Empire of Persia

Empire Of Persia

History of Iran
Proto-Elamite 3200–2700 BCE
Elam 2700–539 BCE
Mannaeans 850–616 BCE
Median Empire 678–550 BCE
(Scythian Kingdom 652–625 BCE)
Achaemenid Empire 550–330 BCE
Seleucid Empire 312–63 BCE
Parthian Empire 247 BCE–224 CE
Sassanid Empire 224–651
Umayyad Caliphate 661–750
Abbasid Caliphate 750–1258
Ziyarid Dynasty
928–1043
Saffarid Dynasty
867–1002
Buyid Dynasty
934–1055
Samanid Dynasty
875–999
Ghaznavid Empire 963–1186
Great Seljuq Empire 1037–1194
Khwarazmian Empire 1077–1231
Ilkhanate Empire 1256–1335
Chobanid Dynasty
1335–1357
Muzaffarid Dynasty
1335–1393
Jalayirid Dynasty
1336–1432
Sarbadars
1337–1376
Timurid Empire 1370–1405
Qara Qoyunlu
1406–1468
Timurid Dynasty
1405–1507
Agh Qoyunlu
1468–1508
Safavid Empire 1501–1736
(Hotaki Dynasty 1722–1729)
Afsharid Empire 1736–1747
Zand Dynasty
1760–1794
Afsharid Dynasty
1747–1796
Qajar Empire 1796–1925
Pahlavi Dynasty 1925–1979
Interim Government 1979–1980
Islamic Republic 1980–present
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Timeline of Iranian history
Economic history
Education history
Military history
Naval history

The Achaemenid Persian Empire ( /əˈkiːmənɪd/; Old Persian: Parsā, name of ruling dynasty: Haxāmanišiya) (c. 550–330 BCE), also known as the First Persian Empire or First Iranian Empire, was a Persian empire in Western Asia, founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation. The dynasty draws its name from king Achaemenes, who ruled Persia between 705 BC and 675 BC. The empire expanded to eventually rule over significant portions of the ancient world which at around 500 BCE stretched from the Indus Valley in the east, to Thrace and Macedon on the northeastern border of Greece, making it the biggest empire the world had yet seen. The Achaemenid Empire would eventually control Egypt as well. It was ruled by a series of monarchs who unified its disparate tribes and nationalities by constructing a complex network of roads.

Calling themselves the Pars after their original Aryan tribal name Parsa, Persians settled in a land which they named Parsua (Persis in Greek), bounded on the west by the Tigris River and on the south by the Persian Gulf. This became their heartland for the duration of the Achaemenid Empire. It was from this region that eventually Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II of Persia) would advance to defeat the Median, the Lydian,and the Babylonian Empires, opening the way for subsequent conquests into Egypt and Asia Minor.

At the height of its power after the conquest of Egypt, the empire encompassed approximately 8 million km2 spanning three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. At its greatest extent, the empire included the modern territories of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, all significant population centers of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya, Turkey, Thrace and Macedonia, much of the Black Sea coastal regions, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, much of Central Asia, Afghanistan, northern Saudi Arabia and parts of western Pakistan. It is noted in Western history as the antagonist foe of the Greek city states during the Greco-Persian Wars, for emancipation of slaves including the Jewish people from their Babylonian captivity, and for instituting infrastructures such as a postal system, road systems, and the usage of an official language throughout its territories. The empire had a centralised, bureaucratic administration under the Emperor and a large professional army and civil services, inspiring similar developments in later empires.

The Empire's vast size and its extraordinary ethnocultural diversity are traditionally thought to have been its undoing. The delegation of power to local governments eventually weakened the king's central authority, causing resources to be expended in attempts to subdue local rebellions. This accounts for the dis-unification of the region by the time Alexander the Great invaded Persia in 334 BCE.

This viewpoint however is challenged by some modern scholars who argue that the Achaemenid Empire was not facing any such crisis around the time of Alexander, and that only internal succession struggles within the Achaemenid family ever came close to weakening the Empire. Alexander, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, would eventually cause the collapse of the empire and its disintegration around 330 BCE into what later became the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire, in addition to other minor territories which gained independence at that time. The Iranian Culture of the central plateau, however, continued to thrive and eventually reclaimed power by the 2nd century BCE.

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, some being employed by, or allied to the Persian kings. The impact of Cyrus the Great's Edict of Restoration is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts and the empire was instrumental in the spread of Zoroastrianism as far east as China. Even Alexander the Great, the man who would set out to conquer this vast empire, would respect its customs, by enforcing respect for the royal Persian kings including Cyrus the Great, and even by appearing in proskynesis, a Persian royal custom, despite stern Macedonian disapproval. The Persian empire would also set the tone for the politics, heritage and history of modern Persia (now called Iran). The influence also encompasses Persia's previous territories collectively referred to as the Greater Iran. A notable engineering achievement is the Qanat water management system, the oldest and longest of which is older than 3000 years and longer than 44 miles (71 km).

In 480 BCE, it is estimated that 50 million people lived in the Achaemenid Empire or about 44% of the world's population at the time, making it the largest empire by population percentage.

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Famous quotes containing the words empire of, empire and/or persia:

    Every man is the lord of a realm beside which the earthly empire of the Czar is but a petty state, a hummock left by the ice.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    It is said that the British Empire is very large and respectable, and that the United States are a first-rate power. We do not believe that a tide rises and falls behind every man which can float the British Empire like a chip, if he should ever harbor it in his mind.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    Life is a long Dardenelles, My Dear Madam, the shores whereof are bright with flowers, which we want to pluck, but the bank is too high; & so we float on & on, hoping to come to a landing-place at last—but swoop! we launch into the great sea! Yet the geographers say, even then we must not despair, because across the great sea, however desolate & vacant it may look, lie all Persia & the delicious lands roundabout Damascus.
    Herman Melville (1819–1891)