ANCIENT SUPERPOWER OF THE WORLD - THE ACHAEMENID EMPIRE
In today's world, United States of America is the hegemonic power of the world. It is surely the superpower of the present world. But have you ever wondered who was the first true superpower
in the history of human civilization. The answer of that question is the Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian empire. It was the First Persian Empire and its founder was Cyrus the Great. It
was founded in 550BC. Based in Western Asia, it was the largest empire the world had ever seen
at its time. We can just assume how huge its territories were by looking into the stats, it covered
an area of 5.5million square kilometers{2.1 million square miles}. Its borders extended from
Balkans and Egypt in the west to Central Asia and the Indus Valley in the east.
Let's dive together into this epic journey and learn about this first superpower of the world.
Why this empire is called as Achaemenid empire?
The answer to this question lies way before the foundation of Achaemenid Empire. As we know,
Cyrus the Great was the founder of this empire. So, the Achaemenid Empire borrows its name
from the ancestor of Cyrus the Great, Achaemenes. The term Achaemenid means " of the family
of the Achaemenis/Achaemenes". Achaemenes himself was a minor seventh-century ruler of the
Anshan region in southwestern Iran, and a vassal of Assyria.
during 500BC.
Here is the list of the kings of the Achaemenid empire and some information about their ruling time period :-
Ruling period
1.Cyrus the Great - 559-530 BC
2.Cambyses II - 530-522 BC
3.Darius I - 522-486 BC
4.Xerxes I - 486-465 BC
5.Artaxerxes I - 465-424 BC
6.Xerxes II - 424-424 BC
7.Sogdianus - 424-423 BC
8.Darius II - 423-405 BC
9.Artaxerxes II - 405-358 BC
10.Artaxerxes III - 358-338 BC
11.Arses - 338-336 BC
12.Darius III - 336-330 BC
It is estimated that the population of the Achaemenid empire was somewhere between 17million
to 35million. It existed during classical antiquity. This empire had various capitals of course during
different time spans, the names of its capitals are Babylon, Pasargadae, Ecbatana, Susa and
Persepolis (ceremonial capital). The official languages were Old Persian (official), Aramaic
(official, lingua franca).The official religion of the empire was Zoroastrianism but there were
several other religions prevalent in the empire such as Mesopotamian religion, Judaism, Vedic Hinduism, Egyptian religion and Greek religion.
Major events that took place during its rise and fall are as under :-
1. Persian Revolt - 550 BC
2. Conquest of Lydia - 547 BC
3. Conquest of Babylon - 539 BC
4. Conquest of Egypt - 525 BC
5. Greco - Persian Wars - 499-449 BC
6. Corinthian War - 395-387 BC
7. Second conquest of Egypt - 343 BC
8. Fall to Macedonia - 330 BC
Around the 7th century BC, the region of Persis in the southwestern portion of the Iranian
plateau was settled by the Persians. From Persis, Cyrus rose and defeated the Median
empire as well as Lydia and the Neo-Babylonian empire, marking the formal establishment
of a new imperial polity under the Achaemenid dynasty.
In the modern era, the Achaemenid empire has been recognized for its imposition of a
successful model of centralized, bureaucratic administration; its multicultural policy;
building complex infrastructure , such as road systems and an organized postal system;
the use of official languages across its territories; and the development of civil services,
including its possessions of a large, professional army. Its advancements inspired the
implementation of similar styles of governance by a variety of later empires.
By 330 BC, the Achaemenid empire was conquered by Alexander the Great, an ardent admirer
of Cyrus the Great; the conquest marked a key achievement in the then-ongoing campaign of
his Macedonian empire. As Alexander's death triggered the beginning of the Hellenistic period,
most of the territory of the fallen Achaemenid empire came under the rule of the Ptolemaic
kingdom and the Seleucid empire, both of which had emerged as successors to the Macedonian
empire following the Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BC. Hellenistic rule remained in place for
almost a century before the Iranian elites of the central plateau reclaimed power under the
Parthian empire.
For more information, kindly watch this video. This will help you get an overall idea.
That's all from my side for now stay tuned for more interesting facts. If you enjoyed this
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