The Achaemenid state

In the territory of present-day Iran lived the Kassites, Elamites, Medes and Persians. The Elamite state arose in the south-west in the 3rd millennium BCE, with its capital at Susa. Media grew strong in the 7th century BCE under King Cyaxares and, allied with Babylon, defeated Assyria. In the middle of the 6th century BCE Cyrus II of the Achaemenid dynasty united the Persians and conquered Media (about 550), Lydia and Babylon (539). His son Cambyses II conquered Egypt in 525 BCE. Under Darius I (522–486 BCE) the state stretched from northern India to the Mediterranean, one of the largest states of its time. Darius I put down revolts, divided the state into satrapies, introduced a single gold coin, the “daric”, and built the “Royal Road” linking Susa with Sardis, the Lydian capital. The capitals included Susa, Persepolis and Ecbatana. At Persepolis the palace of Darius I and Xerxes and the Hall of a Hundred Columns survive; wall reliefs show conquered peoples bringing tribute. Persian royal cuneiform inscriptions are preserved on the rocks of Behistun and Naqsh-e Rustam and on the walls of Persepolis. In 330 BCE Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid state, which had existed for more than two hundred years.