Definition
After his father's death in 559 BC, Cyrus the Great became king of Anshan but like his predecessors, Cyrus had to recognize Mede overlordship. In 552 BC Cyrus led his armies against the Medes and captured Ecbatana in 549 BC, effectively conquering the Median Empire and also inheriting Assyria. Cyrus later conquered Lydia and Babylon. Cyrus the Great created the Cyrus Cylinder, considered to be the first declaration of human rights and was the first king whose name has the suffix "Great". After Cyrus' death, his son Cambyses II ruled for seven years (531-522 BC) and continued his father's work of conquest, making significant gains in Egypt. A power struggle followed Cambyses' death and, despite his tenuous connection to the royal line, Darius the Great was declared king (ruled 522-486 BC).
Darius' first capital was at Susa, and he started the building programme at Persepolis. It is during his reign that mention is first made of the Royal Road, a great highway stretching all the way from Susa to Sardis with posting stations at regular intervals. The Old Persian language appears in royal inscriptions, written in a specially adapted version of cuneiform. Under Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great, the Persian Empire eventually became the largest empire in human history up until that point, ruling and administrating over most of the then known world.
In 499 BC Athens lent support to a revolt in Miletus which resulted in the sacking of Sardis. This led to an Achaemenid campaign against Greece known as the Greco-Persian Wars which lasted the first half of the 5th century BC. During the Greco-Persian wars Persia made some major advantages and razed Athens in 480 BC, But after a string of Greek victories the Persians were forced to withdraw. Fighting ended with the peace of Callias in 449 BC. In 404 BC following the death of Darius II Egypt rebelled under Amyrtaeus. Later Egyptian Pharaohs successfully resisted Persian attempts to reconquer Egypt until 343 BC when Egypt was reconquered by Artaxerxes III of Persia.
In 334 BC-331 BC Alexander the Great defeated Darius III in the battles of Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, swiftly conquering the Persian Empire by 331 BCE. Alexander's empire broke up shortly after his death, and Alexander's general, Seleucus I Nicator, took control of Persia, Mesopotamia, and later Syria and Asia Minor. His ruling family is known as the Seleucid Dynasty. Greek language, philosophy, and art came with the colonists. During the Seleucid Dynasty throughout Alexander's former empire, Greek became the common tongue of diplomacy and literature.
The Seleucid empire was far from stable, as it was difficult to assert control over the vast eastern domains of the Seleucids. Diodotus, governor for the Bactrian territory, asserted independence in around 245 BC, although the exact date is far from certain, to form the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. The Seleucid satrap of Parthia, named Andragoras, first claimed independence, in a parallel to the secession of his Bactrian neighbour. Soon after however, a Parthian tribal chief called Arsaces took over the Parthian territory around 238 BC to form the Arsacid Dynasty — the starting point of the powerful Parthian Empire.
Darius' first capital was at Susa, and he started the building programme at Persepolis. It is during his reign that mention is first made of the Royal Road, a great highway stretching all the way from Susa to Sardis with posting stations at regular intervals. The Old Persian language appears in royal inscriptions, written in a specially adapted version of cuneiform. Under Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great, the Persian Empire eventually became the largest empire in human history up until that point, ruling and administrating over most of the then known world.
In 499 BC Athens lent support to a revolt in Miletus which resulted in the sacking of Sardis. This led to an Achaemenid campaign against Greece known as the Greco-Persian Wars which lasted the first half of the 5th century BC. During the Greco-Persian wars Persia made some major advantages and razed Athens in 480 BC, But after a string of Greek victories the Persians were forced to withdraw. Fighting ended with the peace of Callias in 449 BC. In 404 BC following the death of Darius II Egypt rebelled under Amyrtaeus. Later Egyptian Pharaohs successfully resisted Persian attempts to reconquer Egypt until 343 BC when Egypt was reconquered by Artaxerxes III of Persia.
In 334 BC-331 BC Alexander the Great defeated Darius III in the battles of Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, swiftly conquering the Persian Empire by 331 BCE. Alexander's empire broke up shortly after his death, and Alexander's general, Seleucus I Nicator, took control of Persia, Mesopotamia, and later Syria and Asia Minor. His ruling family is known as the Seleucid Dynasty. Greek language, philosophy, and art came with the colonists. During the Seleucid Dynasty throughout Alexander's former empire, Greek became the common tongue of diplomacy and literature.
The Seleucid empire was far from stable, as it was difficult to assert control over the vast eastern domains of the Seleucids. Diodotus, governor for the Bactrian territory, asserted independence in around 245 BC, although the exact date is far from certain, to form the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. The Seleucid satrap of Parthia, named Andragoras, first claimed independence, in a parallel to the secession of his Bactrian neighbour. Soon after however, a Parthian tribal chief called Arsaces took over the Parthian territory around 238 BC to form the Arsacid Dynasty — the starting point of the powerful Parthian Empire.
Articles
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Herodotus (484-425 BCE) the Greek historian who wrote extensively on the Persian Empire, here describes Persian customs as they would have been practiced around the year 430...
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The term mausoleum, since the Roman era, has meant any large-scale tomb. It is what we think of today as a big marble building...
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After securing the eastern Mediterranean seaboard and Egypt, Alexander pushed east into Mesopotamia with the intention of bringing Darius to battle. After crossing the Euphrates river unopposed...
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The Battle of Pelusium in 525 B.C. was the decisive conflict between the Pharaoh Psametik III (also known as Psammenitus) and the Persian leader Cambyses II. Cambyses...
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Links
- FORGOTTEN EMPIRE the world of Ancient Persia
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/ - From Cyrus to Alexander (Book) -- Ancient History Encyclopedia
http://www.ancientopedia.com/books/1575061201/ - Shadows in the Desert (Book) -- Ancient History Encyclopedia
http://www.ancientopedia.com/books/1846034736/
Persia Books
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Anchor (02 June 2009)Price: $17.82 -
Yale University Press (12 May 2009)Price: $21.45 -
Oxford University Press, USA (13 February 2010)Price: $13.57 -
Oxford University Press, USA (15 May 2008)Price: $8.66 -
Crown Business (01 June 2010)Price: $10.88
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