#e <t>migration<n>Persians migrate south<d>1000(100)<info>from what is now southern Russia to Iran
// Cyrus I
#p <nat>Persian<o>king<n>Cyrus I<ac>650(10)<d>620(20)<c>Susa // king in 640
#e <t>battle<n>Ashur falls to Medes<d>614<c>Ashur<vic>Media
// one more generation in here
// Cyrus II
#p <nat>Persian<o>king<n>Cyrus II<aka>Cyrus the Great<b>600(10)<ac>550(10)<d>530 Dec(12)<c>Susa<info>Cyrus was the king of Elam, and the founder of Persian Empire. Daniel 5:31 and 6 refer to a "Darius the Mede," who was 62 years old when he conquered Babylon in 538 B.C. This may be either Cyrus himself, or the governor, Cyaxares, whom he set over Babylon.<ref>Daniel 5:31
#e <t>battle<n>Cyrus II takes Ecbatana<d>545(5)<c>Ecbatana<vic>Persia
#e <t>battle<n>Cyrus II defeats Babylonia<d>538<c>Babylonia<vic>Persia
#e <t>migration<n>Jews allowed to return to Israel<d>538<c>Persia<info>Zerubbabel returns with main party. 50,000 return to Israel.
#e <t>battle<n>Persians and Medes conquer Babylonia<d>538 Jan(12)<c>Babylonia<vic>Persia
// Cambyses
#p <nat>Persian<o>king<n>Cambyses<b>575(10)<ac>530 Dec(12)<d>522<fa>Cyrus II
// Gaumata, called Pseudo-Smerdis by the Greeks<ac>522<d>522*/
// Darius I
#p <nat>Persian<o>king<n>Darius I<b>555(5)<ac>522 Dec (12)<d>486(1)<c>Susa<aka>Darius the Great<info>Darius I was an Achaemenid king and is considered the restorer of the Persian Empire. He became king after killing the priestly usurper Gaumata, who claimed to be Bardiya, younger brother of Cambyses II. Darius's father was Hystaspes, an Achaemenid prince of a collateral line. (Some scholars think that Darius killed the real Bardiya after the death of Cambyses and invented the story that Bardiya had been killed earlier by his brother.) Darius reorganized the Achaemenid empire into provinces called satrapies. He is said to have ordered the creation of a cuneiform script for the Old Persian language. Darius invaded the Balkans and southern Russia but was forced to retreat from the latter. Continuing the Persian Wars with the Greeks, he sent an army against Athens, but it was defeated in the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. He named his son Xerxes I as his successor.<ref>Grolier
#e <t>battle<n>Darius I takes Macedon<d>513<c>Macedon<vic>Persia
#e <t>founding<n>Persepolis<d>518<au>Darius I<c>Persepolis<info>Darius started the building of a complex of palaces and buildings at Persepolis.
// Xerxes I
#p <nat>Persian<o>king<n>Xerxes I<b>519(1)<ac>486<d>465<fa>Darius I<c>Susa<aka>Xerxes the Great<info>Xerxes was a Persian ruler of the Achaemenid empire from 486 to 465 B.C. His mother was Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great. Although not Darius's eldest son, he was designated crown prince about 498. Xerxes, meaning "ruler over heroes," was his throne name. At the beginning of his reign he put down a revolt in Egypt and also in Babylon, where he razed the walls and plundered the city. His most important action, however, was the invasion of Greece that ended in defeat at the Battle of Salamis in 480. After the debacle in the west, Xerxes retired to his harem and devoted his time to building palaces at Persepolis. He lived very much in the shadow of his father and even copied his inscriptions. Xerxes was assassinated in 465 by his chief minister, Artabanus, and was succeeded by his son Artaxerxes I.<ref>Grolier
// Persian war with Greece 480-79
// Arabanus<ac>465(1)<d>465(1), one year
#p <nat>Persian<o>queen consort<n>Vashti<b>515(5)<ac>486<depo>484 Dec (12)<d>424(1)<c>Susa<info>King Xerxes deposed queen Vashti in 484 or 483 B.C. She was called Amestris by the Greeks. She was the mother of Artaxerxes, Xerxes' successor.
