Darius: Did you mean...?

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...

The region of ancient Persia, which is modern-day Iran, has one of the longest histories, reaching back to the Palaeolithic Age, some one hundred thousand years ago. Between circa 1500 and 1000 BCE, a Persian priest named Zoroaster, also...

The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BCE was Alexander the Great's (356-323 BCE) first major victory against the forces of the Achaemenid Empire. Alexander had crossed the Hellespont with his combined Macedonian and Greek forces and stepped...

Scythian warfare used state-of-the-art recurve bows and hit-and-run tactics against set infantry formations. Working from nimble horses, Scythian warriors could unleash a cloud of lethal arrows. Known, too, for their innovative use of scale...

Ionia was a territory in western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) populated by the Ionians (Greeks who spoke the Ionian dialect) in c. 1150 BCE. It is best known as the birthplace of Greek philosophy (at Miletus) and the site of the Ionian Revolt...

Sardis (near modern-day Sart, Turkey) was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia founded (according to Herodotus) by the Heracleidae, the Heraclid Dynasty descended from the hero Heracles (Hercules). The city was famous in antiquity...

Iran, or Persia as it was formerly known, is a country with a long and rich history stretching back thousands of years and where many civilisations thrived. With 24 historical sites registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List and each with...

The Battle of Plataea was a land battle between Greeks and Persians near the small town of Plataea in Boeotia in 479 BCE. Following up their naval victory at the Battle of Salamis in September 480 BCE against the same enemy, the Greeks again...

The faravahar is the best-known symbol from ancient Persia of the winged sun disk with a seated male figure in the center. It is thought to represent Ahura Mazda, the god of Zoroastrianism, but has also been interpreted to signify other concepts...

Anahita is the ancient Persian goddess of fertility, water, health and healing, and wisdom. Owing to her association with life-giving properties, she also came to be connected with ancient Persian warfare as soldiers would pray to her for...