The Persian Empire

the term Persian Empire refers to the
largest entity and most glorious extent
of the Persian state in 550 BC Cyrus the
Great led the successful movement
creating the biggest nation the world
had yet seen conquering the entire
Middle East the Achaemenid Empire spread
across more distances reaching North
Africa the Balkans and the Black Sea
regions and into Central and Western
Asia its main cities were the capital
Persepolis and the city of Susa some
accomplishments from this era include
money the establishment of a postal
service and the first charter of human
rights the Empire’s greatest enemies
were classical Greek States in fact
Alexander the Great defeated the
so-called Persian Empire in 330 BC when
his army torched Persepolis avenging
ancient Persians destruction of Athens
the ruins of Persepolis became important
remnants today the oldest known
civilization comprises the country we
know as Iran having first inhabited the
borders of modern-day Iran since
Neolithic times it was named Iran in the
early 20th century very few literary
works remain from ancient Persia but
famous poets like Rumi made valuable
contributions to Persian literature in
the centuries that followed