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Late Period of Ancient Egypt
The Late Period of Egypt (525-332 BCE) is the era following the Third Intermediate Period (1069-525) and preceding the brief Hellenistic Period (332-323 BCE) when Egypt was ruled by the Argead officials installed by Alexander the Great prior...
Definition
Miltiades
Miltiades (c. 555-489 BCE) was the Athenian general who defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE. The Greeks faced a Persian force of superior numbers led by the commanding admiral Datis, who had been sent by their king...
Definition
Cambyses II
Cambyses II (r. 530-522 BCE) was the second king of the Achaemenid Empire. The Greek historian Herodotus portrays Cambyses as a mad king who committed many acts of sacrilege during his stay in Egypt, including the slaying of the sacred Apis...
Definition
Ancient Persian Warfare
The ancient Persian military evolved from the earlier armed forces of the Medes which, in turn, developed from the warrior class of the indigenous people of the Iranian Plateau, the Aryan migrants (including the Persians) who later settled...
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Bureaucracy in the Achaemenid Empire: Learning from the Past
In the early days of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE), the kings came to realise that, if they were to be able to administer the vast mass of land and the multicultural people who inhabited it, they had to create an organizational system...
Definition
Battle of Issus
The Battle of Issus, on 5 November 333 BCE, was Alexander the Great's second battle against the Persian army and the first direct engagement with King Darius III, near the village of Issus in southern modern-day Turkey. It was a major victory...
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Darius I Inscribed Stone Weight
The cuneiform inscription on this polished diorite weight states "I Darius, the great king, the son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenian". This is an abbreviated version of a standard inscription on a series of stone weights of Darius, which can...
Image
Headless Statue of Darius the Great
Headless, 2.5-metre tall (8.2 feet) granite statue of Darius I (r. 522-486 BCE) originally made to be set up in Egypt and found in 1972 in Susa on the west side of the Gate of Darius. Darius the Great is dressed in the Persian robe but in...
Image
Darius III (Facial Reconstruction)
A photorealistic representation of the Persian king Darius III (r. 336-330 BCE) as he may have appeared. This reconstruction is largely based on artistic evidence like the Alexander Mosaic (c. 100 BCE) and coins minted during the reign of...
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Darius I as Pharaoh of Egypt
This wooden door shows Darius I (reigned 521-486 BCE) dressed as pharaoh on the right, making an offering to the Egyptian god Anubis. The goddess Isis stands on the left. The door originally belonged to a box (or naos) used to contain statuettes...