A report on Achaemenid Empire, Cyrus the Great and Chapar Khaneh

Cyrus the Great with a Hemhem crown, or four-winged Cherub tutelary divinity, from a relief in the residence of Cyrus in Pasagardae

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.

"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.

Painting of king Astyages sending Harpagus to kill young Cyrus

Map of the expansion process of Achaemenid territories

Detail of Cyrus Hunting Wild Boar by Claude Audran the Younger, Palace of Versailles

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

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)

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 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).

Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars

Queen Tomyris of the Massagetae receiving the head of Cyrus

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)

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.

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)

Persian Empire timeline including important events and territorial evolution – 550–323 BC

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

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

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

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

Frataraka dynasty ruler Vadfradad I (Autophradates I). 3rd century BC. Istakhr (Persepolis) mint.

Dārēv I (Darios I) used for the first time the title of mlk (King). 2nd century BC.

Winged sphinx from the Palace of Darius in Susa, Louvre

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

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.

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)

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

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

Chapar Khaneh is the Persian-language term that refers to the postal service system used throughout the Achaemenid Empire.

- Chapar Khaneh

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

It was created by Cyrus the Great and later developed by Darius the Great as the royal method of communication throughout the empire.

- Chapar Khaneh

The Achaemenid Empire is known for imposing a successful model of centralized, bureaucratic administration via the use of satraps; its multicultural policy; building infrastructure, such as road systems and a postal system; the use of an official language across its territories; and the development of civil services, including its possession of a large, professional army.

- Achaemenid Empire

He also formed an innovative postal system throughout the empire, based on several relay stations called Chapar Khaneh.

- Cyrus the Great

2 related topics with Alpha

Iran

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Country in Western Asia.

Inscription of Ardeshir Babakan (r. 224–242) in Naqsh-e Rostam: "This is the figure of Mazdaworshiper, the lord Ardashir, Shahanshah of Iran..."

An Ashrafi Coin of Nader Shah (r. 1736–1747), reverse:"Coined on gold the word of kingdom in the world, Nader of Greater Iran and the world-conquerer king."

A cave painting in Doushe cave, Lorestan, from the 8th millennium BC

A bas-relief at Persepolis, depicting the united Medes and Persians

Tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, in Pasargadae

The Achaemenid Empire (550 BC–330 BC) around the time of Darius the Great and Xerxes I

The Parthian Empire (247 BC–224 AD) in 94 BC at its greatest extent, during the reign of Mithridates II

Tomb of Hafez, a medieval Persian poet whose works are regarded as a pinnacle in Persian literature and have left a considerable mark on later Western writers, most notably Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Henry David Thoreau, and Emerson

Venetian portrait, kept at the Uffizi, of Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid Empire

A portrait of AbbasI, the powerful, pragmatic Safavid ruler who reinforced Iran's military, political, and economic power

Statue of Nader Shah, the first Afsharid ruler of Iran, at his Tomb

A map showing the 19th-century northwestern borders of Iran, comprising modern-day eastern Georgia, Dagestan, Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan, before being ceded to the neighboring Russian Empire by the Russo-Iranian wars

The first national Iranian Parliament was established in 1906 during the Persian Constitutional Revolution

Reza Shah, the first Pahlavi king of Iran, in military uniform

The Allied "Big Three" at the 1943 Tehran Conference.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the Imperial Family during the coronation ceremony of the Shah of Iran in 1967.

Ruhollah Khomeini's return to Iran on 1February 1979

An Iranian soldier wearing a gas mask on the front-line during the Iran–Iraq War

The Green Movement's Silent Demonstration during the 2009–10 Iranian election protests

The 2017–18 Iranian protests were initiated on 31 December 2017 and continued for months.

Mount Damavand, Iran's highest point, is located in Amol, Mazenderan.

Persian leopard, listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Iran's syncretic political system combines elements of an Islamic theocracy with vetted democracy.

Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, meeting with his counterpart, China's paramount leader Xi Jinping on 23 January 2016. Iran and China are strategic allies.

