History UsefulNotes / TheAchaemenidEmpire

* '''Artaxerxes III''' (359 - 338 BCE): Son and heir of Artaxerxes II as well as the first Pharaoh of the 31st dynasty of Egypt. After becoming king, Artaxerxes murdered all of the royal family to secure his position. He also started to butt heads with '''Phillip II of Macedonia''', who was extending his influence to Greece. He long tried to sedate a revolt in Egypt, was deafeated by Nectanebo II after a year of fighting the Egyptian, but the second campaign proved to be successful as he deposed the last native Pharaoh. Artaxerxes III was murdered by the ambitious eunuch '''Bagoas'''.

* '''Darius II''' (424 - 405 BCE): Like his father Artaxerxes I he stuck with the strategy of favor one party over another, which was at least extending their unquestioned influence in the Balkans. He founded Sparta's campaign against Athens, so they owned him the victory in UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesianWar. He had quite a [[HenpeckedHusband dreadful wife]], his [[RoyalInbreeding half-sister]] '''Parysatis''', which the accounts paint as [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen rather cruel]] and a major playerin their son's reign.

* '''Artaxerxes I''' (465 - 425 BCE): Another UnexpectedSuccessor as he was the third son. His reign started with the rather unpleasant situation of his father and his elder brother's murders to clean up but ultimately he brought justice killing the culprits. He had [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere no wish of invading Greece again]], since it never did them any good adopting instead the diplomatic strategy of weakening the Athenians by funding their enemies,no doubt with the intention of [[DivideAndConquer spreading instability in Greece]]. Somewhat deconstructed it led to renewed fighting in 450 BC, where the Greeks attacked at the '''Battle of Cyprus'''. This time the Athenians didn't achieve much and peace was agreed among Athens, Argos and Persia in 449 BC. Artaxerxes then offered shelter to the ostracized '''Themistocles''', who was probably his father Xerxes's greatest enemy, and granting him great privileges.

* '''Xerxes I''' (486–465 BCE): The guy from Film/ThreeHundred! And a favorite of fictional portrayal it seems, as he's believed to be the Persian king from Literature/BookOfEsther. A victim of terrible HollywoodHistory, as he was not black and was not a god emperor (no one from this dynasty was, it'd been blasphemy fro Zoroastrians) and probably never held a BeautyContest to replace a queen (why bothering? MarryThemAll!). He was instead a victim of terrible HopeSpot as he seemed to overran mainland Greece north of the Isthmus of Corinth and wiping out the Spartans at the '''Termophylae''', until the losses at '''Salamis''' and '''Plataea''' a year later reversed these gains and the campaign ended as an insuccess. He did manage to suffocate revolts in Egypt and Babylon at least. Murdered by '''Artabanus''', the commander of the royal bodyguard with the help of the eunuch '''Aspamitres'''.

His successors were [[SketchySuccessor less successful]]. Cyrus's unstable son, Cambyses II, conquered Egypt but died shortly after as the result of either an accident or suicide during a revolt led by a priest, Gaumata, who usurped the throne by pretending to be Cambyses' late brother Bardiya until overthrown in 522 BCE by a member of a lateral branch of the Achaemenid family, [[UnexpectedSuccessor Darius I]]. Darius saw to expand his interest to mainland Greece for a number of reasons: continental Greece had supported rebellious Greek colonies under his aegis and to have total control on the commercial traffic of the Black Sea.

The Achaemenid Empire society was greatly described by Creator/{{Herodotus}}. The official language of the empire was Old Persian (the ancestor of modern-day farsi, the language spoken in Iran, UsefulNotes/{{Afghanistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Tajikistan}} in different dialects) but Aramaic was the ''lingua franca'' thanks to the massive presence of Semitic people (Canaanites, Hebrews, Assirians...). Greek also gained a prominence as a bureaucratic and herudite language even before Macedoanian conquest. Ancient Persian rulers worshipped UsefulNotes/{{Zoroastrianism}}, one of the first monotheistic religions in the ancient world, but had a secular approach to the religion of their subject, sometimes made paying respect to other prominents deities as [[SlaveToPR good publicity]].

Cyrus the Great deserves his own mention, which is expanded in his [[UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat page]]. To sum it up, the [[FounderOfTheKingdom founder of the dynasty]] did accomplish some impressive things, like the four-capital system (the capitals were Babylon, Ectabana, Susa and Persepolis installing the UrExample of feudalism, mean the satrapies (kingdoms and regional entities with moderate autonomy), achieving freedom of cult, organizing a bureaucratic apparat, military conscription ''and'' a professional soldiers army ([[BadassArmy the Immortals unit]], 10,000 highly trained soldiers), and last but not least an embrional form of postal system. This system lasted for centuries, retained by the following dynasties of Seleucids, Parthians and Sasanians.

The House of the Achaemenides lasted roughly two centuries, despite being a large family with plenty of heirs thank to [[RoyalHarem royal poligamy]]. According to Greek historians (who we can assume were a bit biased) they may have been a BigScrewedUpFamily. Given the amount of kings murdered due to internal plotting, one cannot blame them. Still an intensely entertaining dynasty. Here some useful notes for each of them.

