State

Achaemenid Empire

Iranian (Persian) empire (550–330 BC)

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This boundary
550–330 BCE
Founded
550 BCE
Ended
330 BCE
Capital
Babylon, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Susa, Ecbatana
Government
monarchy, theocracy
Religion
Zoroastrianism, Babylonian religion, religion of ancient Egypt
Preceded by
Median KingdomNeo-Babylonian EmpireLydiaTwenty-sixth Dynasty of EgyptMassagetaeSogdiaGandhara KingdomNeo-Elamite period
Succeeded by
MacedoniaTwenty-eighth Dynasty of EgyptSogdia

Overview

The Achaemenid Empire (, ə-KEE-mə-nid; Old Persian: 𐎧𐏁𐏂, Xšāça, lit. 'The Empire' or 'The Kingdom') was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. At peak, its territorial extent was roughly 5.5 million square kilometres (2.1 million square miles), making it the largest empire of its time. Based in the Iranian plateau, it stretched from the Balkans and Cyrenaica in the west to the Indus Valley in the east, including Anatolia, Cyprus, Mesopotamia, the Levant, the South Caucasus, parts of Eastern Arabia, and large parts of Central Asia.

Excerpt from Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

All rulers (14)

  1. Cyrus the Great559–530 BCE
  2. Cambyses II530–522 BCE
  3. Darius I522–486 BCE
  4. Bardiya522 BCE
  5. Xerxes I486–465 BCE
  6. Xerxes II424 BCE
  7. Sogdianus424–423 BCE
  8. Darius II423 BCE
  9. Arses338–336 BCE
  10. Darius III336–330 BCE
  11. Musa of ParthiaRegent / co-ruler2 BCE – 4 CE
  12. Gondophares19–49 CE
  13. Kavad I488–496 CE
  14. Kavad I498–531 CE

Records (49)

  1. 547 BCE — Battle of PteriaBattle · Persia ▸ Lydia
  2. 541 BCE — Gedrosian campaignCampaign
  3. 539 BCE — Fall of BabylonBattle
  4. 522 BCE — Battle of SikayauvatishBattle
  5. 522–520 BCE — Achaemenid Civil WarWar
  6. 513 BCE — European Scythian campaign of Darius IWar
  7. 499–493 BCE — Ionian RevoltWar
  8. 498 BCE — Battle of EphesusBattle · Persia ▸ Athens, Ionian Greek Cities
  9. 497 BCE — Battle of Salamis of CyprusNaval battle
  10. 497 BCE — Battle of Salamis, CyprusBattle · Persia ▸ Prince Onesilus of Cyprus
  11. 492–490 BCE — First Persian invasion of GreeceWar
  12. 490 BCE — Battle of MarathonBattle
  13. 490 BCE — Siege of NaxosSiege
  14. 480 BCE — Battle of SalamisNaval battle
  15. 480 BCE — Battle of ArtemisiumNaval battle
  16. 480–479 BCE — Second Persian invasion of GreeceWar
  17. 480 BCE — Siege of PotidaeaSiege
  18. 480 BCE — Siege of OlynthusSiege
  19. 479–478 BCE — Siege of SestosSiege
  20. 479 BCE — Battle of MycaleBattle · Greece, Ionian Allies ▸ Persia
  21. 478 BCE — Siege of ByzantiumSiege
  22. 477 BCE — Siege of EionSiege
  23. 471 BCE — Battle of DipaeaBattle · Sparta ▸ Arcadia
  24. 466 BCE — Battle of EurymedonBattle · Athens ▸ Persia
  25. 465 BCE — Battle of DrabescusBattle · Thrace ▸ Athens
  26. 465 BCE — Battle of ThasosBattle · Athens ▸ Thasos
  27. 459 BCE — Battle of PapremisBattle · Athens ▸ Persia
  28. 450 BCE — Battle of Salamis of CyprusNaval battle
  29. 450 BCE — Siege of KitionSiege
  30. 450 BCE — Battle of Salamis, CyprusBattle · Athens ▸ Phoenicia, Cilicia
  31. 431–404 BCE — Peloponnesian WarWar
  32. 409 BCE — Battle of EphesusBattle
  33. 401–391 BCE — Amyrtaeus UprisingRebellion
  34. 401 BCE — Battle of CunaxaBattle · Atarxerxes ▸ Cyrus
  35. 399–387 BCE — Spartan–Persian WarWar
  36. 395–387 BCE — Corinthian WarWar
  37. 395 BCE — Battle of SardisBattle
  38. 390–380 BCE — Cyprus War (390–380 BC)War
  39. 387 BCE — Peace of AntalcidasTreaty
  40. 385 BCE — Cadusian campaign of Artaxerxes IICampaign
  41. 385–342 BCE — Achaemenid campaigns in Egypt (385–342 BC)Campaign
  42. 366–360 BCE — Revolt of the SatrapsRebellion
  43. 340–339 BCE — Siege of PerinthusSiege
  44. 334 BCE — Battle of the GranicusBattle
  45. 332 BCE — Siege of TyreBattle
  46. 331 BCE — Battle of GaugamelaBattle
  47. 330 BCE — Battle of the Persian Gate on the MountainBattle
  48. 329 BCE — Battle of JaxartesBattle · Macedonia ▸ Scythians
  49. 1848–1849 — Battle of Fort TabarsiBattle

Facts from Wikidata (CC0), HCED (CC0) and Cliopatria (CC BY 4.0); overview excerpted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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