Cambyses II
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Cambyses II was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 530 to 522 BCE. He was the son of and successor to Cyrus the Great; his mother was Cassandane. His relatively brief rei
Cambyses (left, kneeling) as pharaoh while worshipping an Apis bull (524 BC)
Overview of the ruins of Babylon
Imaginary 19th-century illustration of Cambyses II meeting Psamtik III.
Ethiopians bring tribute in the Apadana reliefs in Persepolis
Cyrus the Great
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Cyrus II of Persia, commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Median Empire and embr
Cambyses II
…Cambyses II was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 530 to 522 BCE. He was the son of and successor to Cyrus the Great (r. 550–530 BC); his mother was Cassandane. His relatively brief reign was marked by his conquests in North Africa, notably Egypt, which he took by…
Winged genie relief at Pasargadae, with braided hair and a Hemhem crown, which an old theory identified as Cyrus
The four-winged guardian figure that may depict Cyrus, known from a bas-relief on a doorway pillar from Pasargadae. An inscription says "I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian." Scholars doubting that it depicts Cyrus note the inscription was inscribed in a later period and that the same inscription is found on other palaces in the complex.
"I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian" in Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian languages. It is known as the "CMa inscription", carved in a column of Palace P in Pasargadae. These inscriptions on behalf of Cyrus were probably made later by Darius I in order to affirm his lineage, using the Old Persian script he had designed.
Painting by Jean-Charles Nicaise Perrin of king Astyages sending Harpagus to kill young Cyrus