/his/ - History

>>35053

you could ask the same of greece.

>>35053

By Persia I'm guessing you mean the earliest dynasty, the Achaemenids. One of the main reasons they become a super power was they inherited the scribal administration of the Neo-Babylonians as Aramaic was the lingua franca of the massive empire. Every ethnic/tribal group used their native tongues amongst themselves and used Aramaic when they interacted with the administration and/or the royalty. Archeologist even found Aramaic documents in Central Asia, becoming a major progenitor of scripts for example Mongolian which came from Old Uygher through Sogdian. I think another reason was when the Persians (and Medes) entered Mesopotamia they were master cavalrymen on account of their nomadism. I'm pretty sure the main element in Mesopotamian armies were infantry although I don't really anything to back that up.

one word:

trade routes

>>35059

Two words, MODS

>>35059

Was silk road even a thing back then?

>>35064

probably the foundations of the silk road, nothing as large as it became.

>>35064

The Silk Road was much, much older than people think (Pax Mongolia).

For the sake of interest - which Persia are we talking about?

Iron.

>>35054

Greece never was a Superpower until Macedon came and kicked Persia's ass.

>>35074

Achaemenids

>>35085

In this case, I would argue that the relatively arid nature of most of the lands in possession of the Achaemenid Empire actually had certain upsides - all trade passing through the region was forced to go where they wanted it to go (i.e., where the Persians had their oases and fertile lands), and in the case of an enemy invasion, the foes did not only have to fight with the Persians themselves, but also with the harsh climate.

>>35082

Greece has never been a superpower, period. It's been one of the poorest countries for a long period of time. The only time they did come into power was through foreigners (Macedonians and the Hellenized peoples during the Byzantine period).

The wicker shields they had were very lightweight yet strong, allowing them to replace troops in mid battle. When one soldier died he was replaced (hence the name 'immortals'), with this ability they easily overwhelmed every enemy they came across.

>>35054

Greece was a superpower because they defeated Persia. They defeated Persia because of their defensive skill. A united Greece was a force to be reckoned with.

>>35089

Macedonians were Greek

>>35091

That can be debated.

>>35091

Nah, they were Hellenized Thracians.

>>35053

The UK became a super-power without much in the way of resources compared to most of northern Europe.

Honestly general attitude and religion matters a lot more than you'd imagine. Catholicism has a vested interest in uneducated and unindustrialised society. Idiots make good subjects.

Anglicanism and particularly Presbyterianism focus so heavily on work over ceremony that it makes for good workers/soldiers.

>>35108

Also Japan now I think of it.

Japan is the perfect example of a country where attitude mattered more than natural resources since it has fuck all in the way of them.

>>35053

Also, and apologies for the triple-post, adversity breeds good soldiers.

Lack of resources and/or constant conflict produces good fighters. Persia had both, of course, with religion being a major factor. So did the Highlands of Scotland (muh thin red line) and parts of northern India (muh Nepal and Afghanistan). In fact any mountain people qualify.

>>35108

>without much in the way of resources compared to most of northern Europe

They had coal though, which was necessary for industrialization.

>>35113

>They had coal though, which was necessary for industrialization.

So did most of europe and if they didn't it'd be comparatively easy to conquer those who did. The UK was formed by taking Wales, part of Ireland and uniting with Scotland through royal families and politics. Spain couldn't manage than unity despite trying multiple times and Germany was a clusterfuck.

>>35114

I should clarifty: I'm not being unfair here. The Dutch were fucking amazing given their position and history. Frankly if not for the UK (or if they'd somehow managed a Portuguese-style alliance with them) they'd have been even more notable.

>>35064

>Was silk road even a thing back then?

Back when? By Shahnameh times it "was a thing" enough to wage a war for shares in milking it.

>>35184

>By Shahnameh times

You know that it's like the King Arthur romance over there right?

>>35184

Shahnameh was written around 900~1000AD