Jabrosky
Banned
As some of you may already know, I'm working on a historical fantasy story that features a fictional conflict between ancient Egypt and Persia, with a female Egyptian Pharaoh as the protagonist. Right now I'm more interested in getting the first draft down than strict historical accuracy, but nonetheless I have a few questions about the real Achaemenid Persian Empire for the history enthusiasts here.
My story's Persians are, with some upcoming exceptions, pretty cruel and xenophobic towards the Egyptian MC. I wrote them that way because I prefer stories with clearly defined bad guys, but I nonetheless worry whether or not I'm unfairly giving the Persians a Historical Villain Upgrade. Some sources I've read as part of cursory research claim that the Persians were actually pretty respectful of cultural differences within their empire, but on the other hand I recall that the Egyptians ended up hating their Persian overlords to the point of welcoming the Macedonian invaders as liberators. Exactly how tolerant were the Persians towards foreign peoples?
My second question concerns slavery, or rather the alleged lack of it in Achaemenid Persia. The online sources I've read contradict each other on whether or not the Persian Empire was among the few civilizations in antiquity to ban slavery. Iranian nationalist types insist it was due to religious reasons, but on the other hand I've read other sources quoting Greek historians who say that slavery in Persia was actually quite extensive. 300 certainly made the Persian forces in Greece look like a huge slave army (which I do think was unfair, if only because the "freedom-loving" Spartans were also dependent on slavery). Did the Persians really ban slavery, and if not, where does the notion that they did come from?
My story's Persians are, with some upcoming exceptions, pretty cruel and xenophobic towards the Egyptian MC. I wrote them that way because I prefer stories with clearly defined bad guys, but I nonetheless worry whether or not I'm unfairly giving the Persians a Historical Villain Upgrade. Some sources I've read as part of cursory research claim that the Persians were actually pretty respectful of cultural differences within their empire, but on the other hand I recall that the Egyptians ended up hating their Persian overlords to the point of welcoming the Macedonian invaders as liberators. Exactly how tolerant were the Persians towards foreign peoples?
My second question concerns slavery, or rather the alleged lack of it in Achaemenid Persia. The online sources I've read contradict each other on whether or not the Persian Empire was among the few civilizations in antiquity to ban slavery. Iranian nationalist types insist it was due to religious reasons, but on the other hand I've read other sources quoting Greek historians who say that slavery in Persia was actually quite extensive. 300 certainly made the Persian forces in Greece look like a huge slave army (which I do think was unfair, if only because the "freedom-loving" Spartans were also dependent on slavery). Did the Persians really ban slavery, and if not, where does the notion that they did come from?