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The Persian Empire is the name given to a series of dynasties centered in modern-day Iran that spanned several centuries—from the sixth century B.C. to the 20th century A.D.
The empires of ancient Persia were the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE), the Parthian Empire (247 BCE-224 CE), and the Sassanian Empire (224-651 CE). Between the Achaemenid and Parthian empire was the reign of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire (312-63 BCE).
The history of Iran (or Persia, as it was known in the Western world) is intertwined with Greater Iran, a sociocultural region spanning from Anatolia to the Indus River and from the Caucasus to the Persian Gulf. Central to this area is modern-day Iran, which covers the bulk of the Iranian plateau.
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, [16] also known as the Persian Empire [16] or First Persian Empire [17] (/ ə ˈ k iː m ə n ɪ d /; Old Persian: 𐎧𐏁𐏂, Xšāça, lit. 'The Empire' [18] or 'The Kingdom' [19]), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC.
A Persia timeline showing major events in the ancient history of the empire of Persia (modern Iran) from 3400 B.C.E. to 641-42 C.E.
The Persian Empire, also known as the Achaemenid Empire, lasted from approximately 559 B.C.E. to 331 B.C.E. At its height, it encompassed the areas of modern-day Iran, Egypt, Turkey, and parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Persian Empire, established by Cyrus the Great in the mid-6th century BC, stands as one of history’s most formidable and extensive empires, influencing cultures, politics, and societies far beyond its geographical boundaries.
Persia had been the first real empire, an empire with an organizational structure developed from a realistic idea of how to govern different subject peoples. It defined the role of an emperor and set a template for future empires from the Romans to the British.
During the rule of the Persian Achaemenian dynasty (559–330 bc), the ancient Greeks first encountered the inhabitants of Persis on the Iranian plateau, when the Achaemenids—natives of Persis—were expanding their political sphere.
Dominating the major travel routes between East and West, it was the meeting ground of the great cultures of the ancient world. Here is the history of the crucial period from Cyrus’ extension of Persian rule to Greece to the burning of Persepolis itself by Alexander the Great.