Achaemenids

Achaemenid Empire
Khshassa
550 BC–330 BC
Standard of Cyrus the Great
The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent, under the rule of Darius I (522 BC to 486 BC)
Capital		Babylon (main capital), Pasargadae, Ecbatana, Susa, Persepolis
Languages		Old Persian[a] Imperial Aramaic[b] Babylonian Median Ancient Greek Elamite Sumerian[c]
Religion		Zoroastrianism, Babylonian religion
Government		Monarchy
King (xšāyaϑiya) or King of Kings (xšāyaϑiya xšāyaϑiyānām)
•	559–529 BC	Cyrus the Great
•	336–330 BC	Darius III
Historical era		Classical antiquity
•	Persian Revolt	550 BC
•	Conquest of Lydia	547 BC
•	Conquest of Babylon	539 BC
•	Conquest of Egypt	525 BC
•	Greco-Persian Wars	499–449 BC
•	Second conquest of Egypt	343 BC
•	Fall to Macedonia	330 BC
Area
•	500 BC	5,500,000 km² (2,123,562 sq mi)
Population
•	500 BC est.	17 million to 35 million
Currency		Daric, siglos
Preceded by Succeeded by Median Empire Neo-Babylonian Empire Lydia Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt Gandhara Kingdom Sogdia Massagetae Macedonian Empire Twenty-eighth Dynasty of Egypt
a. ^ Native language. b. ^ Official language and lingua franca. c. ^ Literary language in Babylonia.

Standard of Cyrus the Great

The Achaemenid Empire (/əˈkiːmənɪd/, from Old Persian Haxāmanišiya,c. 550–330 BC), also called the (First) Persian Empire, was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great. Ranging at its greatest extent from the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper in the west to the Indus Valley in the east, it was one of the largest empires in history, spanning 5.5 million square kilometers, and was larger than any previous empire in history. It is equally notable for its successful model of a centralised, bureaucratic administration (through satraps under the King of Kings), for building infrastructure such as road systems and a postal system, the use of an official language across its territories, and the development of civil services and a large professional army. The empire's successes inspired similar systems in later empires. It is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built in a Hellenistic style in the empire as well.