In spades, once upon a time a virtually obscure population, the Persians, settled in what today is UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} as vassals of the Median kingdom, which at that time ruled Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau. In few centuries the Persian royal family, the Achaemenides, managed to supplant the Medians and conquered a lot of more ancient and developed civilization (Medes, Babilonyans, Assirians, Egyptians), ruling an empire that was a melting-pot of civilizations long before the concept even existed. Quoting Neil [=MacGregor=], the empire at its greatest extent from the Northern Balkans to modern-day UsefulNotes/{{Pakistan}}.

The House of the Achaemenides lasted roughly two centuries, despite being a large family with plenty of heirs thank to [[RoyalHarem royal poligamy]]. According to Greek historians (who we can assume were a bit biased) they may have been a BigScrewedUpFamily. Given the amount of kings murdered an internal plotting, one cannot blame them. Still an intensely entertaining dynasty. Here some useful notes for each of them.

* '''Artaxerxes I''' (465 - 425 BCE): Another UnexpectedSuccessor as he was the third son. His reign started with the rather unpleasant situation of his father and his elder brother's murders to clean up but ultimately he brought justice killing the culprits. He had [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere no wish of invading Greece again]], since it never did them any good adopting instead the diplomatic strategy of weakening the Athenians by funding their enemies,no doubt with the intention of [[DivideAndConquer spreading instability in Greece]]. Somewhat deconstructed it led to renewed fighting in 450 BC, where the Greeks attacked at the '''Battle of Cyprus'''. This time the Athenians didn't achieve much and peace was agreed among Athens, Argos and Persia in 449 BC. Artaxerxes then offered asylum to the ostracized '''Themistocles''', who was probably his father Xerxes's greatest enemy granting him great privileges.

* '''Sogdianus''' (424–423 BCE): As a short a ruler as the brother he murdered, he was the [[BastardBastard illegitimate son]] of Artaxerxes I and a concubine. Sogdianus apparently reigned for six months and fifteen days before being captured by his half-brother, '''Ochus'', who rebelled against him. Sogdianus was executed and Ochus was crowned as Darius II.

* '''Cambyses I''': Known largely for being the below guy's father, Herodotus describes him as "a man of good family and quiet habits". He was married to Princess Mandane of Media, daughter of his overlord '''Astyages''', who is said to have chosen him a son-in-law because he considered him [[TemptingFate threat to the Median throne]]. [[{{Irony}} His grandson would prove him wrong]].

By 546 BCE, Cyrus the Great had defeated Croesus, the famously wealthy Lydian king, gained control of Anatolia, UsefulNotes/{{Armenia}}, and the Greek colonies along the Levant. On the eastern side, he took Parthia, Chorasmis, Bactria and conquered Babylon, famously releasing the captive Jews, thus earning his immortalization in the Book of Isaiah. The following two centuries would be a race to conquer what was left west of Asia... AncientGreece.

The Battle of Gaugamela cemented the end of the Achaemenid empire. It followed with Alexander the Great seizing Darius III's throne and marry his two daughters [[HeirInLaw to strengthen his claim]]. This marks the start of the Hellenistic Empire and the hegemony of Greek culture across the Middle East and North-West India, ending along with it the classical era of AncientGreece. The Achaemenid empire is still revered as a Golden Age for modern-day Iranians, as they still honor the tomb of Cyrus the Great in Nowruz (the Iranian New Year). Modern day historians tend to agree that the Persian Empire was advanced in human rights, government and culture and less of the tyrannical empire Ancient Greeks sometimes liked to depict (they did attempt to conquer them after all...)

Originally vassals to the Median kingdom, in the sixth-century BC Achaemenid Persians revolted against the Median monarchy, leading Cyrus the Great taking over the throne in 550 BC. The Persians then consolidated their influence over the rest the Iranian region, and assimilated with the non-Iranian indigenous groups of the region, aka their neighbout the Elamites and the Mannaeans (there's still a region in modern-day southwest Iran named Elam after the former population).

Cyrus the Great deserves his own mention, which is expanded in his [[UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat page]]. To sum it up, the [[FounderOfTheKingdom founder of the dynasty]] did accomplish some impressive things, like the four-capital system (the capitals were Babylon, Ectabana, Susa and Persepolis installing the UrExample of feudalism, mean the satrapies (kingdoms and regional entities with moderate autonomy), achieving freedom of cult, organizing a bureaucratic apparat, military conscription ''and'' a professional soldiers army (the Immortals unit, 10,000 highly trained soldiers), and last but not least an embrional form of postal system. This system lasted for centuries, retained by the following dynasties of Seleucids, Parthians and Sasanians.

His successors were [[SketchySuccessor less successful]]. Cyrus's unstable son, Cambyses II, conquered Egypt but died shortly after as the result of either an accident or suicide during a revolt led by a priest, Gaumata, who usurped the throne by pretending to be Cambyses' late brother Bardiya until overthrown in 522 BCE by a member of a lateral branch of the Achaemenid family, Darius I. Darius saw to expand his interest to mainland Greece for a number of reasons: continental Greece had supported rebellious Greek colonies under his aegis and to have total control on the commercial traffic of the Black Sea.

