Achaemenid Empire

Achaemenid Empire شَاهِنْشَاهَى هَخَامَنْشَى اىْرَانْ
550-330 BCE
The vexilloid of the Achaemenid Empire was a gold falcon on a field of crimson.[1][2]
Achaemenid Empire.
Capital	Ecbatana, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Susa
Recognised regional languages	Persian, Elamite, Aramaic, Hebrew
Religion	Zoroastrianism
Demonym(s)	Persian
Government	Monarchy
• first King	Cyrus II, the Great
• last King	Darius III Codomannus
Preceded by Succeeded by Median Empire Macedonia

The Achaemenid Empire, or Persian Empire,^[3] (550–330 BC) was the first Persian Empire to rule over significant portions of Greater Persia (or Iran). It followed the Median Empire as the second great empire of the Iranian peoples.^[4] At the height of its power, the Achaemenid Empire had about 7.5 million square kilometres and was territorially the largest empire of classical antiquity.

The empire was forged by Cyrus the Great. It spanned three continents, including parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan; parts of Central Asia, Asia Minor, Thrace; much of the Black Sea coastal regions; Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and Syria; and all of the significant population centres of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya. The empire was the foe of the Greek city-states of the Greco-Persian Wars. It freed the Israelites from their Babylonian captivity and instituted Aramaic as the its official language. Because of the empire's vast extent and long endurance, Persian influence upon the language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and government of nations around the world has lasted ever since.

1. ↑ "Vexilloid of the Achaemenid Empire". Archived from the original on 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
2. ↑ "Flags of Persian History". Archived from the original on 2005-05-28. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
3. ↑ Persian: هَخَامَنْشَىانْ IPA: [haχɒmaneʃijɒn]
4. ↑ The Iranian peoples spoke Indo-European languages such as Old Persian and Avestan.