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Definition
Achaemenid Empire
East of the Zagros Mountains, a high plateau stretches off towards India. While Egypt was rising up against the Hyksos, a wave of pastoral tribes from north of the Caspian Sea was drifting down into this area and across into India. By the...
Definition
Ancient Persian Governors
The Achaemenid Persian Empire functioned as well as it did because of the efficient bureaucracy established by its founder Cyrus the Great (r. c. 550-530 BCE) which was administered through the satrapy system. A Persian governor of a province...
Definition
Ancient Persian Government
The government of ancient Persia was based on an efficient bureaucracy which combined the centralization of power with the decentralization of administration. The Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) founded by Cyrus the Great (r. c. 550-530...
Definition
Ardashir I
Ardashir I (l. c. 180-241 CE, r. 224-240 CE) was the founder of the Persian Sassanian Empire (224-651 CE) and father of the great Sassanian king Shapur I (r. 240-270 CE). He is also known as Ardashir I Babakan, Ardeshir I, Ardashir the Unifier...
Definition
Ancient Persia
Persia (roughly modern-day Iran) is among the oldest inhabited regions in the world. Archaeological sites in the country have established human habitation dating back 100,000 years to the Paleolithic Age with semi-permanent settlements (most...
Definition
Ancient Persian Art and Architecture
Persian art and architecture in the present day is associated with the nation of Iran and usually designated as beginning with the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) but has an even longer history with its origins dating back to before the...
Definition
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (also known as Ahuramazda, Harzoo, Hormazd, Hourmazd, Hurmuz, Ohrmazd, 'Lord' or 'Spirit') is the highest spirit worshipped in Zoroastrianism, the old Mede and ancient Persian mythology which spread across Asia predating Christianity...
Definition
Oxus Treasure
The Oxus Treasure is a collection of 180 artifacts of precious metal, dated to the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE), which were discovered on the north bank of the Oxus River near the town of Takht-i Sangin in Tajikstan between 1876-1880...
Article
Foreign Influences & Imported Luxuries in Thrace
Defining Thracian art is a difficult task due to the fact that what we call today Thrace was never a single unified state but, rather, a collection of many independent communities (or tribes) who formed both alliances and rivalries with each...
Interview
Interview: King of the World by Matt Waters
In this interview, World History Encyclopedia sits down with author Matt Waters to chat about his new book King of the World: The Life of Cyrus the Great published by Oxford University Press. Kelly: Can you tell us a bit about your book...