Persian Empire

From watching the video “Engineering an Empire: The Persians” I learned about the Persian Empire. Persia is today the country of known as Iran. Led by Cyrus II the Great (576 – 530 BC) Persia became one of the largest and most successful empires of all time. The reign of Cyrus the Great is said to have lasted from twenty eight to thirty one years. In that time he stretched his empire over much land, including; parts of the Balkans and Thrace-Macedonia in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east. Because he was a just and benevolent leader who refused to enslave his conquered subjects he was given many titles including; The Great King, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer among many others. In 539 BC Cyrus conquered Babylon, but instead of presenting himself as a conquer he presented himself as a liberator, freeing those people from their cruel leader.

Many may say he did this only to create a so called “buffer state” between his own empire and the hostility of Egypt. Under his guidance Persia gave way to some of the most ingenious engineering the world had ever seen. Engineering feats included an innovative water management system; a water canal linking the Nile River to the Red Sea; and the creation of The Mausoleum of Maussollos, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Cyrus built the foundations of a courier, or mail, system. In 530 BC Cyrus the Great died in battle. He did not live long enough to see all that his empire could have become, because of this he has been compared to Julius Cesar. By the time of his death the Persian Empire had 3 capitols known as Babylon, Persepolis, and Ecbatana. This left Persia without a leader, and created a great war. Persia’s future now hung in the balance as many rivals vied for power. Then distant cousin of Cyrus, who was also a general, rose up to consume power. He became known as Darius the Great. Darius I began be rebuilding the old capitol of