When you buy through links on our site , we may earn an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it work .
The Persians , the ancient inhabitants of what is now Iran , created one of the ancient public ’s largest and most powerful empires that expand from 550 B.C. to 330 B.C. At its height , the Persian Empire , also known as the Achaemenid Empire , stretched from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the western boundary line with India and included a diverse raiment of finish and ethnical group . It was finally conquered byAlexander the Greatduring his intrusion of Asia in the fourth century B.C.
" The Achaemenid Empire was something drastically dissimilar from its predecessors , " enjoin Touraj Daryaee , the Maseeh chairwoman in Persian Studies and Culture at the University of California , Irvine , and the editor of " excavate an Empire : Achaemenid Persian in Longue Dureé " ( Mazda Publishers , 2014 ) . " It was the first earth conglomerate . It ’s an Afro - Eurasiatic conglomerate because it included parts of Africa , Asia and Europe . "
The Persians carved these reliefs onto building walls in the city of Persepolis.
Who were the ancient Persians?
The ancient Persians were an Indo - Persian people who migrated to the Persian plateau during the destruction of the second millennium B.C. , possibly from the Caucasus or Central Asia . Originally a pastoral people who wander the steppes with their stock , they were ethnically related to the Bactrians , Medes and Parthians . In the fifth hundred B.C. theGreek historiographer Herodotusdescribed them as being divided into several different tribes , the most powerful of which was the Pasargadae , of whom the Achaemenid clan was a part .
" We first get a line of the Persian hoi polloi fromAssyriansources , " an ancient heathen group indigenous to the Middle East , Daryaee told Live Science .
The ninth - century B.C. Assyrian king , Shalmaneser III , enter receive a hoi polloi who were settled in the expanse that is now southwestern Iran and went by the name Parsua . This reference , write in cuneiform , appears on his " Black Obelisk , " which was found in 1846 and commemorates and records Shalmaneser III ’s deeds and military military campaign . assimilator suggest the limestone dagger was probably inscribe in 825 B.C.,according to the British Museum . The translatedreference to the Persians reads as come after :
The Assyrian crafted Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (858-824 B.C.), from Nimrud. It records the king’s campaigns and tributes given to him.
" Moving on from the land Namri , I received tribute from twenty - seven male monarch of the nation Parsua . affect on from the land Parsua I live down to the state Mēsu , Media ( Amadāiia ) , Araziaš , ( and ) Harhār , ( and ) beguile the cities Kuakinda , Hazzanabi , Esamul , ( and ) Kinablila , together with the metropolis in their environs . "
The Persian Empire, rise and fall
By the first millenary B.C. , the Persians were well establish in southwestern Iran , with their chapiter at Anshan , an old urban center of the Elamites , an ancient ethnic group from the Iranian tableland . The Persians were ruled by kings who claimed stock from a semi - mythological king named Achaemenes . For several centuries , the Assyrians and later the Medes , an Indo - Iranian masses who were settled in northwesterly Iran , dominated the Persians , according to World History Encyclopedia . But during the mid - sixth century B.C. , an ambitious and capable ruler discover Cyrus come to power . after known as Cyrus the Great , he revolted against the Medes , conquered them , and then embark on a campaign of subjection , adding the kingdoms of Lydia , Elam andBabylonto his burgeoning empire . At the time of his death in 530 B.C. , his Achaemenid Empire stretched from the Balkans in Europe to India , and , as previouslydiscussed on Live Science , is consider to have been one of the enceinte empire , both geographically and in terminus of population , in the ancient world .
Herodotus is one of the primary source of data on Cyrus ’s aliveness . InBook I of his Histories , Herodotus render the other life of the Persian king , recounting in mythological terms how a series of dream led Astyages , the power of the Medes , to essay to kill the infant Cyrus . But Cyrus outlive these slaying attempt , grew into humanity and reverse the Medes . According to Britannica , this story of Cyrus ’s early childhood is likely a fabricated tale designed to show that Cyrus ’s sovereignty was destined and ordained .
Xenophon , a Greek soldier and author ( c. 430 B.C. to 350 B.C. ) , is another of import source of information on Cyrus ’s life , accord to Britannica . In his work on Cyrus , called the Cyropaedia , he described the Persian kingas " the most handsome in mortal , most generous of heart , most devoted to learning , and most ambitious , so that he brave all sorts of labor and face all sorts of risk for the sake of praise . "
Cyrus the Great, king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire
In gain to being a successful general , Cyrus proved to be a successful administrator and was known for his benevolent nature and generosity , Daryaee said . Cyrus was famous for showing mercifulness to the nations he conquered , allowing them to retain their own traditions , religions and rights instead of ram his subjects to adopt his culture ( like most other ancient rulers ) . In the Hebrewbooks of IsaiahandEzra , for example , Cyrus is revered as a liberator and is responsible for freeing the Jews from the Babylonians and aid them reconstruct the Second Temple inJerusalem .
This good sense of DoJ and mercifulness might have stemmed from Cyrus ’s childhood experiences and the place he rise up , Daryaee noted . " Cyrus was bring in up in a multicultural setting in the metropolis of Anshan , " he said . " He was privy to all these different religions , culturesand languages . This give him a great understanding about how to deal with people . "
Cyrus agnize that to successfully predominate a immense empire , a ruler needed to exercise a certain amount of benefaction and apprehension , Daryaee pronounce . The Persians had memorize from the Assyrian and Babylonian empires that terror and intimidation were not successful long - terminus strategies . Instead , Daryaee said , the Persians were guided by the concept of " vispadana , " a term that is translated as " many people . " Vispadana is the recognition not only that the conglomerate is draw up of many unlike cultures but that those cultures are , in fact , a benefit to the imperium because of the different skills and capacities their masses possess .
