Search

Article
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...

Image
Court of Darius the Great
A modern recreation of the court of Darius the Great (r. 522-486 BCE), by Zvonimir Grbasic.
Courtesy of Ancient History Magazine / Karwansaray Publishers.

Image
Relief of Darius I from Persepolis
Relief of Darius I from Persepolis, 522-486 BCE

Image
Tomb of Darius I, Naqsh-e Rustam
Tomb of Darius I, Naqsh-e Rustam, near Persepolis, Iran, c. 522–486 BCE

Definition
Artaxerxes I
Artaxerxes I (r. 465-424 BCE) was the sixth monarch of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. He was the son of Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) and his principal wife Amestris (d. 424 BCE) and grandson of Darius I (the Great, r. 522-486 BCE). He continued...

Definition
Ancient Persian Governors
The Achaemenid Persian Empire functioned as well as it did because of the efficient bureaucracy established by its founder Cyrus the Great (r. c. 550-530 BCE) which was administered through the satrapy system. A Persian governor of a province...

Definition
Ancient Persia
Persia (roughly modern-day Iran) is among the oldest inhabited regions in the world. Archaeological sites in the country have established human habitation dating back 100,000 years to the Paleolithic Age with semi-permanent settlements (most...

Video
Capital of a column from the audience hall of the palace of Darius I, Susa, c. 510 B.C.E.
Capital of a column from the audience hall of the palace of Darius I, Susa, c. 510 B.C.E., Achaemenid, Tell of the Apadana, Susa, Iran (Louvre)
Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker & Dr. Beth Harris

Image
The Apadana of the Palace of Darius in Susa
The Apadana (audience hall) of the Palace of Darius in Susa (Iran) was a large hypostyle room of 36 columns. Measuring 109 metres (357 feet) on each side, it was very similar to that of Persepolis in plan and dimensions with distinctive Persian...

Definition
Artaxerxes II
Artaxerxes II (r. 404-358 BCE, also known as Artaxerxes II Mnemon) was the 10th monarch of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE). He was the son of Darius II (r. 424-404 BCE) and Parysatis (who was Darius II's half-sister) and older brother...