A report on Achaemenid Empire, Cyrus the Great, Behistun Inscription and Medes

Cyrus the Great with a Hemhem crown, or four-winged Cherub tutelary divinity, from a relief in the residence of Cyrus in Pasagardae
Punishment of captured impostors and conspirators: Gaumāta lies under the boot of Darius the Great; the last person in line, wearing a traditional Scythian hat and costume, is identified as Skunxa. His image was added after the inscription was completed, requiring some of the text to be removed.
The Apadana Palace, 5th century BC Achaemenid bas-relief shows a Mede soldier behind a Persian soldier, in Persepolis, Iran
The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC)
The four-winged guardian figure representing Cyrus the Great or a four-winged Cherub tutelary deity. Bas-relief found on a doorway pillar at Pasargadae on top of which was once inscribed in three languages the sentence "I am Cyrus the king, an Achaemenian." Scholars who doubt that the relief depicts Cyrus note that the same inscription is written on other palaces in the complex.
Route to inscription at upper right.
Excavation from ancient Ecbatana, Hamadan, Iran
The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC)
"I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian" in Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian languages. It is known as the "CMa inscription", carved in a column of Palace P in Pasargadae. These inscriptions on behalf of Cyrus were probably made later by Darius I in order to affirm his lineage, using the Old Persian script he had designed.
Column 1 (DB I 1–15), sketch by Friedrich von Spiegel (1881).
Timeline of Pre-Achaemenid era.
Family tree of the Achaemenid rulers.
Painting of king Astyages sending Harpagus to kill young Cyrus
Papyrus with an Aramaic translation of the Behistun inscription's text.
Rhyton in the shape of a ram's head, gold – western Iran – Median, late 7th–early 6th century BC
Map of the expansion process of Achaemenid territories
Detail of Cyrus Hunting Wild Boar by Claude Audran the Younger, Palace of Versailles
Close-up of the inscription showing damage
The neighboring Neo-Babylonian Empire at its greatest extent after the destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
Cyrus the Great is said, in the Bible, to have liberated the Hebrew captives in Babylon to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.
Victory of Cyrus over Lydia's Croesus at the Battle of Thymbra, 546 BC
Lineage of Darius the Great according to the Behistun inscription.
Protoma in the form of a bull's head, 8th century BC, gold and filigree, National Museum, Warsaw
The tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. At Pasargadae, Iran.
Croesus on the pyre. Attic red-figure amphora, 500–490 BC, Louvre (G 197)
Achaemenid empire at its greatest extent
The Ganj Nameh ("treasure epistle") in Ecbatana. The inscriptions are by Darius I and his son Xerxes I.
The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC
Ancient Near East circa 540 BC, prior to the invasion of Babylon by Cyrus the Great
The Anubanini rock relief, dated to 2300 BC, and made by the pre-Iranian Lullubi ruler Anubanini, is very similar in content to the Behistun reliefs (woodprint).
Apadana Hall, 5th century BC Achaemenid-era carving of Persian and Median soldiers in traditional costume (Medians are wearing rounded hats and boots), in Persepolis, Iran
The Persian queen Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, sister-wife of Cambyses II, Darius the Great's wife, and mother of Xerxes the Great
Achaemenid soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians, 5th century BC. Cylinder seal impression (drawing).
<center>Relief of ššina {{circa|519 BC}}: "This is ššina. He lied, saying "I am king of Elam.""<ref name=DB>{{cite book|title=Behistun, minor inscriptions DBb inscription- Livius|url=https://www.livius.org/sources/content/behistun-persian-text/behistun-minor-inscriptions/|access-date=2020-03-26|archive-date=2020-03-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310112440/https://www.livius.org/sources/content/behistun-persian-text/behistun-minor-inscriptions/|url-status=live}}</ref></center>
Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars
Queen Tomyris of the Massagetae receiving the head of Cyrus
<center>Relief of Nidintu-Bêl: "This is Nidintu-Bêl. He lied, saying "I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabonidus. I am king of Babylon."" </center>
Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC
Tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae, Iran, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2015)
Relief of Tritantaechmes: "This is Tritantaechmes. He lied, saying "I am king of Sagartia, from the family of Cyaxares.""
Achaemenid king fighting hoplites, seal and seal holder, Cimmerian Bosporus.
Cyrus the Great is said in the Bible to have liberated the Jews from the Babylonian captivity to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.
Relief of Arakha: "This is Arakha. He lied, saying: "I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabonidus. I am king in Babylon.""
Achaemenid gold ornaments, Brooklyn Museum
Cyrus the Great (center) with his General Harpagus behind him, as he receives the submission of Astyages (18th century tapestry)
Relief of Frâda: "This is Frâda. He lied, saying "I am king of Margiana.""
Persian Empire timeline including important events and territorial evolution – 550–323 BC
The Cyrus Street, Jerusalem
Behistun relief of Skunkha. Label: "This is Skunkha the Sacan."
Relief showing Darius I offering lettuces to the Egyptian deity Amun-Ra Kamutef, Temple of Hibis
Painting of Daniel and Cyrus before the Idol Bel
Statue of Herakles in Behistun complex
The 24 countries subject to the Achaemenid Empire at the time of Darius, on the Egyptian statue of Darius I.
Statue of Cyrus the great at Olympic Park in Sydney
Herakles at Behistun, sculpted for a Seleucis Governor in 148 BC.
The Battle of Issus, between Alexander the Great on horseback to the left, and Darius III in the chariot to the right, represented in a Pompeii mosaic dated 1st century BC – Naples National Archaeological Museum
17th-century bust of Cyrus the Great in Hamburg, Germany
Bas relief of Mithridates II of Parthia and bas relief of Gotarzes II of Parthia and Sheikh Ali khan Zangeneh text endowment
Alexander's first victory over Darius, the Persian king depicted in medieval European style in the 15th century romance The History of Alexander's Battles
The Cyrus cylinder, a contemporary cuneiform script proclaiming Cyrus as legitimate king of Babylon
Damaged equestrian relief of Gotarzes II at Behistun
Frataraka dynasty ruler Vadfradad I (Autophradates I). 3rd century BC. Istakhr (Persepolis) mint.
Vologases's relief in Behistun
Dārēv I (Darios I) used for the first time the title of mlk (King). 2nd century BC.
Cuneiform carving in Kermanshah in 520 BC
Winged sphinx from the Palace of Darius in Susa, Louvre
Daric of Artaxerxes II
Volume of annual tribute per district, in the Achaemenid Empire, according to Herodotus.
Achaemenid tax collector, calculating on an Abax or Abacus, according to the Darius Vase (340–320 BC).
Letter from the Satrap of Bactria to the governor of Khulmi, concerning camel keepers, 353 BC
Relief of throne-bearing soldiers in their native clothing at the tomb of Xerxes I, demonstrating the satrapies under his rule.
Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. c. 500 BC–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Persian soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians. Cylinder seal impression.
Color reconstruction of Achaemenid infantry on the Alexander Sarcophagus (end of 4th century BC).
Seal of Darius the Great hunting in a chariot, reading "I am Darius, the Great King" in Old Persian (𐎠𐎭𐎶𐏐𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁𐎴 𐏋, "adam Dārayavaʰuš xšāyaθiya"), as well as in Elamite and Babylonian. The word "great" only appears in Babylonian. British Museum.
Achaemenid calvalryman in the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.
Armoured cavalry: Achaemenid Dynast of Hellespontine Phrygia attacking a Greek psiloi, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.
Reconstitution of Persian landing ships at the Battle of Marathon.
Greek ships against Achaemenid ships at the Battle of Salamis.
Iconic relief of lion and bull fighting, Apadana of Persepolis
Achaemenid golden bowl with lioness imagery of Mazandaran
The ruins of Persepolis
A section of the Old Persian part of the trilingual Behistun inscription. Other versions are in Babylonian and Elamite.
A copy of the Behistun inscription in Aramaic on a papyrus. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the empire.
An Achaemenid drinking vessel
Bas-relief of Farvahar at Persepolis
Tomb of Artaxerxes III in Persepolis
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, was built by Greek architects for the local Persian satrap of Caria, Mausolus (Scale model)
Achamenid dynasty timeline
Reconstruction of the Palace of Darius at Susa. The palace served as a model for Persepolis.
Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I the Great's palace, Louvre
Ruins of Throne Hall, Persepolis
Apadana Hall, Persian and Median soldiers at Persepolis
Lateral view of tomb of Cambyses II, Pasargadae, Iran
Plaque with horned lion-griffins. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Achaemenid Empire, also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire based in Western Asia that was founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. It reached its greatest extent under Xerxes I, who conquered most of northern and central ancient Greece.

