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Ancient Persia

Darius the Great

History of Iran: Darius the Great Darius I Hystaspes, or Darius the Great, king of Persia [522-486 BCE]. Through his father Hystaspes, Darius belonged to the Achaemenid family, as did Cyrus The Great and his son Cambyses II, but to a different branch of this family. When Cambyses was in Egypt, during the last year of his reign, a certain Gaumata u...

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Darius III Codomannus

Darius III Codomannus - Last Achaemenid Great King of Persia In 331 BC the Persian King Darius III suffered his shattering defeat by Alexander the Great at the battle of Gaugamela. In the aftermath Darius was murdered by his kinsmen. With his death ended the Achaemenid dynasty which had reigned supreme over the Ancient world for more than two cent...

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Seleucid Empire

History of Iran: Seleucid Empire The Hellenistic period is one of the most controversial in the history of Iran. The Greek or Macedonian dynasties were never fully accepted as more than occupants, and in hindsight their reign has been neglected. In the West, where the Hellenistic kings were defeated by Rome, most historians tend to look down on th...

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Persepolis Lion's head

Lion's head from top of a column at Persepolis....

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Iran Before the Iranians

The Elamite civilization in Iran, first developed in the Susian plain, under the influence of nearby Sumeria and Mesopotamia in the Tigris-Euphrates valley. Around 3500 B.C., animal drawn wheeled carts were in use in Sumeria. They also used ploughs to till their land, and oars to propel their ships on the Euphrates river. The Sumerians were the mos...

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Catholic Encyclopedia: Persia

The history, religion, and civilization of Persia are offshoots from those of Media. Both Medes and Persians are Aryans; the Aryans who settled in the southern part of the Iranian plateau became known as Persians, while those of the mountain regions of the north-west were called Medes. The Medes were at first the leading nation, but towards the mid...

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CIA - The World Factbook: Iran

Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and the shah was forced into exile... Conservative clerical forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority vested in a learned religious scholar referred to commonly as the Supreme Leader who, accordin...

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Cyrus Takes Babylon: Herodotus

The Histories by the Greek researcher Herodotus of Halicarnassus (fifth century BCE) are the world's first historical study. The account of the Fall of Babylon -which is here presented in the translation by George Rawlinson- proves beyond all reasonable doubt that the author never spoke a Babylonian about the event. Only two details he has right: t...

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Persian Empire

The later years of the Achaemenid dynasty were marked by decay and decadence. The mightiest empire in the world collapsed in only eight years, when it fell under the attack of a young Macedonian king, Alexander the Great....

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Glory of Persia - Five Stages of Iran History

When it comes to the history of Iran, you will find five distinct stages which shaped the future of the country. Those broad stages often include the early, pre-historic, the pre-Islamic statehood, the Middle Ages, the early modern era, and modern day (recent history)....

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