THE GREATS Of 

ANCIENT PERSIA

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Creating an Empire: Cyrus the Great

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EARLY LIFE

Around 590 B.C.E., the dry Persian wind blew gently outside. A father looked down at his newborn son. The baby was small, but his cries were loud and strong. The father, Cambyses, said a silent prayer to the gods and named the boy Cyrus.

The boy came from a long line of chiefs. His father ruled a kingdom in the heart of Persia called Anshan. Cyrus loved his homeland, but there was a problem: Anshan was under the control of another, more powerful kingdom.

Although Cyrus’s father ruled Anshan, he had to obey Astyages, the mighty king of Media.

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Cyrus was no stranger to Astyages. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Cyrus had spent time in the Median king’s court as a boy. Years later, their paths crossed again on the battlefield. Cyrus was determined to claim Astyages’s crown for himself.

REBELLION

Persian soldiers marched into battle against the mighty Median army. During one of these clashes, Cyrus saw crowds of the opposing troops running toward him. But they weren’t coming to fight; they were coming to join him. The Median soldiers had deserted Astyages. Cyrus knew the final victory was his.

The Achaemenid Empire was born.

EMPIRE AND CONQUEST

Being an emperor was no easy task. Messengers from the west brought news of a new threat to Cyrus’s budding empire: Croesus, the king of Lydia, had invaded.

Even with his army of Medes and Persians, Cyrus was outnumbered. His hope rested on his soldiers’ loyalty to him.

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Cyrus knew that horses were terrified of camels and the smell of camel pee. He used that knowledge to his advantage. So, when the Lydian king attacked, Cyrus had a small army of camels ready. As the sun set, he hadn’t won—but he hadn’t lost either.

The Lydians fled, embarrassed, but the king was already plotting his next attack, ready to take on Cyrus once more.

But Cyrus had other plans.

The Persians surprised the Lydian king and chased his forces down before they could reach safety. Again, Cyrus and his army’s use of camels proved their military cleverness. The Lydians didn’t just retreat this time—they fled once and for all.

BABYLON

Cyrus’s next target was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world: Babylon. Within the massive mud-brick walls, the people had grown tired of their king. They grumbled that their ruler treated them terribly and disrespected their gods. Stories of Cyrus had begun to spread

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These stories claimed that Cyrus had been chosen by their chief god, Marduk, to overthrow their king and bring peace to Babylonia. They also heard tales that Cyrus was not a cruel conqueror but a fair one.

Greek writers reported that Cyrus, after he had defeated the Median king Astyages, was expected to execute his captive. But at the last moment, Cyrus changed his mind.

He let Astyages live.

Then Cyrus captured the capital of the Lydian Empire, Sardis. According to Greek legend, Cyrus also spared the life of the Lydian king, Croesus, and appointed him as one of his advisors. Cyrus let the local officials keep their jobs and allowed the people to practice their own traditions. He even began wearing some of their traditional clothing.

By the time Cyrus defeated the Babylonian army, the people inside the city had no intention of fighting. As Cyrus’s forces marched up to the capital, the citizens flung open the gates.

Sure enough, Cyrus lived up to his reputation. According to the Bible, he freed the Jews who had been held captive in Babylonia. He showed respect to the Babylonian gods. He gave the people easier work than the old king, and he welcomed back those who had been cast out of their homeland.

CYRUS THE GREAT

By the time King Cyrus II died in 530 B.C.E., he was known as “Cyrus the Great.” He left behind a massive empire and fabulous riches. But more importantly, he left a legacy of tolerance and strength. As subjects from around the empire mourned their leader’s death, Cyrus’s oldest son, Cambyses II, was crowned the next King of kings.

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Building an Empire: Darius the Great

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KINGLESS

In 522 B.C.E., the Achaemenid Empire was thrown into chaos. That summer, King Cambyses II died under mysterious circumstances. Was it murder or an accident?

After Cambyses’s death, his younger brother, Bardiya, claimed the crown, but revolts were springing up. Other men across the empire claimed they were the rightful king. Among them was a man named Darius. His father had served as a satrap—a type of governor—under Cyrus the Great and Cambyses II.

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Darius himself had served in their armies. He was also distantly related to Cambyses II.

Darius believed he was the rightful ruler and had quite a story to prove it. He said that the man sitting on the throne was not Bardiya at all. He was an imposter, pretending to be the son of Cyrus the Great. Without waiting to see whether anyone believed him, Darius killed the man on the throne and took the crown for himself.

THE FIRST YEARS

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Not everyone accepted Darius’s claim to power. Revolts continued across the empire. As the self-proclaimed king, Darius now had to deal with the uprisings. He knew just the men to call: the 10,000 Immortals. They were the king’s elite bodyguards and strike force. They had existed only since Cyrus’s time, but every enemy of the empire lived in terror of these warriors.

One by one, Darius and the Immortals snuffed out the revolts.

Then, with the full might of the Achaemenid army, they turned their attention outward. They solidified their power in Egypt. They expanded toward India. But when they got to Greece, they couldn’t seem to win. Their final defeat at the Battle of Marathon forced Darius to leave Greece alone.

So he turned his attention inward—to his own borders.

BUILDING A LEGACY

The Achaemenid Empire was the largest the world had ever seen. It was a beautiful swirl of languages, beliefs, art, and ideas. This was the empire’s first great strength. Its second was a king who knew how to use all these differences to make the empire even stronger.

When Darius learned that the Lydians used coins to buy and sell items, he had an idea.

What if he made an Achaemenid coin?

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Darius created gold coins stamped with the image of a Persian king.

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Darius organized the empire into provinces called satrapies. Each satrapy was governed by an official who was native to the land and trusted by his citizens and king. Darius built roads between the satrapies. He charted trade routes across the seas along his borders. He helped his Egyptian subjects reopen a medical school and allowed the Jews to continue rebuilding their sacred temple. He finished an irrigation system that turned deserts into farmland.

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But none of this was Darius’s crowning gift to the empire. In Persepolis, a stone block towered over 60 feet above a plain. On top of it, building after building rose even higher. A palace. A reception hall. A council hall. And most impressive of all, the Apadana. Inside, 72 columns rose like a silent stone forest. On these columns—and throughout the whole complex—Darius commissioned art. Murals, intricate carvings, and sculptures all praised Darius, his reign, and the loyalty of his subjects.

He had built a new capital for his empire.

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Darius died in 486 B.C.E. Today, historians call him Darius “the Great.” Cyrus’s military and diplomatic brilliance had begun an empire. Darius’s genius for building and organizing had turned it into one of the greatest in ancient history.

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