The term Persian Empire is used for the succession of states that ruled the Iranian plateau and neighbouring regions over some two and a half thousand years. It began with the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great, which at its height stretched from Egypt and Anatolia to the Indus valley. Later dynasties include the Parthians, the Sasanians, who were the great rivals of Rome and Byzantium, and, after the Islamic conquest, a series of Muslim dynasties such as the Safavids and the Qajars. The long history of Persian rule ended in the twentieth century with the fall of the monarchy in the Iranian Revolution.
Before and after
- 550 BCEFounding of Verona
- from 550 BCE to 366 BCEFounding of Peloponnesian League
- from 550 BCE to 330 BCEAchaemenid Empire
- 550 BCEBirth of Darius I
- from 550 BCE to 1979Persian Empire
- 544 BCEBirth of Sun Tzu
- 543 BCEOrigins of Phanagoria
- c. 539 BCEMaking of the Cyrus cylinder
- 535 BCEBirth of Heraclitus
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 1,274 BCEConstruction of Abu Simbel
- from 8th century BCE to 3rd centuryClassical antiquity
- from 351 BCE to 1494Construction of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
- from 323 BCE to 30 BCEHellenistic period
- 248 BCEConstruction of Terracotta Army
- from 375 CE to 568 CEMigration Period
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 6th century BCE.