#p <nat>Hebrew<o>queen consort<n>Esther<b>500(5)<app>479 Dec (12)<depo>465<c>Susa<info>King Xerxes deposed queen Vashti in 484 or 483 B.C. and made Esther queen in her place in 479 or 478.
// Artaxerxes I
#p <nat>Persian<o>king<n>Artaxerxes I<aka>Artaxerxes Longimanus<b>484 Dec(12)<ac>465<d>424<fa>Xerxes I<mo>Vashti<c>Susa<info>Artaxerxes I was an Achaemenid king of Persia, called Macrocheir (Longhand; in Latin Longimanus) by the Greeks. He was the third son of his mother Amestris (Vashti). He came to the throne after the assassination of his father, Xerxes I, and his elder brother Darius. Court intrigues at the beginning of his reign were followed by revolts in the provinces of Bactria and Egypt, which were put down after much fighting. A peace treaty was also signed in 449 with Athens. Ezra and Nehemiah codified the laws of Israel by order of Artaxerxes. His reign was marked by increased taxation and discontent, but through diplomacy the king maintained his empire in peace during the last years of his rule. His building inscriptions say that he spent most of his life at Susa and later retired to Persepolis. He died peacefully and was buried at Naqsh-e Rustam.<ref>Grolier; NIV Study Bible
// Xerxes II (r. 424-423) (aka Sogdianus
// Darius II
#p <nat>Persian<o>king<n>Darius II<b>475(5)<ac>423<d>404(1)<c>Susa<fa>Xerxes I<info>Also known as Nothus.
// Artaxerxes II
#p <nat>Persian<o>king<n>Artaxerxes II<aka>Mnemon<b>430(10)<ac>404<d>359<fa>Darius II<c>Susa<info>Artaxerxes II was an Achaemenid king of Persia. The son of Darius II, he was called Mnemon by the Greeks. His younger brother Cyrus the Younger revolted against him at the outset of his reign but was killed in battle in 401 B.C. At the same time, Egypt became independent of Persian rule and remained so throughout his reign. After much fighting with the Greeks, Artaxerxes secured the King's Peace (also called the Peace of Antalcidas) in 387, whereby the Ionian cities of Anatolia were returned to Persian rule. Attempts to regain Egypt failed, and local revolts became frequent. Threats from the Greeks and Egyptians failed, however, because of dissension among them. In inscriptions at Susa and Persepolis, Artaxerxes invoked the aid of the gods Mithra and Anahite, as well as of Ahura Mazda, thus indicating a new development in the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism.
#p <nat>Persian<o>king<n>Cyrus the Younger<b>420(5)<d>401 Sep 3<fa>Darius II<c>Susa<info>Following his father's death, Cyrus revolted against his older brother Artaxerxes II and fought him at Cunaxa on the Euphrates with the help of Greek mercenaries on September 3, 401 B.C. Cyrus was killed in the battle.
#p <nat>Persian<o>king<n>Darius III<b>381(2)<ac>336<d>331(1)<c>Susa<info>Darius III was called Codomannus by the Greeks, and was the last Achaemenid king of Persia. His father was Arsames, nephew of Artaxerxes II. Darius did not ascend the throne until he was 45, after the princes in the direct line of the family had been assassinated. His first task was the reconquest in 334 of Egypt, which had revolted from Persian rule. Darius was defeated by Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus in 333, where his family was taken captive by the conqueror, and then at Gaugamela in 331. He spent the rest of his life fleeing from Alexander. He was assassinated by order of Bessus, the satrap of Bactria, in 330 B.C.
#e <t>sack<n>Persepolis looted and burned<d>330<c>Persepolis<info>Persepolis was looted by the troops of Alexander the Great.
