Cyrus the Great Founds the Achaemenid Persian Empire
- Date
- 550 BCE
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- Persia (Iran)
- Era
- Classical Antiquity
- Significance
In 550 BCE Cyrus II of Persia overthrew his Median overlord Astyages and absorbed the Median kingdom, an event conventionally taken as the founding of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
From this base Cyrus rapidly expanded, conquering Lydia (and its king Croesus) in Anatolia and then Babylon, building within two decades the largest empire the world had yet seen, stretching from the Aegean to Central Asia. The Achaemenid state pioneered a model of multiethnic imperial rule that combined centralised authority with notable tolerance of local customs, religions, and institutions. Cyrus's reputation for clemency toward conquered peoples shaped his lasting image as an exemplary ruler in Greek, biblical, and later traditions. The empire he founded would dominate the Near East until Alexander's conquest two centuries later.
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Empires active in 550 BCE
- Roman Kingdom753 BCE – 509 BCE
- Achaemenid Empire550 BCE – 330 BCE
- Scythians800 BCE – 300 BCE
- Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) Empire626 BCE – 539 BCE
- Zhou Dynasty1046 BCE – 256 BCE
- Carthaginian Empire650 BCE – 146 BCE
Related politics & governance events
- Foundation of the Roman Republicc. 509 BCE (traditional)
- Cleisthenes' reforms establish Athenian democracy508/507 BCE
- Cyrus Conquers Babylon and the Cyrus Cylinder539 BCE
- Solon's reforms at Athensc. 594 BCE
- Darius I Builds the Royal Road and Imperial Administrationc. 500 BCE
- Rise of the sixteen Mahajanapadas in northern Indiac. 600 BCE
Further reading
The wider story
Persians: The Age of the Great Kings
Recent trade history telling the Persian side, not just the Greek.
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