UsefulNotes/GrecoPersianWars ensued. After two unsuccessful attempts to invade Greece, the Achaemenid empire started to face internal problems. The imperial court was beset by factionalism among the lateral family branches, something that stuck till the last ruler of the Achaemenids, Darius III, betrayed and killed by his subects and kin.

The Achaemenid Empire society was greatly described by Creator/{{Herodotus}}. The official language of the empire was Old Persian (the ancestor of modern-day farsi, the language spoken in Iran, UsefulNotes/{{Afghanistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Tajikistan}} in different dialects) but Aramaic was the ''lingua franca'' thanks to the massive presence of Semitic people (Canaanites, Hebrews, Assirians...). Greek also gained a prominence as a bureaucratic and herudite language even before Macedoanian conquest. Ancient Persian rulers worshipped UsefulNotes/{{Zoroastrianism}}, one of the first monotheistic religions in the ancient world, but had a secular approach to the religion of their subject, sometimes made paying respect to other prominents deities as good publicity.

* '''[[UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat Cyrus II, The Great]]''' (550 - 529 BCE): The punishment for his grandfather's arrogance, it seems. Instead of swearing allegiance to his grandfather, he went along on conquering his kingdom. Upon his victory over the Medes, he incorporated both Median and Persian nobles in his government. Conquered '''Asia Minor, Drangiana, Arachosia, Margiana''' and '''Bactria'''. Took '''Babylon''' and made it one of the capitals of his new empire. He's still revered not only as a great conqueror but also as a shrewd politicians who managed to ensure stability ([[UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat Alexander]], we're looking at [[UsefulNotes/MacedonianSuccessionWars you]]).

* '''Darius I, The Great''' (522 - 486 BCE): The other great ruler of the dynasty, but sadly not a direct descendant of Cyrus the Great. He was instead from a [[UnexpectedSuccessor cadet branch]] who inherited the throne after the Cambyses/Smerdis mess. He started another mess that were the '''UsefulNotes/GrecoPersianWars''' (or it was the Greeks who started it, depending on your opinion) with expedition to punish Athens and Eretria for their aid in the Ionian Revolt. It led to the failure at the '''Battle of Marathon''', but at least he subjougated Thrace, Macedon, the Cyclades and the island of Naxos. Darius strengthened the satrapies, organized a new uniform monetary system, made Aramaic the official language of the empire. He also made roads built and introduced standard weights and measures. He left the empire a better place, if not prosperous.

* '''Artaxerxes I''' (465 - 425 BCE): Another UnexpectedSuccessor as he was the third son. His reign started with the rather unpleasant situation of his father and his elder brother's murders to clean up but ultimately he brought justice killing the culprits. He had [[ScrewThisImOuttaHEre no wish of invading Greece again]], since it never did them any good adopting instead the diplomatic strategy of weakening the Athenians by funding their enemies. Somewhat deconstructed it led to renewed fighting in 450 BC, where the Greeks attacked at the '''Battle of Cyprus'''. This time the Athenians didn't achieve much and peace was agreed among Athens, Argos and Persia in 449 BC. Artaxerxes then offered asylum to the ostracized '''Themistocles''', who was probably his father Xerxes's greatest enemy granting him great privileges.

* '''Darius II''' (424 - 405 BCE): Like his father Artaxerxes I he did not like to send any army to Greece, but keep the strategy of favor one party over another. He founded Sparta's campaign against Athens, so they owned him the victory in UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesianWar. He had quite a [[HenpeckedHusband dreadful wife]], his [[RoyalInbreeding half-sister]] '''Parysatis''', who would play a larger role in their son's reign.

The Achaemenid Empire society was greatly described by Creator/{{Herodotus}}. The official language of the empire was Old Persian (the ancestor of modern-day farsi, the language spoken in Iran, UsefulNotes/{{Afghanistan}} and UsefulNotes/{{Tajikstan}} in different dialects) but Aramaic was the ''lingua franca'' thanks to the massive presence of Semitic people (Canaanites, Hebrews, Assirians...). Greek also gained a prominence as a bureaucratic and herudite language even before Macedoanian conquest. Ancient Persian rulers worship UsefulNotes/{{Zoroastrianism}}, one of the first monotheistic religions in the ancient world, but had a secular approach to the religion of their subject, sometimes made paying respect to other prominents deities as good publicity.

The Achaemenid Empire ( Xšāça, "''The Empire''" in Old Persian) was an ancient Iranian empire based founded by UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat. Called also the First Persian Empire, it took its name after the royal dynasty who ruled it from 550 to 330 BC, meaning UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat's conquest. To make it simple, it was kind of a [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Roman Empire]] before there even was a Roman Empire. In spades, it was a lone and virtually obscure population (the Persians) who conquered more ancient and developed civilization (Medes, Babilonyans, Assirians, Egyptians) and ruled an empire that was a melting-pot of civilizations long before the concept even existed. Quoting Neil [=MacGregor=], the empire at its greatest extent from the Northern Balkans to modern-day Pakistan.

