The study of the Persian Empire between 559 and 465 offers a fascinating insight into what was then the largest empire the world had ever known. It stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus Valley, and from the central Asian Steppes to the Indian Ocean. Your study focuses on the first four kings of the empire: Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and Xerxes.

The resources here will enable you to enrich the knowledge you have already gained from reading the textbook. In particular, you will be able to set alongside one another a variety of sources – from Greece, Egypt, Bablyon and Persia itself – as you try to piece together what the Persian Empire was really like.

Corrections to the print edition
p.19: After quote it is incorrect that Cyrus did not follow Croesus' advice. Two sentences here replaced with 'Persuaded by these words and the rest of Croesus’ speech, Cyrus decided to follow his advice. However, he sent Croesus back to Persia with his son, Cambyses, whom he had named as his heir.'