Persian Empire

The Persian Empire was a succession of Iranian empires that ruled much of Western Asia, including the Achaemenid Empire, which fought Greek states in the fifth century BCE.

Achaemenid Empire: The first Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great and ruled from about 550 to 330 BCE. Its administration and wars with Greek states define the best-known phase of Persian imperial power.
Cyrus the Great: The founder of the Achaemenid Empire, who conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylon in the sixth century BCE. His conquests transformed a Persian kingdom into an empire spanning much of Western Asia.
Xerxes I: Achaemenid king from 486 to 465 BCE who led the invasion of Greece in 480 BCE. His reign brought the empire into its most famous confrontation with Greek city-states.
Greco-Persian Wars: A series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek states, especially from 499 to 449 BCE. These wars are the central military encounters behind the empire’s place in Greek historical memory.
Satrapy: A provincial division governed by a satrap in several ancient empires, especially the Achaemenid Empire. Satrapies let Persian kings govern extensive territories through appointed regional authorities.
Median Empire: An ancient Iranian kingdom that dominated parts of the Iranian plateau before its conquest by Cyrus the Great. Cyrus’s takeover of Media supplied a major foundation for Achaemenid expansion.
Themistocles: An Athenian statesman and general who helped organize Greek naval resistance to Xerxes’ invasion. His strategy at Salamis helped defeat the Persian fleet in 480 BCE.
Athenian Empire: The maritime alliance led by Athens that developed into an Athenian-dominated empire in the fifth century BCE. Athenian power grew partly through the same Greek resistance to Persia that its histories celebrate.
Royal Road: An imperial route linking Susa and Sardis, used for communication and travel under the Achaemenids. Its stations and couriers helped the Achaemenid administration communicate across long distances.
Elam: An ancient civilization in southwestern Iran, centered around Susa and predating the Persian Empire. Achaemenid rulers inherited Susa and drew on the region’s older political and artistic traditions.

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