By 546 BCE, Cyrus the Great had defeated Croesus, the famously wealthy Lydian king, gained control of Anatolia, Armenia, and the Greek colonies along the Levant. On the eastern side, he took Parthia, Chorasmis, Bactria and conquered Babylon, famously releasing the captive Jews, thus earning his immortalization in the Book of Isaiah. The following two centuries would be a race to conquer what was left west of Asia...Greece.

The Achaemenid Empire society was greatly described by Creator/{{Herodotus}}. The official language of the empire was Old Persian (the ancestor of modern-day farsi, the language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikstan in different dialects) but Aramaic was the ''lingua franca'' thanks to the massive presence of Semitic people (Canaanites, Hebrews, Assirians...). Greek also gained a prominence as a bureaucratic and herudite language even before Macedoanian conquest. Ancient Persian rulers worship UsefulNotes/{{Zoroastrianism}}, one of the first monotheistic religions in the ancient world, but had a secular approach to the religion of their subject, sometimes made paying respect to other prominents deities as good publicity.

His successors were [[SketchySuccessor less successful]]. Cyrus's unstable son, Cambyses II, conquered Egypt but died shortly after as the result of either an accident or suicide during a revolt led by a priest, Gaumata, who usurped the throne by pretending to be Cambyses' late brother Bardiya until overthrown in 522 BCE by a member of a lateral branch of the Achaemenid family, Darius I. Darius saw to expand his interest to mainland Greece for a number of reasons: continental Greece had supported rebellious Greek colonies under his aegis and to have total control on the commercial traffic of the Balck Sea.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

!!Tropes applicable to the Achaemenid Empire:

* ArchEnemy: AncientGreece, famously so. The cake of enemy n°1 went to Athens first, as Themistocles' newly founded Athenian fleet humiliated the Persian army at Salamis in 480 BC. to bring down Athens they often [[EnemyMine team up with Sparta]], the other Athens' greatest rival;
** As both Athens and Sparta were increasingly weakened by decades of civil war, the main antagonist shifted toward the emerging kingdom of Macedonia, with Phillip II and then UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat.
* BadassArmy: The Immortals, the Great King's personal army. Also the Then Thousand, the 10,000 Greek mercenaries in the army of Cyrus the Younger.
* BadassDecay: Towards the end. More and more internal fight made impossible another invasion in Greece, at the point that ''Greek rulers'' started playing with the idea of invading the empire...
* BastardBastard: Sogdianus, illegitimate half-brother of Xerxes II, who murdered him and briefly took over the throne.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: It goes along with being the most powerful empire of your age. Some rulers had a tadte for KlingonPromotion and CainAndAbel relationships. When you also put in the middle multiple wives and concubines that plot for their favorite candidate you're literally asking for it.
* CainAndAbel: The Achaemenides had quite a pattern of clashing heads between brothers.
** Xerxes II was murdered by his brother Sogdianus, who in turn was murdered by their ''other'' brother Ochus, crowned as Darius II;
** Cyrus the Younger attempted to overthrow his elder brother Artaxerxes II raising an army of mostly Greek mercenaries with the help of Sparta. Said army was the one portrayed in ''Literature/{{Anabasis}}''.
* DemotedToDragon: Most of the rulers of the conquered landa were offered to retain their seats in exchange to acknowledge the King of the Kings' authorithy and pay taxes to the central government.
* DragonAscendant: The Achaemenides themselves were vassal king of the Median dynasty, which Cyrus the Great eventually overthrow despite being the grandson of his current liege king.
* DecapitatedArmy: It happened during Cyrus the Younger's rebellion. The Ten Thousand fought at Cunaxa, seemingly defeaing the Imperial Army until they realize that Cyrus had been killed in battle.
* EnemyMine: Several times during their long history with Greece.
** During the Peloponnesian Wars Sparta fought against Athens and won, with the help of the Persians who really wanted to get rid of [[ArchEnemy Athens]];
** Reversed trope years after as [[UngratefulBastard Sparta started to invade the colonies of Anatalia]], so during the Corinthian War Sparta faced a coalition of Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos backed by Persia;
** Artaxerxes I famously offered asylum to Themistocles after he was ostracized by Athens, granting him lands and great privileges;
** Xerxes I allied and offered asylum with the deposed king of Sparta Demeratus, who was deposed allegedly for being an [[MamasBabyPapasMaybe illegitimate child]];
** A regent of Sparta, Pausanias, was suspected of conspiring with Xerxes I probably to depose the other king and the Ephors and create a new order in Sparta.
* FounderOfTheKingdom:
** Achaemenides was the ancestor of the eponimous line as the vassal king of Persia, although his mere existance is still much disputed;
** Cyrus II the Great was the one who founded TheEmpire and land basis for its infrastructures.
* HegemonicEmpire: Probably the TropeMaker before Athens' hegemonic league. TheEmpire was highly decentralised and ruled through viceroys called satraps who governed their administrative units, satrapies, in the name of the Persian emperor. Satraps enjoyed almost total freedom to rule their territories as they pleased and were allowed some degree of private armies, their only responsibility towards the crown was the levying of certain taxes and keeping internal peace and banditry down. Satraps would often belong to the native culture of their region, and have Persian advisers to keep a smooth connection between the local rule and the Emperor's court. The Persians also avoided imposing their own religion or culture on subjects, barring that as followers of UsefulNotes/{{Zoroastrianism}} [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil they banned slavery]].
* KneelBeforeZod: The so-much-hated-by-Greeks custom of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proskynesis proskynesis]]. This custom was mistakenly taken by Greeks as a sign that the Persians worshipped their king as a god. Alexander the Great proposed this practice during his lifetime, adapting to the customs of Persians but it Greek found it degrading. The truth is that it was more a social custom like bowing was in Christian monarchies rather than an act of worship.
* GodEmperor: What the King-Of-Kings was ''not'', despite the Greeks' claim. The Persians were monotheistic Zoroastrians, that means that only Ahura Mazda could be worship. Pretending to be a god, escpecially for a monarch was pretty much blasphemy. The misconception arose among the ancient Greeks, who mistook the Persian practice of proskynesis before the monarch for an act of divine worship, when it was in fact a secular social ritual.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Parysatis I, daughter of Artaxerxes I and the half-sister and wife of Darius II. She was this and also an EvilMatriarch according to historical accounts. She favourite Cyrus the Younger's and blessed his coup against her other son Artaxerxes II. She was briefly exiled after the failed coup but [[EasilyForgiven her son called her back in court and took charge of the royal household]]. She then went along avenging those who betrayed her beloved Cyrus, turning Artaxerxes II against a noble named Mithradates because he allegedly contradicted the official version of Cyrus' death, which had it that Artaxerxes II personally had struck his brother down (which he manifestly had not done), despite being an Artaxerxes supporter. Parysatis also caused the death of a court eunuch named Masabates who mutilated the corpse of Cyrus before its royal burial, even though it was a Persian custom to treat traitors in such fashion. Another victim was Artaxerxes' right hand Tissaphernes who played a role in Cyrus' downfall. Her influence clashed with the one of her [[ObnoxiousInLaws daughter-in-law Stateira I]], who was the beloved of the king. She ultimately got rid of her too.
* ObnoxiousInLaws: Queen Parysatid and Queen Stateira I, respectively mother and wife of Artaxerxes II. They rival each other for being Artaxerxes' main advisor, with the Queen Mother ultimately winning.
* RoyalInbreeding: They were not above of doing it, mostly for pragmatic, dynastical reasons:
** Darius I married his cousin Atossa, sister of his successor Cambyses II to reunite the two branches of the house;
** Darius II was born illegitimate and inherited it after a SuccessionCrisis. He stregthened his claim marrying his half-sister Parysatis, another illegitimate daughter of Artaxerxes I;
** Darius III's mother is believed to be cousin of her husband Arsamed of Ostranes, and the direct daughter of Artaxerses II.
* WhatTheRomansHaveDoneForUs: Despite its flaws (rampant corruption, some instable monarchs, agrressivity towards Europe) the empire managed to achieve some impressive things like a strong bureaucratic apparate, a central government, freedom of worship, written laws, a uniform monetary system along with postal service. All infrastructures retained by the following dynasties.

