p2ch7culture

Name:Kelsey Bavencoff

 * **Theme** || **How does this theme apply to your civilization?** ||
 * Religions || * __**Zoroastrianism**__
 * polytheistic
 * supreme deity: __Ahura Mazda__ (the wise lord)
 * cosmic conflict between Ahura Mazda and __Angra Mainyu__ (the destructive spirit) = good vs evil
 * __**Zarathustra**__: late 7-early 6 centuries BCE claimed Ahura Mazda came to him through a series of visions and chose him to act as his prophet and spread his message
 * **__Avesta__:** holy book of __Sasanid scriptures__
 * the loss of the Avesta and later Zoroastrian works contributed to a decline of Zoroastrianism in the 7 century ||
 * Belief Systems, philosophies, and ideologies || * __"Good words, good thoughts, good deeds."__
 * glorified __strength and martial virtues__
 * the material world was believed to be a blessing, a reflection of Ahura Mazda's benevolent nature ||
 * Science and Technology || * __**Persian Royal Road**__ (1600 miles)
 * 90 days for a caravan to travel the PRR
 * __**irrigation systems**__
 * underground canals known as __qanat__
 * allowed cultivators to distribute water to fields w/out losing large quantities to evaporation ||
 * The arts and architecture || * __**Persepolis**__: administrative center and monument to the Achaemenid dynasty
 * built by __Darius,__ 520 BCE
 * "nerve center" of the Persian empire from Darius's time to the end of the Achaemenid dynasty (330 BCE)
 * destroyed by __Alexander of Macedon__ and his troops in a giant fire (possibly intentional) ||