Achaemenid Empire

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Achaemenid Empire
?????? Xassa
[The] Empire[1]
550 BC330 BC
Flag
Standard of Cyrus the Great

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent,

under the rule of Darius I (522 BC to 486 BC)
Capital Babylon[2] (main capital), Pasargadae, Ecbatana, Susa, Persepolis
Languages Old Persian[a]
Aramaic[b]
Babylonian[3]
Median
Greek[4]
Elamite[5]
Sumerian[c]
Religion Zoroastrianism, Babylonian religion[6]
Government Absolute Monarchy
King (xaya?iya) or King of Kings (xaya?iya xaya?iyanam)
559529 BC Cyrus the Great
336330 BC Darius III
Historical era Classical antiquity
Persian Revolt 550 BC
Conquest of Lydia 547 BC
Conquest of Babylon 539 BC
Conquest of Egypt 525 BC
Greco-Persian Wars 499449 BC
Corinthian War 395387 BC
Peace of Antalcidas 387 BC
Fall to Macedonia 330 BC
Area
500 BC[7][8] 5,500,000 km2 (2,100,000 sq mi)
Population
500 BC est.[9] 17 million to 35 million
Currency Daric, siglos
Preceded by Succeeded by
Median Empire
Neo-Babylonian Empire
Lydia
Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt
Gandhara Kingdom
Sogdia
Massagetae
Macedonian Empire
Twenty-eighth Dynasty of Egypt
a. ^ Native language.
b. ^ Official language and lingua franca.[10]
c. ^ Literary language in Babylonia.
The Achaemenid Empire (?'ki?m?n?d; c. 550330 BC), also called the First Persian
Empire,[11] was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great.
Ranging at its greatest extent from the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper in the
west to the Indus Valley in the east, it was one of the largest empires in history,
spanning 5.5 million square kilometers, and was larger than any previous empire in
history. It is equally notable for its successful model of a centralised,
bureaucratic administration (through satraps under the King of Kings), for building
infrastructure such as road systems and a postal system, the use of an official
language across its territories, and the development of civil services and a large
professional army. The empire's successes inspired similar systems in later
empires.[12] It is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-
states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles
in Babylon.

By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the southwestern portion of the
Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis,[13] which came to be their heartland.[14]
From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Lydia, and the Neo-
Babylonian Empire, establishing the Achaemenid Empire. Alexander the Great, an avid
admirer of Cyrus the Great,[15] conquered most of the empire by 330 BC.[16] Upon
his death, most of the empire's former territory came under the rule of the
Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire, in addition to other minor territories which
gained independence at that time. The Iranian population of the central plateau
reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire.[14]

The historical mark of the Achaemenid Empire went far beyond its territorial and
military influences and included cultural, social, technological and religious
influences as well. Many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their daily lives
in a reciprocal cultural exchange,[17] some being employed by or allied to the
Persian kings. The impact of Cyrus's edict is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts,
and the empire was instrumental in the spread of Zoroastrianism as far east as
China. The empire also set the tone for the politics, heritage and history of
modern Iran.[18]

Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Achaemenid timeline
1.2 Origin
1.3 Formation and expansion
1.4 Greco-Persian Wars
1.5 Cultural phase
1.6 Second conquest of Egypt
1.7 Fall of the empire
1.8 Descendants in later Iranian dynasties
1.9 Causes of decline
2 Government
3 Military
3.1 Military composition
3.2 Infantry
3.3 Cavalry
3.4 Navy
4 Culture
4.1 Languages
4.2 Customs
4.3 Religion
4.4 Art and architecture
4.5 Tombs
5 Legacy
6 Achaemenid kings and rulers
6.1 Unattested
6.2 Attested
7 Gallery
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 Sources
12 External links
History[edit]
Achaemenid timeline[edit]
Astronomical year numbering

Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details

Due to the short duration of their reigns, Smerdis (522 BC), Xerxes II and
Sogdianus (both in 424 BC) are not shown.
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Origin[edit]
Main articles Achaemenes, Teispids, and Achaemenid family tree
The Persian nation contains a number of tribes as listed here. ... the Pasargadae,
Maraphii, and Maspii, upon which all the other tribes are dependent. Of these, the
Pasargadae are the most distinguished; they contain the clan of the Achaemenids
from which spring the Perseid kings. Other tribes are the Panthialaei, Derusiaei,
Germanii, all of which are attached to the soil, the remainder -the Dai, Mardi,
Dropici, Sagarti, being nomadic.

?Herodotus, Histories 1.101 & 125

Relief of Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae.

The Achaemenid Empire was created by nomadic Persians. The name Persia is a Greek
and Latin pronunciation of the native word referring to the country of the people
originating from Persis (Old Persian Parsa), their home territory located north of
the Persian Gulf in southwestern Iran.[19]

The Achaemenid Empire was not the first Iranian empire, as by 6th century BC
another group of ancient Iranian peoples had already established the short lived
Median Empire.[19] The Medes had originally been the dominant Iranian group in the
region, freeing themselves of Assyrian domination and rising to power at the end of
the seventh century BC, incorporating the Persians into their empire.

The Iranian peoples had arrived in the region of what is today Iran c. 1000 BC[20]
and had for a number of centuries fallen under the domination of the Neo-Assyrian
Empire (911609 BC), based in northern Mesopotamia. However, the Medes and Persians
(together with the Scythians, Babylonians), Cimmerians, Persians and Chaldeans
played a major role in the overthrow of the Assyrian empire and establishment of
the first Persian empire.

The term Achaemenid means of the family of the AchaemenisAchaemenes (Old

Persian ?????????????? Haxamani;[21] a bahuvrihi compound translating to having a
friend's mind).[22] Despite the derivation of the name, Achaemenes was himself a
minor seventh-century ruler of the Anshan in southwestern Iran, and a vassal of
Assyria.[19] It was not until the time of the emperor Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II of
Persia), a descendant of Achaemenes, that the Achaemenid Empire developed the
prestige of an empire and set out to incorporate the existing empires of the
ancient east, becoming the vast Persian Empire of ancient legend.