The Persians

The Persians first settled in what’s today called Iran about three thousand years ago from lands further north, along with the Medes, who made their home near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. The Medes were originally allied with the Assyrians for self-protection, only to switch sides and sack Nineveh in 612 BC, which ended the Assyrians forever.

The greatest leader the Persians had was called Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II to be exact) who took over the whole region after ending the Medes’ control of the area and thus ending the Median Kingdom. Cyrus advanced west and took over a huge chuck of land in Asia Minor and in Lydia that we call today Turkey. This advance involved taking over cities which paid tribute to Greece. The advances then turned east and the regions near the Caspian Sea and further still towards the River Indus were taken. Cyrus died in battle trying to take over parts of Central Asia.

Cyrus II had long intended to invade Egypt and it was his son, Cambyses II, who performed a complete conquest of Egypt in 525 BC. An unprecedented feat in this country’s history. Attempts to expand further into Africa did not go to plan and Cambyses soon had more pressing matters closer to home. Cambyses died without leaving an heir to continue his reign. Darius was confirmed as the new king after he claimed he was descended from the Achaemenids. His rule was not accepted by everyone and for two years he had to quell a series of rebellions. Darius made modest advances on the size of the Empire before restructuring its administration.

The conquered people still living on Persian land were treated better by the Persians than the Assyrians had done in similar circumstances. Old religious rites were permitted and native customs respected. Important roads were built to allow passage across the Empire. A legacy of this time is money, which was a Lydian idea. Gold coins were the currency.

The Persian Empire, under Darius, became the World’s largest empire at the time and Darius himself travelled as far as the River Danube. His army was defeated, though, in the Battle of Marathon. Xerxes, son of Darius, succeeded him, though his military campaigns were disasters. The Persian militia concentrated solely on its cavalry at the expense of its infantry. The hoplites were the cream of the Greek Army and suffered little at the hands of the Persian infantry. The Persian Empire was destroyed by Alexander the Great (Of Macedon) in a ten-year campaign ending in 324 BC.

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