Persian Empire Trivia

1. The Persian and Median tribes were of which origin?

From Quiz Medes and Persians: From Tribes to Empire

Answer: Indo-European

Persian and Medes are considered part of the large Indo-European family that spread from India to the Atlantic Ocean: Celts, Thracians, Italic populations, Germanic, Slavs and Balto-Slavs, Greeks, Indians, Scythians, Hittites. Persians and Medes established themselves in the Iran region at around 1000 B.C.

From Quiz A Lost Treasure

Answer: Persia

Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, decided that the name, Persia, should be changed to Iran, which means "Land of the Aryans". This decision was made in 1935. The Persian Empire was also known as the Achaemenid Empire.

From Quiz Ancient Persia

Answer: Officials of the Persian Empire.

The "king's eyes" were officials of the Persian Empire who visited all the satrapies (provinces) and then reported to the king whatever information they gathered. Kings played a huge role in the Persian Empire, some good, some bad. Cyrus the Great set up one of the greatest empires of the ancient world; he conquered Babylon and freed the Jews held captive by the Babylonians. Then there was Darius the Great, who it is said was made king because his horse neighed first after the animal had seen a familiar mare, and Darius beat off his friends to become king because of this method.

From Quiz The Persian Empire, Part II

Answer: Syria and Palestine

The Persians were looked at as benevolent liberators by the native peoples of these areas. In particular, the Jews who had been exiled to Babylon, were able to make their way back to Jerusalem where their temple was rebuilt. Again, Persian tolerance created the atmosphere that made these things possible.

From Quiz The Persian Wars

Answer: Herodotus

Herodotus was born around 484 BCE in Halicarnassus, but he lived most of his life in Athens as a resident alien - a metic. Although others before him had written 'histories', these had largely been simply stories of past events (like Homer's 'The Iliad') instead of efforts to EXPLAIN the past. This is why Herodotus is so often called the Father of History - his failure to meet the standards of modern scholarship and objectivity, however, earns him the title 'Father of Lies.' He died around 420 BCE, in the midst of the Peloponnesian War.

From Quiz Medes and Persians: From Tribes to Empire

Answer: Assyrians

Deiokes, according to Herodotus, is considered the first Median king (approx. 728 B.C.-675 B.C.) and established the capital at Ecbatana.

From Quiz The Histories of Herodotus

Answer: "Croesus will destroy a great empire"

If Croesus attacked the Persians, he would destroy a great empire. As it turned out, the great empire that he would destroy was his own empire! For Herodotus, the Oracle is the font of knowledge, but the Oracle also has a tendency to be rather cryptic ...

From Quiz Ancient Persia

Answer: Xerxes I

King Xerxes I won the Battle of Thermopylae after defeating the Spartans of Ancient Greece. The Battle took place during the Greece Persia war in roughly the 5th century BC. The Greek strategy was to delay the land force and to defeat the Persians at sea, then starve the Persian army. Xerxes, however, was given some excellent information and knew that the Greeks were waiting for him. Camp was set up and the confidence of the Persian leader was apparent. His army was huge so he knew he had to move his men, as staying in one place was of no tactical advantage to him. The Greeks lost the battle. They had come hoping for a victory and instead had been routed. But Thermopylae was always hailed as a triumph for Greek arms because the Persian army was crucially delayed. Xerxes may have been victorious but too many of his men were killed and too much time was wasted with futile mini battles with determined, under-manned Spartans. The Greeks would have their day. addition on June 14th 2006 and kindly sent to me by cjd411 The Greeks came to Thermopyale hoping for a victory. Heroditus tells us otherwise - the Spartans that were selected to go to Thermopylae knew they were going to die, and so did those who sent them there (which is why it was an "all sire" army; so that family lines would go on).

From Quiz The Drama that was The Persian Wars!

