Achaemenids, ruling dynasty of Persia from about 550 BC to 330 BC. It was named for Achaemenes (Hakhamanish; flourished 7th century BC), a minor ruler of Anshan (in southwestern Iran), but the real founder of the dynasty was his great-great-grandson, Cyrus the Great, creator of the Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great (circa 600-529 BC), king of Persia (550-529 BC). He was the son of Cambyses I, a descendant of Achaemenes (Hakhamanish) (flourished 7th century BC), and a member of the Achaemenid dynasty. When Cyrus became (558 BC) ruler of the Persian district of Anshan, the district was subject to the Medes; five years later he led a rebellion against the Medes that resulted in the capture of King Astyages (reigned about 584-c. 550 BC) and the overthrow (550 BC) of the Median Empire. Thereafter Cyrus called himself king of Persia and ruled a territory extending from the Halys River in Asia Minor, eastern border of Lydia, to the Babylonian Empire on the south and east. Babylon, Egypt, Lydia, and the city-state of Sparta in Greece combined to curb the power of Cyrus, but in 546 BC the Persians added Lydia to their realm, and in 539 BC the kingdom of Babylon fell to Cyrus. The Persian Empire was the most powerful state in the world until its conquest two centuries later by Alexander the Great. Cyrus was an able and merciful ruler. Significant among his deeds was his granting of permission to the Jews to return from their exile in Babylon to their native Israel to rebuild the Temple of Solomon. Cyrus died while leading an expedition against the eastern tribe, the Massagetae, and was succeeded by his son, who became Cambyses II.

Above is a map how the Persian empire,(green area is Persia) and the Mesopotamia(yellow area is Mesopetamia) were.At that time Persepolis was the Capital city of Persia, nowdays there are ruins of the Persepolis.After some hundred years the city growed with outstanded regions and it was called Shiraz

Darius I, who ascended the throne in 521 BC, pushed the Persian borders as far eastward as the Indus River, had a canal constructed from the Nile to the Red Sea, and reorganized the entire empire, earning the title Darius the Great. From 499 to 493 BC he engaged in crushing a revolt of the Ionian Greeks living under Persian rule in Asia, and then launched a punitive campaign against the European Greeks for supporting the rebels. His forces were disastrously defeated by the Greeks at the historic Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Darius died while preparing a new expedition against the Greeks; his son and successor, Xerxes I, attempted to fulfill his plan but met defeat in the great sea engagement the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC and in two successive land battles in the following year. The forays of Xerxes were the last notable attempt at expansion of the Persian Empire. During the reign of Artaxerxes I), the second son of Xerxes, the Egyptians revolted, aided by the Greeks; although the revolt was finally suppressed in 446 BC, it signalized the first major assault against, and the beginning of the decline of, the Persian Empire.Picture above is Darius the Great and his son Xerxes 1

If you want to say some thing, just e-mail me at lightblue@hotmail.com

soon i will put more about other kings of Persia and culture,art and informations about the cities now and then.

who am I ?, I mean whos page is this ?

ok, my name is Shaman Mahmoudi, I am 19 years old. I am originally from the city Bushehr wich is located in the Fars province. About 4 hours car driving to south from Persepolis. I am from a people called Tangsir who are Persians.