Persia
Ninevah 645-635 BC
Lachish siege relief, Ninevah 700-692 BC
THE PERSIAN EMPIRE
The Achaemenids c700 BC Achaemenes. 559-530 Cyrus the Great. 529-522 Cambyses. 522 Smerdis. 521-486 Darius I
Darius ‘the Great’ 522 - 486 BC.
I am Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries containing all kinds of men, king in this great earth far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid, a Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan, having Aryan lineage.
The seal of Darius
Persepolis
Persepolis inscription. King Darius: This country Persia which Ahuramazda gave to me is a good country, full of good horses, full of good men. By the favour of Ahuramazda and of me, king Darius, this country fears no other country. Persepolis inscription.