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Ancient Persia

Soldiers from the Ten Thousand Immortals

Glazed tile relief showing soldiers from the Ten Thousand Immortals. This imperial guard was an elite force made up of trustworthy ethnic Persians. From the Achaemenid winter palace at Susa, Elam. 520-500 B.C. (Paris: Louvre)...

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Avesta

Avesta: the holy book of Zoroastrianism, the Iranian religion that was founded by the legendary Bactrian prophet Zarathustra. Like the Bible, the Avesta (sometimes incorrectly called Zend-Avesta) is actually a library, containing different sacred texts which were written during a very long period in different languages. A difference with the Bible ...

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Rulers and Dynasties of Persia (Iran)

The following is a timetable of rulers and dynasties that ruled over Iran. It has been tried to name all rulers of Iran from the period of the Medesto the present. The dates mentioned are the period that the person inquestion ruled over (some part of ) Iran. Therefore you will also find different persons during the same time period. They probably r...

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Cyrus the Great, The Phenomenon

Cyrus (Kourosh in Persian; Kouros in Greek) is regarded as one of the most outstanding figures in history. His success in creating and maintaining the Achaemenian Empire was the result of an intelligent blending of diplomatic and military skills and his rule was tempered with wisdom and tact. The Persians called him 'father'; the Greeks, whom he co...

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Phraortes

Phraortes (Old Persian FrÃ-da): son of Upadaranma, king of Media (522-521 BCE). The immediate cause of Phraortes' rebellion was the death of the Persian king Cambyses in the Spring of 522 and the usurpation of the throne by a Magian named GaumÃ-ta, who did not belong to the Achaemenid dynasty and may have been a Mede by birth. The adherents of the ...

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Xerxes II and Sogdianus

Xerxes II (Old Persian KhÅ¡ayÃ-rÅ¡Ã-) and Sogdianus: kings of the ancient Achaemenid empire. Xerxes ruled forty five days in the first months of 423 BCE; Sogdianus ruled for six months and fifteen days. Our only source for the reign of Xerxes II and Sogdianus is the Greek author Ctesias of Cnidus, one of the most unreliable writers from Antiquity. ...

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History of Alexander the Great

Alexander is born in Pella, the Macedonian capital, at about the time his father becomes king of Macedonia. Philip II's expansion of the kingdom, an unfolding saga of glory and excitement, is Alexander's boyhood. At an early age he proves himself well equipped to share in these military adventures. He is only sixteen when he is left in charge of Ma...

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Winged Creatures from Persepolis

Relief of winged creatures at the gate of Persepolis. Probably derived from Babylonian supernatural beings who guard the entrances to sacred places, and perhaps Babylonia is also the source for reconstituting the AchÃ"menid dynasty in terms of sacral kingship....

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Glazed tile relief from Palace at Susa

Glazed tile relief originally from the Persian winter palace at Susa, capital of Elam. 520-500 B.C. (Paris: Louvre). Another imperial guard. The light military dress was designed for offensive combat, to rush out to address crises within the far-flung Persian Empire....

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Daiva Inscription

Achaemend Royal Inscriptions: XPh ("Daiva Inscription") In ca.521, the Persian king Darius I the Great ordered that a new alphabet, the Aryan script, was to be developed. This was used for a small corpus of inscriptions, known as the Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions. One of the most important Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions is the "Daiva inscription". ...

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