The Achaemenid Empire society was greatly described by Creator/Herodotus. The official language of the empire was Old Persian (the ancestor of modern-day farsi, the language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikstan in different dialects) but Aramaic was the ''lingua franca'' thanks to the massive presence of Semitic people (Canaanites, Hebrews, Assirians...). Greek also gained a prominence as a bureaucratic and herudite language even before Macedoanian conquest. Ancient Persian rulers worship UsefulNotes/{{Zoroastrianism}}, one of the first monotheistic religions in the ancient world, but had a secular approach to the religion of their subject, sometimes made paying respect to other prominents deities as good publicity.

* '''Artaxerxes II''' (405 - 359 BCE): An intense reign. Before Artaxerxes II could take to the throne his legitimacy as ruler was threathened by his younger brother '''Cyrus the Younger''', satrap of Asia Minor and their [[MommasBoy mother's favorite]]. The Queen mother also had terrible relationships with her [[ObnoxiousInLaws daughter-in-law]] Stateira I, who later had murdered. This kicks the plot of Creator/Xenophon ''Literature/Anabasis'', as the only reason he ever was in Persia was that Cyrus the Younger raised an army of mostly Greek sellswords. Unfortunately for Cyrus, he was killed at the Battle of Cunaxa, despite he almost made it to Babylon. Artaxerxes became involved in the '''Corinthian War''' along with '''Sparta''' but as the Spartans had started by invading Asia Minor he funded the Athenians, Thebans and Corinthians instead. The alliance with Athens managed to destroy the Spartan fleet at the Battle of Cnidus (494 BC). Fearing that his Athenian allies were becoming too powerful, he sided again with Sparta betraying his allies and signing the '''Treaty of Antalcidas''', restoring control of the Greek cities in Anatolia and giving Sparta ghe control on the Greek mainland.

