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
Xerxes I was a Persian ruler who reigned as the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC. He was the son of Darius the Great and Atossa.
Achaemenid Empire
…Gygaea. Family ties that the Macedonian rulers Amyntas and Alexander enjoyed with Bubares ensured them good relations with the Persian kings Darius and Xerxes I, who was also known as Xerxes the Great. The Persian invasion led indirectly to Macedonia's rise in power and Persia had some common interests in the…
Rock relief of Xerxes I from Persepolis, kept at National Museum of Iran
Engraving of Babylon by H. Fletcher, 1690
The soldiers of Xerxes I, of all ethnicities, on the tomb of Xerxes I, at Naqsh-e Rostam
Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. Impression from a cylinder seal, sculpted c. 500–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I Metropolitan Museum of Art