The Persians, the ancient inhabitants of what is now Iran, created one of the largest and most powerful empires of the ancient world that flourished from 550 BC until 330 BC, at its height, the Persian Empire, also known as the Achaemenid Empire, extended from the eastern Mediterranean to the western border with... India, which included a variety of cultures and ethnic groups, was finally conquered by Alexander the Great during his conquest of Asia in the 4th century BC.

Persian origin

The Persians were a trotting people, they migrated from Central Asia to Western Asia around the year 1200 BC. And another tribe called Medes migrates with them around the seventh century BC, the Persian settled in the south of the present day Iran, while the Medes settled in the northwest of Iran.

The Persian established one of the largest and most powerful empires in history, and it ruled the first Persian empire, known as the Achaemenids. In present - day Iran and much of the Middle East.   .

Persia became the center and home of the Persian Empire, and it included the regions of Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of the countries of Africa, Europe, and South Asia, where the original home was bounded to the west by the Tigris River, and to the south by the Persian Gulf.

The Medes ruled Persia in about the year 600 BC, and they joined the Babylonians in a joint alliance to seize Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and established the Median Empire, then made Ecbatan, in the present-day province of Hamadan, their capital.

The first Median king, Diosis, united all the Medes when the Assyrians tried to invade them, and he became the king of all Medes between the years (678 - 665 BC).

After his death, his son, Frautus, became king. After his death, the Scythians attacked the Median Empire, and they were a nomadic people from Scythia.

But Sekhres, the son of King Frautus, was able to kill the Scythian ruler and became king of the Medes, and the Median empire reached its zenith during his rule, and after his death, his son, Astyages, was crowned king, and he was the last of the Median rulers.

Note: The Medes and Persians called their pan-region  the land of the Aryans, and the word Iran derives from that name.

The Achaemenid kingdom 

 

Cyrus the Great

The Ionian Greek states were the first areas that the Achaemenids added to their modern empire, and after Cyrus seized these countries, he turned his attention towards Babylon, and the people of Babylon were dissatisfied with their ruler Nabonidus, so this gave a reason for Cyrus to seize their state.

Many countries and kingdoms were subdued without a fight, as the peoples and armies did not mind the Achaemenids’ control over them, and Cyrus completed the conquest of Babylon in October 539 BC, and King Nabonidus was detained, and after the conquest of Babylon, Cyrus declared himself the king of Babylon, the king of Sumer and Akkad, and he owned of the four sides of the world and he wrote this declaration in Akkadian cuneiform on a cylindrical cylinder known as (Cyrus-Cyli), and the remains of this cylinder are still preserved in the British Museum.

Cyrus' conquest of Babylon

As Cyrus vowed in his cylinder to respect the people of Babylon, and since he liberated the incarcerated Jews to be returned to their homeland after Babylonian captivity, he was considered as the legitimate successor of the ancient Babylonian kings and became popular in Babylon itself, in contrast to Nabonidus.

The old Testament praised him, the Jews praise him, because he brought them back to their countries and gave them to renovate the building, the roses, and the looted jewels of the temple stored in the treasuries of the kings of Babylon

Prior to capturing the city, Cyrus achieved a decisive victory at the Battle of Opis against Nabonidus, King of Babylon, it was widely known that the Babylonians were dissatisfied with their rule, which Cyrus used as a pretext for his invasion. he marched his army towards the ancient capital city to complete his conquest, the walls of Babylon were believed to be impregnable by most, as the city was surrounded by water from the Euphrates River, the Persian army came up with a clever plan to divert the river further upstream, dropping the water level down to a more manageable depth, according to legend, the city's inhabitants were so distracted by a religious feast that the Persian soldiers were able to wade the river completely unnoticed, they apparently tunneled underneath the walls and took the city without a fight.     

the Persian painting victory