke , Iranians Northeast Africa. The Achaemenid Empire fell from Iischilos, Iran and Greece to the to Alexander the Macedonian. The great Certificate of and , Tehran: Sahami Enteshar Publications. -Golshanirad, K Achaemenid Empire, the founder of which was & Hazarian, R. (2014). Religion and Religious Cyrus the Great, was recorded in the UNESCO Policy of Cyrus the Great, Journal of Historical World's largest and first empire according to Studies, (61), pp. 225-244. documents. [10] KavianiPouya, H & Daghmehchi, M. (2014). Therefore, in a general summit, things like Historical Evolution and Strategic, Military and Economical Situation of in tolerance, tolerance, respect for different Achaemenid Period, Journal of History of cultures and justice can be regarded as one of and Iran, 24 (23), pp. 167-192. the most important reasons for the political [11] Maskour, M.J. (1992). Historical Geography of stability and development of the Achaemenid Ancient Iran, Tehran: Donyaye Ketab Empire, where Cyrus the Great constituted the Publications. united allies of his most ardent opponents. After [12] Pirnia, H. (2006). History of ancient Iran Cyrus's , this issue faced some important (detailed history of ancient Iran) Volume I and challenges and changes. To the extent that not II", Tehran: Negah Publications.

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Citation: Zahra Hosseinpour, Abdolreza Alishahi, Majid Rafiei et al, "Analysis of the Achaemenid Decline Based on the Theory of Political Instability David Saunders", Annals of Global History, 1(2), 2019, pp. 17-24. Copyright: © 2019 Zahra Hosseinpour et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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