Ali Khamenei voting in the 2017 presidential election

Iranian former President Hassan Rouhani meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Iran and Russia are strategic allies.

The Islamic Consultative Assembly, also known as the Iranian Parliament

Protest against U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel. Tehran, 11 December 2017.

Sophisticated indigenous long range missile system Bavar-373 paraded in Tehran.

Iran's provinces by their contribution to national GDP (2014)

A proportional representation of Iran exports, 2019

More than a million tourists visit Kish Island each year.

Iran holds 10% of the world's proven oil reserves and 15% of its gas. It is OPEC's second largest exporter and the world's 7th largest oil producer.

Literacy rate of Iran's population plus 15, 1975–2015, according to UNESCO Institute of Statistics

Sharif University of Technology is one of Iran's most prestigious higher education institutions.

The production line for AryoSeven at the Iranian biopharmaceutical company of AryoGen

Iran's provinces by population density (2013)

Iron Age gold cup from Marlik, kept at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kamal-ol-Molk's Mirror Hall, often considered a starting point in Iranian modern art

Tomb of the 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi, author of Šāhnāme, the classical Persian composition of the Iranian national epics, in Tus

Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism, depicted on Raphael's The School of Athens

Karna, an ancient Iranian musical instrument from the 6th century BC, kept at the Persepolis Museum

The Roudaki Hall, constructed between 1957 and 1967 in Tehran

Reproduction of the 3rd-millennium BC goblet from southeastern Iran, possibly the world's oldest example of animation.

Abbas Kiarostami (1940–2016), an acclaimed Iranian film director

Behrouz Vossoughi, a well-known Iranian actor who has appeared in more than 90 films

Haft-Seen, a customary of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year

Chelow kabab (rice and kebab), one of Iran's national dishes

The Azadi Stadium in Tehran is West Asia's largest football stadium.

An Iranian tea tray served near Garden of Mausoleum of Omar Khayyam in Nishapur

The country is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BC. It was first unified by the Medes, an ancient Iranian people, in the seventh century BC, and reached its territorial height in the sixth century BC, when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Persian Empire, which became one of the largest empires in history and has been described as the world's first effective superpower.

The Achaemenid Empire is noted for the release of the Jewish exiles in Babylon, building infrastructures such as the Royal Road and the Chapar (postal service), and the use of an official language, Imperial Aramaic, throughout its territories.

Mail

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System for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels.

Many early post systems consisted of fixed courier routes. Here, a post house on a postal route in the 19th century Finland

The use of the Scinde Dawk adhesive stamps to signify the prepayment of postage began on 1 July 1852 in the Scinde/Sindh district, as part of a comprehensive reform of the district's postal system.

China 4-cent on 100-dollar silver overprint of 1949

An example of a main post office building in Kraków, Poland

Postmaster Maximilian Karl, 6th Prince von Thurn & Taxis (1802 - 1871) last Postmaster

Johannes 11th Prince von Thurn & Taxis (1926 - 1990) heir of the Postal fortune

The Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp

The first airmail flight in Germany, 1912

"The Steamboat" – mobile steaming equipment used by Czech StB for unsticking of envelopes during correspondence surveillance

Le Philateliste by François Barraud (1929).

In the United States, private companies, such as FedEx and UPS, compete with the federal government's United States Postal Service, particularly for package delivery. Different mailboxes are also provided for local and express service. (The USPS has a legal monopoly on First Class and Standard Mail delivery.)

Pillar boxes on the island of Madeira, Portugal. (1st class mail in blue and 2nd class in red)

Multi-franked registered mail from Crete using Greek stamps during the Union with Greece to Egypt in 1914 showing numbered registration label

This antique "letter-box" style U.S. mailbox is both on display and in use at the Smithsonian Institution Building.

The best-documented claim (Xenophon) attributes the invention to the Persian King Cyrus the Great (550 BCE), who mandated that every province in his kingdom would organize reception and delivery of post to each of its citizens.

The Persian system worked using stations (called Chapar-Khaneh), whence the message carrier (called Chapar) would ride to the next post, whereupon he would swap his horse with a fresh one for maximum performance and delivery speed.