** Xerxes I allied and offered asylum with the deposed king of Sparta Demeratus, who was deposed allegedly for being an [[MamamsBabyPapasMaybe illegitimate child]];

** Cyrus the Younger attempted to overthrow his elder brother Artaxerxes II raising an army of mostly Greek mercenaries with the help of Sparta. Said army was the one portrayed in ''Literature/{{Anabasis}}''.

** Cyrus the Younger attempted to overthrow his elder brother Artaxerxes II raising an army of mostly Greek mercenaries with the help of Sparta. Said army was the one portrayed in ''Literature/Anabasis'';

* '''Cyrus I''': Another nebulous ruler, as we have conflicting notions about him. He was son of Teispes along with his brother '''Ariaramnes''' and divede with him the kingdom after their father's death. Little else is known, aside having fought on the side of '''Ashurbanipal''', king of Assyria, in his war against his claimant brother.

The Battle of Gaugamela cemented the end of the Achaemenid empire. It followed with Alexander the Great seizing Darius III's throne and marry his two daughters [[HeirInLaw to strengthen his claim]]. This marks the start of the Hellenistic Empire and the hegemony of Greek culture across the Middle East and North-West India, ending along with it the classical era of AncientGreece. The Achaemenid empire is still revered as a Golden Age for modern-day Iranians, as they still honor the tomb of Cyrus the Great in Nowruz (the Iranian New Year). Modern day historians tend to agree that the Persian Empire was advanced in human rights, government and culture and less of the tyrannical empire Ancient Greeks sometimes liked to depict (they did attempt to conquer them after all...)

The House of the Achaemenides lasted roughly two centuries, despite being a large family with plenty of heirs thank to [[RoyalHarem royal poligamy]]. According to Greek historians (who we can assume were a bit biased) they may have been a BigScrewedUpFamily. Here some useful notes for each of them.

The Achaemenid Empire society was greatly described by Creator/Herodotus. The official language of the empire was Old Persian (the ancestor of modern-day farsi, the language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikstan in different dialects) but Aramaic was the ''lingua franca'' thanks to the massive presence of Semitic people (Canaanites, Hebrews, Assirians...). Greek also gained a prominence as a bureaucratic and herudite language even before Macedoanian conquest. Ancient Persians worship UsefulNotes/Zoroastrianism, one of the first monotheistic religions in the ancient world. Their secular approach to the religion of their subject made them pay respect to other prominents deities from time to time.

* '''Darius II''' (424 - 405 BCE): Like his father Artaxerxes I he did not like to send any army to Greece, but keep the strategy of favor one party over another. He founded Sparta's campaign against Athens, so they owned him the victory in UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesianWar. He had quite a [[HenpeckedHusband dreadful wife]], his [[RoyalInbreeding half-sister '''Parysatis''']], who would play a larger role in their son's reign.