- Achaemenid Empire

600–530 BC; Kūruš), commonly known as Cyrus the Great and also called Cyrus the Elder by the Greeks, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire.

- Cyrus the Great

522 – 486)), the third ruler of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

- Behistun Inscription

From this region, Cyrus rose and defeated the Median Empire—of which he had previously been king—as well as Lydia and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following which he formally established the Achaemenid Empire.

- Achaemenid Empire

The reign of Cyrus lasted about thirty years; his empire took root with his conquest of the Median Empire followed by the Lydian Empire and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

- Cyrus the Great

In any case, it appears that after the fall of the last Median king against Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire, Media became an important province and prized by the empires which successively dominated it (Achaemenids, Seleucids, Parthians and Sasanids).

- Medes

The inscription is approximately 15 m high, 25 m wide, and 100 m above ground-level, on a limestone cliff up from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia and Media (Babylon and Ecbatana, respectively).

- Behistun Inscription

The inscription was illustrated by a life-sized bas-relief of Darius I holding a bow as a sign of his kingship, with his left foot on top of the chest of a figure lying on his back before him; the supine figure is reputed to be the magus Gaumāta, who, according to Darius, was an imposter and impersonator of Bardiya (a son of Cyrus the Great).

- Behistun Inscription

According to the Cyrus Cylinder (the oldest extant genealogy of the Achaemenids) the kings of Anshan were Teispes, Cyrus I, Cambyses I and Cyrus II, also known as Cyrus the Great, who created the empire (the later Behistun Inscription, written by Darius the Great, claims that Teispes was the son of Achaemenes and that Darius is also descended from Teispes through a different line, but no earlier texts mention Achaemenes).

- Achaemenid Empire

The traditional view based on archaeological research and the genealogy given in the Behistun Inscription and by Herodotus holds that Cyrus the Great was an Achaemenid.

- Cyrus the Great

In Achaemenid sources, specifically from the Behistun Inscription (2.76, 77–78), the capital of Media is Ecbatana, called "Hamgmatāna-" in Old Persian (Elamite:Agmadana-; Babylonian: Agamtanu-) corresponding to modern-day Hamadan.

- Medes

0 related topics with Alpha

Overall