in retrospect, this was a DISASTER for mankind.
Unironically what did Persia have to offer compared to Greece? I'm not asking that to poke any flames, I legitimately know fuckall about classical Persia as a political and societal structure. Would their triumph really have been a boon?
>>17092332More steppe ancestry
For the Greek band, which now found itself in the heart of Ability of Persia, girt about by enemies on every side, the death of Cyrus was an immediate and crushing calamity. But for Greece it was probably a stroke of good fortune, -though Sparta herself had blessed the enterprise. Cyrus was a prince whose ability was well-nigh equal to his ambition. He had proved his capacity by his early successes as satrap ; by the organisation of his expedition, which demanded an exceptional union of policy and vigour, in meeting difficulties and surmounting dangers ; by his recognition of the value of the Greek soldier. Under such a sovereign, the Persian realm would have thriven and waxed great, and become once more a menace to the freedom of the European Greeks. Who can tell what dreams that ambitious brain might have cherished, dreams of universal conquest to be achieved at the head of an invincible army of Grecian foot-lancers? And in days when mercenary service was coming into fashion, the service of Cyrus would have been popular. Whatever oriental craft and cruelty lurked beneath, he had not only a frank and attractive manner, but a generous nature, which completely won such an honest Greek as Xenophon, the soldier and historian. He knew how to appreciate the Greeks, as none of his country ever knew before ; he recognised their superiority to the Asiatics in the military qualities of steadfastness and discipline; and this undisguised appreciation was a flattery which they were unable to resist. If Cyrus had come to the throne, his energy and policy would certainly have been felt in the Aegean world; the Greeks would not have been left for the next two generations to shape their own destinies, as they did, little affected by the languid interventions of Artaxerxes. Perhaps the stubborn stupidity of Clearchus on the field of Cunaxa, with his hard and-fast precepts of Greek drill- sergeants, saved Hellas from becoming a Persian satrapy.
>>17092340Ah yes.... The wonders of steppe civilizations.... Like uh....
>>17092332An effective end to most wars in the region. Other than that they’d have to pay taxes and occasionally join the King in his wars. For the average person it really isn’t that bad but it also means no more political autonomy in foreign policy and an extra tax burden.
>>17092316>in retrospect, this was a DISASTER for mankind.The Peloponnesian War was a far bigger disaster - that infighting caused such a chaos that Sparta never recovered (althou their turbo militaristic system takes most of the blame here).
>>17092870>it also means no more political autonomy in foreign policy and an extra tax burden.Which is exactly what happened anyway under Athens, Sparta and the subsequent revolving door of hegemonies. If Persia had won, Greece would have jumped straight to what they were in the Roman empire, skipping the next 250 years of civil war.
>>17092896That was basically OP's point
Soul vs soulless OP is obviously MENA/Turk
>>17092332Persia was Zoroastrian.A Zoroastrian Greece might have been a lot harder to convert to Christianity. It could have even become the new Roman religion
>>17092332absolutely nothing other than military inventions ancient persian offered nothing in terms of science, culture or philosophy