Answer: Miltiades

We can give Miltiades a fair bit of credit for the Greek victory at Marathon - while the Athenians were divided over whether to defend Athens or to just plain run, Miltiades convinced the Athenians to defend the city outside it so that they could fall back on Athens if flight was necessary. Miltiades was also perceptive enough to notice when the Persian cavalry was shifted onto the Persian ships, due to the Persians hoping to launch a surprise attack on Athens by sea. The cavalry had posed a serious threat to Greece because the Greeks had none and because Marathon was a suitable battleground for cavalry, thus Miltiades was quick enough to take advantage of the situation instead of waiting for the arrival of promised Spartan help!

From Quiz The Persian Empire, Part II

Answer: Massagetai

The Massagetai dwelled in the area now occupied by Afghanistan, a place where many a great power has found itself bogged down in dangerous warfare. Cyrus was unable to overcome the Massagetai who were led by Queen Tomyris, and he perished in battle.

From Quiz The Persian Wars

Answer: Ionia

The other three areas are all on the main Greek peninsula. The cities of Ionia - including Miletus, Ephesus, Chios, and Samos - had accepted Persian rule for several decades, as the Persian strategy was to allow conquered lands to keep most of their independence. But around 500 BCE, as radical new political ideas like democracy swept through Greece, the Ionian cities suddenly found Persian rule unacceptable and rebelled.

From Quiz Medes and Persians: From Tribes to Empire

Answer: Cyaxares

Cyaxares not only conquered half of the Assyrian state at the end of the 7th century B.C., the other half being under the influence of the Babylonian New Kingdom, but also repelled the incursions of Scythians and Cimmerians from the northern borders.

From Quiz The Histories of Herodotus

Answer: Camels

According to Herodotus, horses hate camels! When Cyrus brought his camels (initially used to carry provisions and baggage) to the front of the battle line, the Lydian cavalry refused to fight. Hence the Lydian Empire is conquered by the Persians.

From Quiz Ancient Persia

Answer: Darius

King Darius founded the city where he built a huge palace of stone. The richly carved palace had ceremonial halls, treasury rooms and barracks for his huge army. It was built between 522-485 BC, and was developed further by successive kings. The various temples were as big as 450 metres by 300 metres and 20 metres in height. At the head of the ceremonial staircase leading to the terrace is the 'Gateway of All Nations' built by Xerxes I and guarded by two colossal bull-like figures.

From Quiz The Drama that was The Persian Wars!

Answer: They were delayed by their Karneia festival

According to Herodotus (author of 'Histories'), the Spartans agreed to send help to Marathon but "could not march until the moon was full" in accordance with the rules of their Karneia festival. Due to the Spartans' serious approach to religion, the Athenian generals were tying themselves in knots over whether to initiate a battle with the Persians in case of medism in the Greek army or whether to wait for the Spartans. It's a good thing they didn't wait because the Spartans arrived three days after the Battle of Marathon! According to A.R Burn (author of 'Persia and the Greeks') however, the Spartans actually DID contribute to the Greek victory because their "good will" in deciding to mobilise forced the Persians to hurry their operations, and so "did exert a real and important influence on the campaign." Not bad for doing nothing, hey?

From Quiz The Persian Empire, Part II

Answer: Smerdis

Cambyses was the eldest son of Cyrus and was chosen by Cyrus to be the successor to the Persian throne, but this did not prevent Cambyses from secretly having his brother killed so that no challenge could be mounted to his reign.

From Quiz The Persian Empire, Part I

Answer: Achaemenes

When Cyrus became emperor, he took the name Achaemenid as the title for his dynasty, in remembrance of his great ancestor.

From Quiz The Persian Wars

Answer: Athens and Eretria

Yes, there is a Greek city named Eretria, not to be confused with the nation of Eritrea that won its independence from Ethiopia in the 1990s. Although these cities sent both fleets and armies to aid the Ionians, King Darius I of Persia was able to brutally suppress the rebels by 494 BCE - and the support of the Athenians and Eretrians was the perfect excuse for the Persians to invade Greece.

From Quiz Ancient Persia

Answer: City of the Persians

Persepolis means City of the Persians in the Greek Language. Originally it was known as "Parsa", the city then came to be referred to as Persepolis after coming in contact with Greek cultural values.

