“Achaemenid Peace”: A Historiographical Construct and Achaemenid Imperial Ideology

Abstract

The article deals with the historiographical construct of the “Achaemenid Peace”, referred to by modern researchers as Pax Achaemenica (alternative designation — Pax Achaemenidica) and Pax Persica (alternative designation — Pax Persiana) by analogy with Pax Romana and Pax Augusta. Through consideration of research concepts, it is concluded that there is something in common between the concepts of Pax Achaemenica and Pax Persica, this is the idea that the Persian Empire was based on the cooperation of the Persians with the conquered peoples, however, the discrepancy between the researchers raises the question of whether how the Persians themselves saw relations with other peoples, and also what impact the Persian conquest had on the vision of the conquered peoples of their relationship with the Persians as conquerors. The article also examines the Achaemenid ideology of world domination based on their perception of the “imperial political space” under Cyrus the Great and Darius I. The final parts of the article are devoted to the study of the concept of “peace” in the Achaemenid ideology. Attention is drawn to the fact that Cyrus the Great followed the perception of the Peace in Mesopotamia, according to which the Peace was established by the conquerors after their military victories. However, already Darius I perceived Peace as a consequence of maintaining political stability in the Achaemenid Empire as part of his idea of establishing happiness and prosperity for all his numerous subjects.