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Ancient Persia

The Cyrus Cylinder

Text. The Cyrus Cylinder, discovered in 1879 and now in the British Museum, is one of the most famous cuneiform texts, because it was once believed that it confirmed what the Bible says (Isaiah 44.23-45.8; Ezra 1.1-6, 6.1-5; 2 Chronicles 36.22-23): that in 539 BCE, the Persian conqueror Cyrus the Great had allowed the Jews to return from their Ba...

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Persia History Timeline

Achaemenid Persia. Persian Timeline...

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Parthian Kings

Parthian Kings were rulers of the Parthian Empire, which existed from 247 BC to 224 AD. The Parthian Empire was located in ancient Persia and was known for its skilled cavalry and military tactics. The Parthian Kings were of the Arsacid dynasty and ruled over a vast territory that stretched from the Euphrates River to the Hindu Kush mountains. Som...

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Artaxerxes IV Arses

Artaxerxes IV (old-Persian Artakhšaça): name of a Achaemenid king of the Persian empire, ruled 338-336. His real name was Arses.Arses was a son of the Persian king Artaxerxes III Ochus (358-338), and succeeded his father. According to a Greek source, Diodorus of Sicily, the powerful eunuch Bagoas poisoned many members of the royal family, but a c...

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Xerxes I

Xerxes I , was a Persian king (reigned 485 - 465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. "Xerxes" is the Greek transliteration of the Persian throne name Khshayarsha or Khsha-yar-shan, meaning "ruler of heroes.". In the Hebrew Bible, the Persian king à çùåøù Aḥashverosh (Ahasuerus in Greek) probably corresponds to Xerxes I....

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The Death of Darius III

In the early Summer of 330, Alexander hunted down the Persian king Darius III Codomannus. His courtiers arrested, perhaps because they thought that extraditing him would guarantee their own lives, or perhaps because they wanted to choose a new, stronger king. However, Alexander was too close to deliberate, and when the first Macedonian horsemen app...

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Tomb of Cyrus the Great (c. 550-529)

Near his palace at PasargadÃ". Cyrus, founder of the Persian Empire, won independence from the Media and expanded his control to Mesopotamia. He drew from Mesopotamia some ideological elements for a reconstructed monarchy. Tombs are above ground to prevent the corpse's being defiled....

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Head from a statue of an archer

From the walls of the palace at Persepolis. Typical AchÃ"menid aesthetic interest in repeated patterns....

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The Cyrus Cylinder - Translation

The Cyrus Cylinder was discovered in 1879 and rapidly became one of the most famous cuneiform texts, as it seemed to confirm that the Persian conqueror Cyrus the Great had allowed the Jews to return from their Babylonian Exile. Although this is a bit exaggerated (more...), it remains an interesting text....

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A Chronology of Persian History

From the dawn of history Persia has preserved its individuality while influencing the art, architecture and culture of other countries. This chronology catalogues and compares Iran's colourful history with that of the rest of the world from 4000 BC to modern times....

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