Ancient History Civilizations

Persepolis is the name of an archaeological ruin, part of the Achaemenid Dynasty of the Persian Empire, established by King Darius about 515 BC. The site is one of the best known archaeological ruins in the world, and probably the most important Achaemenid capital. Persepolis is located about 50 kilometers northeast of Shiraz and is [...]

Definition: Parthia was an early Persian empire, in between the Achaemenian and Sasanid Empires and centered in northeastern Iran between 247 BC and AD 228. At its height, Parthia ruled all of what is now Iran and everything else between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Rose, Charles B. 2005 The Parthians in Augustan [...]

The Achaemenids were the ruling dynasty of Cyrus the Great and his family over the Persian empire, from 550-330 BC, when it was conquered by Alexander the Great. Cyrus’s empire included Libya, Ethiopia, Thrace, Macedonia, Afghanistan, and the Punjab and everything in between.

Tomb of Cyrus, Pasargadae (Iran) Shirley Schermer (c) 2002 Definition: The Persian Empire included all of what is now Iran, and in fact Persia was the official name of Iran until 1935. At its height about 500 BC, the founding dynasty of the empire, the Achaemenids, had conquered Asia as far as the Indus River, [...]

Definition: Akra is a large important site of the Achaemenid dynasty, located in the Bannu Basin south of Peshawar in what is today Pakistan. The site consists of a series of impressive mounds between 15 and 20 meters in height, and has been recognized as an archaeological site for more than 100 years. Occupations at [...]

Egyptology is the study of Ancient Egypt and Egyptian antiquities and is a regional and thematic branch of the larger disciplines of ancient history and archeology. A practitioner of the discipline is an Egyptologist, though Egyptology is not exclusive to such practitioners. Development of the field: Egyptology investigates the range of Ancient Egyptian cultures (language, [...]