Civilization · 550 BCE – 651 CE
Persian Empire
The Achaemenid, Parthian and Sasanian Persias were among the ancient world's greatest states.
Capital: Persepolis, Susa, Ctesiphon · Middle East (West Asia)
Overview
The Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus and Darius was the first empire to unite the Near East from the Aegean to the Indus. Successive Parthian and Sasanian dynasties kept a Persian imperial tradition alive for over a millennium.
Timeline
- 550 BCECyrus the Great founds the Achaemenid Empire
- 522 – 486 BCEDarius I organizes the empire into satrapies
- 330 BCEAlexander overthrows Darius III
- 247 BCE – 224 CEParthian Empire
- 224 – 651 CESasanian Empire
- 651Arab conquest
Rulers
Founder; famous for tolerance
Organizer of the imperial administration
Invader of Greece
Sasanian king who captured a Roman emperor
Wars & conflicts
- Greco-Persian Wars
- Roman-Parthian Wars
- Roman-Sasanian Wars
Architecture
Apadana halls, monumental staircases, cylinder seals, fire temples.
Religion
Zoroastrianism, one of the earliest monotheistic-leaning faiths.
Economy
Royal Road, standardized coinage, tribute from satrapies.
Technology
Qanat irrigation, cavalry warfare, imperial postal system.
Art
Reliefs of tribute-bearers at Persepolis, silverwork, textiles.
Influence
Model for later empires; Zoroastrian ideas shaped Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Decline
Achaemenid: Alexander. Sasanian: exhausted by war with Byzantium, overrun by Arab armies.
Key sites
- Persepolis
- Pasargadae
- Ctesiphon
- Bishapur
- Naqsh-e Rustam