Persia refers to countries now known as Iran and Iraq. In ancient days, Iraq was called Mesopotamia, the fertile river crescent where one of the first civilisations was built around farming. Because of the repeated flooding, the gods were seen as capricious, making the lives of people difficult. Therefore, a priest was needed to commune with the gods. Priests thus became the first leaders of the community. They built ziggurats or pyramidal structures to reach out to the gods who lived in the sky to establish authority on earth. Gradually, the priest was replaced by the local strongman, the king. The king connected himself with gods by having sexual relations with the priestess. As lover of the goddess, he asserted right to rule over earth. Thus rose the Sumerian city-states. They were replaced by Assyrians who established the world's first empire.

Assyrians believed that bloodshed and war ensured the survival of their empire. They used brutality to expand their rule over different kinds of people. But, they did not try to change the culture of the controlled people. They simply imposed a strict bureaucracy to collect taxes, and those who did not obey them were exiled from their homeland. They were responsible for the Babylonian Exile of the Jews, mentioned in the Bible.