From Quiz Persian Wars: Causes and Course

Answer: 'Master, remember the Athenians'

When he heard about the sacking of Sardis (his capital) Darius shot an arrow into the sky and cried 'Grant, O God, that I may punish the Athenians'. He then instructed his servants to tell him three times a day as he sat down to dinner, 'Master, remember the Athenians'. He began to gather information about the Athenians as his army began to reclaim the land lost to the Ionians. First Cyprus was reconquered and then the Ionian forces were separated and subjugated.

From Quiz The Persian Empire, Part II

Answer: Conquest of Egypt

The conquering of Egypt was not difficult for the army of Cambyses, within a year (from 526-5 B.C.) they entered Memphis where Cambyses was made Pharaoh. Unfortunately, it appears that the priests of Egypt were somehow offended by Cambyses and slandered him, while at the same time a revolt against Cambyses began back in Persia. The combination of these factors probably led to his suicide in 525 B.C.

From Quiz The Persian Empire, Part I

Answer: Cyaxares

Cyaxares participated in the sacking of Nineveh and final destruction of the Assyrian Empire in 612 B.C. Following this, he extended his kingdom into Armenia and Asia Minor, setting the stage for future Persian conquests.

From Quiz Medes and Persians: From Tribes to Empire

Answer: Lydia

The conquest of Lydia is associated with a few legends regarding the Lydian King Croesus, one of the wealthiest monarchs of those times. Cyrus condemned Croesus to death by burning, but the heavy rain that came down made him rethink his decision, as it suggested divine intervention. The Lydian king was released and ruled as a Persian subject for the following years.

From Quiz The Histories of Herodotus

Answer: He was killed by Massagetae soldiers.

Cyrus may have subjugated the Medes, the Lydians and the Babylonians, but as we all know by now, a man's fortune can suddenly change! Cyrus was killed by Massagetae soldiers who then sent his head to their queen who ruled the Massagetae, a small nomadic tribe based in present-day Uzbekistan.

From Quiz A Lost Treasure

Answer: Zoroastrianism

Another name for Zoroastrianism is Mazdaism, and basically, it meant that if you did good, you would see good. If you did bad, then you would see the consequences. It was one of the things that gave the Persians the credibility to rule the world. Buddhism and Shintoism are religions as well, however, but they were not practised in the Persian Empire. As for Asatru, it was an old Norse religion, practised long ago in the Scandinavian region.

From Quiz Ancient Persia

Answer: Griffin

The griffin was often used by Persian sculptors to decorate the tops of columns and pillars. The griffin was a legendary creature with the head, beak and wings of an eagle, the body of a lion, and occasionally the tail of a serpent or scorpion.

From Quiz Persian Wars: Causes and Course

Answer: Miletus

The victory over the Ionian fleet allowed the Persians to attack Miletus by land and sea. Miletus, the hometown of Aristogoras the principal general of the Ionian revolt, was sacked after its walls were sapped and rammed. The entire city was reduced to slavery. The city used as a winter base for the Persian fleet which took Chios, Lesbos and Tenedos without diffciulty. They were then prepared for the summer campaign season.

From Quiz The Drama that was The Persian Wars!

Answer: Sparta

Well, it was a toss up between Athens and Sparta, the two natural leaders of Greece, and Sparta came out on top because the allies had already decided that they didn't want to submit to Athenian leadership. Athens swallowed her pride and yielded to the decision because according to Herodotus, she knew that a quarrel "would mean the destruction of Greece." So much for disunity among the Greeks - not only did Athens not press the issue, but the states also decided that all disputes would end between them, which meant the end of dispute between Athens and her old enemy, Aegina. Now that took guts!

From Quiz The Persian Empire, Part I

Answer: Pasargadae

Cyrus built his royal palace and a temple in Pasargadae, at which all of the future Persian Emperors were crowned. It later became a holy city of the empire. Later, Cyrus chose to rule from Ecbatana...a more strategic and central location. Later, the capital would be moved to Susa, and finally to Persepolis.

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Last Updated Oct 18 2025 5:45 AM

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