The Achaemenid Empire was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. At peak, its territorial extent was roughly 5.5 million square kilometres, making it
Family tree of the Achaemenid rulers.
Cyrus the Great's tomb, located at Pasargadae
The Persian queen Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, sister-wife of Cambyses II, Darius the Great's wife, and mother of Xerxes the Great
Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC
Macedonia, also called Macedon, was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initia
Achaemenid Empire
…amidst a Greek military campaign that began in 336 BC, the Achaemenid Empire was conquered in its entirety by Alexander the Great, who annexed it to his Macedonian Empire. Upon Alexander's death, which sparked the beginning of the Hellenistic period in 323 BC, the majority of the former Achaemenid Empire's territories…
The entrance to one of the royal tombs at Vergina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A silver octadrachm of Alexander I of Macedon (r. 498–454 BC), minted c. 465–460 BC, showing an equestrian figure wearing a chlamys (short cloak) and petasos (head cap) while holding two spears and leading a horse
A Macedonian didrachm minted during the reign of Archelaus I of Macedon (r. 413–399 BC)
A silver stater of Amyntas III of Macedon (r. 393–370 BC)