Achaemenid Empire

550-330 BC5.5 million km2Cyrus the Great

RegionPersia

Period550-330 BC

Peak Size5.5 million km2

Founded ByCyrus the Great

About Achaemenid Empire

The first Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus who conquered Babylon. The Royal Road stretched 2,700 km with posting stations every 25 km. Cyrus freed the Jews from Babylonian captivity, praised in the Bible. Darius built Persepolis with workers from across the empire. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.

Related Empires

Sassanid Empire

224-651 AD3.5

The last pre-Islamic Persian Empire. Fought Rome and Byzantium for 400 years. Center of learning bef...