State · 550 BCE
Cyrus founds the Persian Empire
Pasargadae (Fars, Iran)
Cyrus II, king of Anshan in Persis, overthrew his Median overlord Astyages around 550 BCE and built his capital, Pasargadae, near the site of his victory. He went on to conquer Lydia (546 BCE) and Babylon (539 BCE), where the Cyrus Cylinder presents him as a restorer of temples and of displaced peoples; the Bible credits him with letting exiled Jews return to Jerusalem.
Why it mattered
By his death in 530 BCE the Achaemenid Persian Empire stretched from Asia Minor to the Indus, the largest empire the world had yet seen, uniting many peoples, languages and religions under one king.
Related
- The world in 700 BCE: The Assyrian Colossus chapter
- First coins in Lydia previous moment · late 7th century BCE
- Democracy in Athens next moment · 508/507 BCE