The Emergence of Individuality. Part Three

Abstract

The Persian Empire was formed in political and cultural unity only in the 6th century BC. The article examines the position of the individual as a subject of state-legal relations in the empire, which was in a sense the successor of Media, and where, unlike, for example, Egypt, society was quite poorly structured. Cyrus II, and after him Darius I directed their policy to position everyone towards loyalty to the king, and to dissociate other possible attachments. Therefore, the position of an aristocrat in society was determined by proximity to the king, and then by merit, family, etc., accordingly, there was a constant struggle to define and maintain his place. Darius I, on the one hand, relied on already existing laws and lists of precedents dating back to the heyday of Elam and Sumer, and, on the other hand, formulated the principles of his rule on the basis of Zoroastrianism. He proclaims himself the chosen one of Ahuramazda, and asserts the principles of social justice uniform for all strata of the population. To strengthen his power, Darius I supplements Zarathushtra's peculiar monotheism with the idea of the power of a single monarch over a multitude of lands, making certain changes in the traditional images. He strengthens the image of Ahuramazda by adopting the solar symbol as his attribute and by powerfully reinforcing the Indo-Iranian concept of khvarnah (king’s luck). Through this he legitimizes his right to the loyalty of the faithful and the punishment of the unfaithful. The significance of Zoroastrianism, adopted as the official religion of the Persians, was that each person had to accept the necessity of a constant personal choice between good and evil, between two spirits - the spirit of good and the spirit of evil. Within the legal system, Persian kings made a fundamental step from the religious ethics of Zoroastrianism to politics. Lye began to be understood not as a moral category, but as a negative force, always set up to destroy the established state order. Great importance was attached to the formation of ethical consciousness in schools, where justice was taught, forcing children to get used to reflect upon their consciousness evaluating their own behavior from a moral point of view.