The Achaemenid Persian Empire

Founded by Cyrus the Great around 550 BCE, the Achaemenid Empire was the first to unite the whole Near East under one rule, stretching at its height from the Indus Valley to the Aegean and Egypt. Around 500 BCE, under Darius the Great, it was the largest empire the world had yet seen.

The Persians governed dozens of peoples through provinces called satrapies, linked by the Royal Road and an early postal system. Explore it on ChronoAtlas and see the world Alexander the Great would conquer a century and a half later.

Key facts

• At its peak it ruled perhaps 44% of the world's population - the highest share of any empire in history.
• Cyrus the Great was remembered even by his subjects for tolerance, allowing the exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem.
• The Royal Road ran some 2,700 km from Sardis to Susa, covered by royal couriers in about a week.
• It was finally conquered by Alexander the Great between 334 and 330 BCE.