Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces

1: Heritage of Greatness, Legacy of Loss

THEFIRSTGREATPERSIANDYNASTY,theAchaemenids,wasadiversebutpowerful empire that lasted for just over two centuries and provided inspiration for subsequent Iranian polities down through the ages. In the late ancient and medieval eras, southwest Asia witnessed the rise of the Parthian and Sassanian dynasties , whose constant competition with the leading Western empires is viewed in modern Iran as a source of cultural pride. These centuries also included some of the darkest pages of Iran’s past, including the fall of the empires and the destruction caused by the later Mongol invasions. Iranian perseverance, resourcefulness , and adaptability—qualities present in subsequent centuries—served as critical elements of the empires’ military might and effectiveness. When these characteristics were absent or weakened by poor leadership and strategic mismanagement , however, the overthrow of the Persian and Persian-influenced political orders was never far behind. The Achaemenid Superpower Cyrus the Great (r. 550–530 bc) has been called the first great captain of recorded history because of his extensive conquests but also by virtue of his political and administrative genius.1 Cyrus inherited the core of his empire and his military system. But in less than thirty years he created a more professional and effective army, and his conquests followed one another “with a rapidity scarcely equaled except by Alexander and by the Arabs in the first generation after the death of Muhammad.”2 The first Persian emperor set the military standard that successor dynasties so often tried but failed to emulate. Cyrus demonstrated the importance of having a strong core of well-trained and professional forces loyal to the state, developed the means to integrate military levies while maintaining central authority, adapted new technology and methods when he found them, and ensured that his army was well led and sustained. The result was a robust military system that under subsequent Achaemenid kings could withstand 1 Heritage of Greatness, Legacy of Loss 12 Heritage of Greatness, Legacy of Loss occasional defeats until its leadership faltered and the last Achaemenid emperor was outgeneraled and overthrown. The original Persian state that started its rise to become the first world superpower was founded by tribes that migrated from the Central Asian steppes, probably pushed south by exhausted pasturelands, overpopulation, or more aggressive neighbors. They established themselves in Parsa, a land between the Zagros Mountains to the west and deserts to the east, called Persis by the ancient Greeks. Cyrus’s forebears sprang from these tribes and from the Medes, another Indo-European tribe of nomadic horsemen who had migrated into the Iranian Plateau. Among the most notable was Hakhamanish, a seventh century bc king, who was known as Achaemenes to the Greeks and whose name has been used to denote the first Persian dynasty. These Aryans, or Iranians in their native language, created fortified settlements and relied on cavalry raids in their warfare. Repeated incursions by the bellicose Assyrian Empire encouraged the tribal chiefs to unite, and more formal Median and Persian states began to emerge as vassals of the Assyrians. The Medes, possessing more fertile and productive land, expanded quickly and under King Cyaxares (r. 625–585 bc) developed perhaps the first Middle Eastern army divided into units with distinct bodies of spearmen, archers, and cavalry rather than groups of infantry and mounted warriors led by tribal chiefs. The Medes allied with the Babylonians to overthrow the Assyrians and then expanded Cyaxares’ domains to the Mediterranean coast and extended military operations, if not control, almost as far as the Indus River in the east. Cyaxares’ great-grandson, Cyrus II, later called the Great, began his rise as conqueror from the Persian kingdom of Anshan, which he inherited from his father in 559 bc. After overthrowing his grandfather and establishing himself as the new ruler of combined Persian and Median kingdoms, Cyrus spent much of the first decade of his reign consolidating control over the Medes’ former dominions as the new Persian Empire. To do this, the new king built a standing army loyal to him with ten thousand Persian infantry armed primarily with bow, spear, and a wood-and-wicker shield; ten thousand Persian cavalrymen bearing bows, javelins, and short swords; and perhaps a similar force of Medes. For a campaign, Cyrus expanded his imperial army by incorporating warriors from his subject peoples and adding more Medes, who had second position in the empire and provided many of the imperial generals. Cyrus increased the emphasis on training and discipline in his standing army. He also used his early battles to refine...