* Achaemenes: the main ancesto of the dynasty, although [[ShroudedInMyth little is known about him]]. It is quite possible that Achaemenes was the mythical ancestor of the Achaemenes, but had he existed he would have lived around the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 7th century BC. He was not yet TheHighKing, just a vassal of the Median kingdom.
* Teispes: Ditto for his father, we don't have much sources about him. Teispes is known to have conquered the Elamite city of Anshan and somewhat expanded his small kingdom. He was succeeded by his second son, Cyrus I.
* Cyrus I: Another nebulous ruler, as we have conflicting notions about him. He was son of Teispes along with his brother Ariaramnes and divede with him the kingdom after their father's death. Little else is known, aside having fought on the side of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, in his war against his claimant brother.
* Cambyses I: Known largely for being the below guy's father, Herodotus describes him as "a man of good family and quiet habits". He was married to Princess Mandane of Media, daughter of his overlord Astyages, who is said to have chosen him a son-in-law because he considered him no threat to the Median throne. [[TemptingFate His grandson would prove him wrong]].
* [[UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat Cyrus II, The Great]] (550 - 529 BCE): The punishment of his grandfather's arrogance, it seems. Instead of swearing allegiance to his grandfather, allegedly he went on conquering his kingdom. Upon his victory over the Medes, he incorporated both Median and Persian nobles in his government. Conquered Asia Minor, Drangiana, Arachosia, Margiana and Bactria. Took Babylon and made it one of the capitals of his new empire. He's still revered not only as a great conqueror but also as a shrewd politicians who managed to ensure stability ([[UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat Alexander]], we're looking at [[UsefulNotes/MacedonianSuccessionWars you]]).
* Cambyses II (529 - 522 BCE): Tradionally seen as a SketchySuccessor, although he did manage to expand the empire into Egypt by defeating the Egyptian Pharaoh Psamtik III. The throne was then usurped by a man posing as his brother Bardiya, most likely a magus, or a Zoroastrian priest. Cambyses attempted to gain it back, but died shortly either by accident or suicide (or murdered, who knows?).
* Smerdis, (the Magian) (522 BCE): TheUsurper. He either ruled the Achaemenid Empire for a few months in 522 BC until he was toppled by Darius the Great.
* Darius I, The Great (522 - 486 BCE): The other great ruler of the dynasty, but sadly not a direct descendant of Cyrus the Great. He was instead from a [[UnexpectedSuccessor cadet branch]] who inherited the throne after the Cambyses/Smerdis mess. He started another mess that were the UsefulNotes/GrecoPersianWars (or it was the Greeks who started it, depending on your opinion) with expedition to punish Athens and Eretria for their aid in the Ionian Revolt. It led to the failure at the Battle of Marathon, but at least he subjougated Thrace, Macedon, the Cyclades and the island of Naxos. Darius strengthened the satrapies, organized a new uniform monetary system, made Aramaic the official language of the empire. He also made roads built and introduced standard weights and measures. He left the empire a better place, if not prosperous.
* Xerxes I (486–465 BCE): The guy from Film/ThreeHundred! And a favorite of fictional portrayal it seems, as he's believed to be the Persian king from Literature/BookOfEsther. A victim of terrible HollywoodHistory, as he was not black and was not a god emperor (no one from this dynasty was, it'd been blasphemy fro Zoroastrians) and probably never held a BeautyContest to replace a queen (why bothering? MarryThemAll!). He was instead a victim of terrible HopeSpot as he seemed to overran mainland Greece north of the Isthmus of Corinth and wiping out the Spartans at the Termophylae, until the losses at Salamis and Plataea a year later reversed these gains and the campaign ended as an insuccess. He did manage to suffocate revolts in Egypt and Babylon at least. Murdered by Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard with the help of the eunuch Aspamitres.
* Artaxerxes I (465 - 425 BCE): Another UnexpectedSuccessor as he was the third son. His reign started with the rather unpleasant situation of his father and his elder brother's murders to clean up but ultimately he brought justice killing the culprits. He had no wish of invading Greece again, adopting the strategy of weakening the Athenians by funding their enemies in Greece but it led inevitably to renewed fighting in 450 BC, where the Greeks attacked at the Battle of Cyprus. This time the Athenians didn't achieve much and peace was agreed among Athens, Argos and Persia in 449 BC. Artaxerxes then offered asylum to the ostracized Themistocles, who was probably his father Xerxes's greatest enemy granting him great privileges.
* Xerxes II (425 - 424 BCE): Son and heir of Artaxerxes I. After a reign of forty-five days, he was assassinated in 424 BC by his brother Sogdianus, who in turn was murdered by Darius II.
* Sogdianus (424–423 BCE): As a short as a ruler like the brother he murdered, he was the illegitimate son of Artaxerxes I and a concubine. Sogdianus apparently reigned for six months and fifteen days before being captured by his half-brother, Ochus, who rebelled against him. Sogdianus was executed and Ochus was crowned as Darius II.
* Darius II (424 - 405 BCE): Like his father Artaxerxes I he did not like to send any army to Greece, but keep the strategy of favor one party over another. He founded Sparta's campaign against Athens, so they owned him the victory in UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesianWar. He had quite a dreadful wife, his half-sister Parysatis, who would play a larger role in their son's reign.
* Artaxerxes II (405 - 359 BCE): An intense reign. Before Artaxerxes II could take to the throne his legitimacy as ruler was threathened by his younger brother Cyrus the Younger, satrap of Asia Minor and their [[MommasBoy mother's favorite]]. This kicks the plot of Creator/Xenophon ''Literature/Anabasis'', as the only reason he ever was in Persia was that Cyrus the Younger raised an army of mostly Greek sellswords. Unfortunately for Cyrus, he was killed at the Battle of Cunaxa, despite he almost made it to Babylon. Artaxerxes became involved in the Corinthian war along with Sparta but as the Spartans had started by invading Asia Minor he funded the Athenians, Thebans and Corinthians instead. The alliance with Athens managed to destroy the Spartan fleet at the Battle of Cnidus (494 BC). Fearing that his Athenian allies were becoming too powerful, he sided again with Sparta betraying his allies and signing the Treaty of Antalcidas, restoring control of the Greek cities in Anatolia and giving Sparta ghe control on the Greek mainland.
* Artaxerxes III (359 - 338 BCE): Son and heir of Artaxerxes II as well as the first Pharaoh of the 31st dynasty of Egypt. After becoming king, Artaxerxes murdered all of the royal family to secure his position. He also started to butt head's with Phillip II of Macedonia, who was extending his influence to Greece. He long tried to sedate a revolt in Egypt, was deafeated by Nectanebo II after a year of fighting the Egyptian, but the second campaign proved to be successful as he deposed the last native Pharaoh. Artaxerxes III was murdered by the ambitious eunuch Bagoas.
* Arses (338 - 336 BCE): PuppetKing of Bagoas due to his youth. He lives in the times the Macedonian king Philip II was becoming a real threath as he established a league of Greek city states under his leadership. Arses unfortunately tried to free himself from Bagoas' authority and influence but it allegedly resulted in his murder and the ascension to the throne of his cousin Darius III, the last ruler.
* Darius III (336 - 330 BCE): A very unfortunate ruler. [[LastOfHisKind Last king of the Achaemenid Empire]], he inherited an unstable empire, governed by increasingly unreliable satraps, a weakened central government. FromBadToWorse, the already ambitious Phillip of Macedonia was succeded by Alexander the Great, who began his invasion of the Persian Empire in 334 BCE and subsequently defeated the Persians in a number of battles that peaked at the Battle of Gaugamela. Alexander also famously [[RapePillageAndBurn sacked and ravaged Persepolis by fire]] in 330 BC. After gaining control of the heart of the empire Alexander was set to pursue Darius, who went in hiding. Before Alexander reached him, however, Darius was betrayed and killed by his cousin Satrap Bessus. Alexander at least avanged his rival hunting down Bessus through Sogdiana and punish the traitor as he deserved. Darius' daughter Stateira was married off to Alexander to create a Greek-Persian royal house, but after Alexander's death in 323 BCE Stateira was killed on Roxane's order, as she was the first wife and pregnant with Alexander's son. So ended the Achaemenid's line for good.