The Persian Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian king Darius the Great (Darius I) of the Achaemenid Empire in the 5th century B.C. Darius built the road to facilitate rapid communication throughout his empire.
" When we compare the Assyrian Empire , which was the precede imperium , we see that the king is depict as a great conqueror , " Daryaee said . " But if you look at the royal sculpture at Persepolis , you are getting a completely different perception of how thing should be . "
Parts of Persepolis , the ancient capital of the Achaemenid Empire , which is near advanced - day Shiraz , Iran , are protected today as a United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO)World Heritage Site . Several murals found at Persepolis depict the Iranian king as a uniter . His subject area , the representative of many different nations and refinement , are lay out around him in grateful poses rather than portrayed as captives or victims . " His subjects , such as Medes , Persians and others , are holding hand , " Daryaee said . " It ’s an acknowledgement that this is a multicultural , multi - linguistic empire . "
Cyrus ’s son Cambyses II addedancient Egyptto the conglomerate but show to be a less - capable ruler than his father . After his dying , which is assign to an accident during his Egyptian campaign , Cambyses ' younger brother Bardiya uprise the throne , accord to Britannica . His reign was short - lived , however ; soon after becoming king he was assassinate in 522 B.C. by a Persian noble named Darius , who subsequently took the toilet .
The Battle of Alexander. Here Alexander pursues Darius III.
The Achaemenid Empire then reached its zenith under Darius . He consolidated the Egyptian conquests and added parts of India and Thrace ( in the Balkans ) to his conglomerate . He also see the light the empire ’s effectual code , broach several massive building projects , created a postal divine service , and standardized the Persian system of weights , measuring and currency , according toWorld story Encyclopedia .
The Greco-Persian Wars
It was also during Darius ' reign that the notable Greco - Persian Wars start . These were a serial of wars that stone several Greek city states , most prominentlyAthensandSparta , against the Persian Empire . The first form start when a few Anatolian Greek cities , such as Miletus , revolted against the Persians . Athens and Eretria indorse the rising , but it at long last proved unsuccessful . In revenge , Darius sent an US Army to punish those Greek city . Darius ’s forces burned the city of Eretria but were kill in 490 B.C. at theBattle of Marathonby a strength of Athenian hoplites ( to a great extent armed foot soldier ) who , though outnumber , managed to outflank the Persian force .
Darius’son Xerxescontinued the war his Father of the Church had prosecuted ; he accumulate a immense state of war fleet in 480 B.C. and invaded Greece in what was known as the Second Greco - Persian War . But like the first attempt , this intrusion also end in Persian defeat . Darius ' fleet was destroy by the Athenians at the Battle of Salamis , and then later his land forces were kill at the Battle of Plataea by an USA of allied Greek metropolis led by Sparta , accord to theWorld History Encyclopedia .
The end of the Persian Empire
In 334 B.C. , the young Macedonian rulerAlexander the Greatcrossed the Hellespont ( today known as the Dardanelles Strait in Turkey ) and invaded the Persian Empire . In a series of brilliantly planned and run fight , the young B. B. King vote down the armies of the Iranian king , Darius III . Alexander went on to combust Persepolis , but in a stunning alteration of warmheartedness , he kick in the come down king a brilliant entombment and married his daughter Stateira , fit in to Ancient Origins . From then on , Alexander take over many Iranian custom and affectedness , such as tog in Persian dress . This stance put him at odds with many of his Greek and Macedonian compatriot . He also kept the Iranian administrative organisation intact , according to Britannica , and say many of his Macedonian police officer and generals to take Persian married woman for forge a union between the two cultures .
When Alexander break down in 323 B.C. , his empire was divided among his general . Much of the former Persian Empire total under the influence of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms , according to Britannica . However , native Persian rule was finally reconstruct in the second century B.C. under the Parthians .
Additional resources
Bibliography
University of Chicago , " Herodotus , Book I : chapter 45 - 140.“https://penelope.uchicago.edu / Thayer / E / Roman / Texts / Herodotus/1b*.html
Archive.org , " Assyrian ruler of the early first millennium B.C. , 858 - 754 B.C.“https://ia801602.us.archive.org/15 / item / AssyrianRulersOfTheEarlyFirstMillenniumBc858 - 754Bc / A._Kirk_Grayson_Assyrian_Rulers_of_the_Early_FirBookFi.org.pdf
Britannica , " Elam . “https://www.britannica.com / place / Elam
Britannica , " Cyrus the Great . “https://www.britannica.com / biography / Cyrus - the - smashing
Britannica , " Xenophon , Greek Historian . “https://www.britannica.com / biography / Xenophon
Iran Chamber Society , " Cyropaedia of Xenophon ; The Life of Cyrus the Great . “https://www.iranchamber.com / history / xenophon / cyropaedia_xenophon_book1.php
World History Encyclopedia , " Darius I.“https://www.worldhistory.org / Darius_I/
Live Science , " Sixteen epic battles that change account . “https://www.livescience.com/42716 - heroic - conflict - that - transfer - history.html
Britannica , " Xerxes . “https://www.britannica.com / biography / Xerxes - I
World History Encyclopedia , " The Battle of Salamis . “https://www.worldhistory.org / Battle_of_Salamis/
Live Science , " Alexander the Great : Facts , biography and accomplishment . “https://www.livescience.com/39997 - black lovage - the - great.html
Britannica , " Alexander the with child : King of Macedonia . “https://www.britannica.com / biography / Alexander - the - Great
