Achaemenid Empire
Videos
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the First Persian Empire, was the ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the largest empire by that point in history, spanning a total of 5.5 million square kilometres. The empire spanned from the Balkans and Egypt in the west, West Asia as the base, the majority of Central Asia to the northeast, and the Indus Valley to the southeast.
The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent, under the rule of Darius the Great (522–486 BC)
Family tree of the Achaemenid rulers.
The Bible recounts Cyrus's liberation of the Israelites held captive in Babylon, allowing them to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem
Cyrus the Great's tomb, located at Pasargadae
Balkans
Videos
The Balkans, corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria. The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Turkish straits in the east, and the Black Sea in the northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Musala, 2,925 metres (9,596 ft), in the Rila mountain range, Bulgaria.
A definition of the Balkan Peninsula from 1918 largely according to Jovan Cvijić with the north-west demarcation Soča-Vipava-Postojna-Krka-Sava, i.e. the border between the Alps and the Dinaric Mountains
View toward Rila, the highest mountain range of the Balkans and Southeast Europe (2,925 m)
Sutjeska National Park contains Perućica, which is the largest primeval forest in the Balkans, and one of the last remaining in Europe
Lake Skadar is the largest lake in the Balkans and Southern Europe