Cyrus the Great

The Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire, was started by Cyrus the Great. Under his leadership, the empire expanded greatly, incorporated all of the pre-civilized states of the ancient Near East, and finally conquered the majority of Western Asia and a sizable portion of Central Asia. The empire that Cyrus established was the biggest the world had ever known, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea and the Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east.

Cyrus ruled for nearly thirty years, during which time his empire established itself through the conquest of the Median Empire, the Lydian Empire, and ultimately the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Additionally, he was the leader of an expedition into Central Asia that produced significant campaigns that were said to have "subjugated every nation without exception." While battling the Massagetae, an ancient Eastern Iranian nomadic tribal confederation, along the Syr Darya in December 530 BC, Cyrus is said to have perished in combat. Cyrus did not travel to Egypt at the time. Cyrus did not, according to Xenophon, perish in combat and instead made a second trip to the Achaemenid ceremonial capital of Persepolis. He was followed by his son Cambyses II, who during his brief reign was able to annex Egypt, Nubia, and Cyrenaica.

Cyrus is renowned for having honored the traditions and faiths of the nations he subjugated. He had a significant role in creating the system of a central government at Pasargadae overseeing satraps in the borderlands of the empire, which was exceedingly efficient and profitable for both the rulers and the subjects.