* [[UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat Cyrus II, The Great]] (550 - 529 BCE): The punishment of his grandfather's arrogance, it seems. Instead of swearing allegiance to his grandfather, allegedly he went on conquering his kingdom. Upon his victory over the Medes, he incorporated both Median and Persian nobles in his government. Conquered Asia Minor, Drangiana, Arachosia, Margiana and Bactria. Took Babylon and made it one of the capitals of his new empire. He's still revered not only as a great conqueror but also as a shrewd politicians who managed to ensure stability ([[UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat Alexander]], we're looking at [[MacedonianSuccessionWars you]]).

-->--'''Neil {{MacGregor}}''', British art historian and former director of the National Gallery ''and'' the British Museum

The Achaemenid Empire ( Xšāça, "''The Empire''" in Old Persian) was an ancient Iranian empire based founded by UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat. Called also the First Persian Empire, it took its name after the royal dynasty who ruled it from 550 to 330 BC, meaning UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat's conquest. To make it simple, it was kind of a [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Roman Empire]] before there even was a Roman Empire. In spades, it was a lone and virtually obscure population (the Persians) who conquered more ancient and developed civilization (Medes, Babilonyans, Assirians, Egyptians) and ruled an empire that was a melting-pot of civilizations long before the concept even existed. Quoting Neil {{MacGregor}}, the empire at its greatest extent from the Northern Balkans to modern-day Pakistan.

-->--'''Neil MacGregor''', British art historian and former director of the National Gallery ''and'' the British Museum

The Achaemenid Empire ( Xšāça, "''The Empire''" in Old Persian) was an ancient Iranian empire based founded by UsefulNotes/CyrusTheGreat. Called also the First Persian Empire, it took its name after the royal dynasty who ruled it from 550 to 330 BC, meaning UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat's conquest. To make it simple, it was kind of a [[TheRomanEmpire Roman Empire]] before there even was a Roman Empire. In spades, it was a lone and virtually obscure population (the Persians) who conquered more ancient and developed civilization (Medes, Babilonyans, Assirians, Egyptians) and ruled an empire that was a melting-pot of civilizations long before the concept even existed. Quoting Neil MacGregor, the empire at its greatest extent from the Northern Balkans to modern-day Pakistan.

* Darius I, The Great (522 - 486 BCE): The other great ruler of the dynasty, but sadly not a direct descendant of Cyrus the Great. He was instead from a [[UnexpectedSuccessor cadet branch]] who inherited the throne after the Cambyses/Smerdis mess. He started another mess that were the GrecoPersianWars (or it was the Greeks who started it, depending on your opinion) with expedition to punish Athens and Eretria for their aid in the Ionian Revolt. It led to the failure at the Battle of Marathon, but at least he subjougated Thrace, Macedon, the Cyclades and the island of Naxos. Darius strengthened the satrapies, organized a new uniform monetary system, made Aramaic the official language of the empire. He also made roads built and introduced standard weights and measures. He left the empire a better place, if not prosperous.

* Darius II (424 - 405 BCE): Like his father Artaxerxes I he did not like to send any army to Greece, but keep the strategy of favor one party over another. He founded Sparta's campaign against Athens, so they owned him the victory in UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesusWar. He had quite a dreadful wife, his half-sister Parysatis, who would play a larger role in their son's reign.
* Artaxerxes II (405 - 359 BCE): An intense reign. Before Artaxerxes II could take to the throne his legitimacy as ruler was threathened by his younger brother Cyrus the Younger, sarap of Asia Minor and their [[MommasBoy mother's favorite]]. This kicks the plot of Creator/Xenophon ''Literature/Anabasis'', as the only reason he ever was in Persia was that Cyrus the Younger raised an army of mostly Greek sellswords. Unfortunately for Cyrus, he was killed at the Battle of Cunaxa, despite he almost made it to Babylon. Artaxerxes became involved in the Corinthian war along with Sparta but as the Spartans had started by invading Asia Minor he funded the Athenians, Thebans and Corinthians instead. The alliance with Athens managed to destroy the Spartan fleet at the Battle of Cnidus (494 BC). Fearing that his Athenian allies were becoming too powerful, he sided again with Sparta betraying his allies and signing the Treaty of Antalcidas, restoring control of the Greek cities in Anatolia and giving Sparta ghe control on the Greek mainland.