Achaemenid
The dynasty established by
Cyrus
II
(the Great) in the 6th century bc and named after his ancestor Achaemenes. Cyrus' predecessors ruled Parsumash, a vassal state of the Median empire, but he overthrew their king Astyages and incorporated the
Medes
within his Persian empire, which by his death in
530
BC
extended from Asia Minor to the River Indus. His successor
Cambyses
II
(
529
–
521
BC
) added Egypt.
Darius
I
instituted a major reorganization of the administration and finances of the empire, establishing twenty provinces ruled by Satraps. Both he and
Xerxes
failed in...
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