In this first of a two-part series, we'll take a concise look at the history of one of the greatest empires in all of antiquity - the Achaemenid Persian Empire.  Founded by Cyrus II and expanded by his successors Cambyses II and Darius I, the Achaemenid dynasty would not just go on to rule most of the known world at the time, but also transmit the ideas and innovations of its many subject peoples to from the shores of the eastern Mediterranean to the Indus River valley and beyond.  We'll start with examining the Achaemenid's rise to power, the world that they lived in, their religion including Zoroastrianism, and the beginning of their encounters with the Greek-speaking peoples of the Aegean and what would eventually lead to the Greco-Persian wars.    

Contents: 

00:00 Historical Backdrop (Assyria, Elam and Media)
09:35 Cyrus the Great (Early Years)
14:00 Cyrus vs. Croesus and Lydia
20:31 Cyrus and the Conquest of Babylon
24:43 Cyrus as Liberator in Biblical and Babylonian texts
27:33 Cyrus and Babylon
29:20 Cyrus' Last Campaign against the Massagetae
32:00 Cambyses II
37:06 Cambyses II - Mad or Maligned King?
42:18 Darius I (Darius the Great)
43:44 The Behistun Inscription and the Crisis of 522 BC
55:50 Persian Ethics, Religion, and Zoroastrianism
01:02:56 Achaemenid Administration - Roads, Canals and Satrapies
01:08:45 Expansion into Europe and start of the Greco-Persian Wars
01:11:19 Battle of Marathon
01:14:28 Thank you and Patrons

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