The Persian Empire

The story of the Persian Empire is the story of the Achaemenid Dynasty. Descended from Achaemenes, a minor ruler from a mountainous district of Southwest Iran, the Achaemenids came into power in 546 B.C. when Cyrus I — later known as Cyrus the Great — established the Persian Empire. In this volume, J. M. Cook chronicles the battles, marriages, schemes, and accomplishments of Cyrus’ twelve descendent rulers until 330 B.C. when Darius III died in his flight from Alexander the Great. Drawing on a wealth of material from the writings of Herodotus, the Greek historian, to cuneiform documents and inscriptions on the tombs of these great leaders, Cook carefully draws the line between conjecture and fact. The modern literature on the Achaemenid Dynasty has doubled in recent years, thanks partly to the interest aroused by the 2,500th anniversary of Cyrus the Great, and the publication of the Persepolis Fortification Tablets.The Achaemenids were known for their development of government administration, the appearance of literature written in cuneiform, and the spread of Zoroastrianism. During the reign of the Achaemenid Dynasty, there was also a great flourishing of Persian art and architecture. The author examines the remains of this work in detail, and to help the reader’s understanding, has included a generous sampling of maps, instructive diagrams, and floor plans.