The Achaemenid Empire
In 681 B.C., in the vacuum left by Assyrian's destruction of Elam, Prince Teispes captured Anshan. Anshan had once been an Elamite stronghold. Prince Teispes began to call himself "King of the City of Anshan". His father, Achaemenes, had been responsible for organizing the early Persian army. It is his name that began the royal line of kings in the Achaemede empire.
Teipses expanded Anshan into the kingdom of Parsa. Upon his death, he gave one of his sons the northern half, and the other the southern half. Cyrus, the ruler of the southern half, had a son who married the Median princess Mandane, thus joining the royal families of Parsa and Media. From this union, a son was brought forth. The boy's name was Kurush, who would be known as Cyrus the great.
Cyrus became one of the greatest rulers of Persia. He took control of many of the surrounding kingdoms including Media, Lydia, Bactria, Parthia, Babylon, Asia Minor, and others. In 529 B.C., Cyrus's kingdom extended as far as the Hindu Kush.
Cyrus's son, Cambyses II, inherited some of his father's military and organizational skills, but not much of his popularity. He defeated the Saitic kingdom of Egypt and accepted the surrender of Libya and the Greek citites of north Africa. Cambyses II died while campaining against the Kushite kingdom of Monroe.
Darius I, a general and a part of the lateral branch of the Achaemenid family, took the throne after an upheaval. After spending some time supressing much rebellion, he set out to execute the India campaign, which added part of northwest India to the empire. Under Darius's rule, Thrace was also conquered and an alliance was made with Macedonia. Cities along the Ionian coast began to rebell, and after many attempts to stop the rebellion, the cities finally fell and the tyrants ruling the cities were replaced with democracies.
Xerxes became king after his father, Darius I, died in 486 B.C. His vast army defeated the Spartans, but was not powerful enough to fight off the Greeks at Platea. This resulted in the inability to expand any farther west. It was clear that Persia had reached it's peak. In 358 B.C., Artaxerxes, a descendant of Xerxes recaptured Egypt.
The Achaemenid Empire was the first Persian empire that believed in religious tolerance. The Achaemenids also built roads, ports, and irrigation systems. Darius had a canal built to conect the Nile River to the Red Sea. Achaemenid Persians traded so much that their words for certain goods eventually entered the English language. Some examples are sash, shawl, bazzaar, turquoise, and tiara. The Persian royal cubit was exactly 18 inches under Darius' rule. Darius revolutionized the economy by turning it into one that used silver and gold coins. He also introduced banking houses. The Achaemnid empire was the golden age of ancient Persia.