Persia was located in the region east of Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), on the long plateau of Iran. Most of the territories occupied by the Persians was unproductive, that is, not very fertile. In the year 2000 a. C., the fears and the Persians originating in the territories of present-day Russia were occupying the region of the Iranian plateau. The fears settled to the north; and the Persians, to the south of the territory.
From century VIII a. C., the Medes dominated the region of the Iranian plateau and, with a skillful and organized army, they subdued several peoples who lived in the region – the Persians were one of those people conquered by the Medes. After domination, the Persians started to pay high tributes to the conquerors.
In the year 550 a. a., the Persian prince, Ciro, called the Great (559-529 a. C.), led and carried out a military action against the fears. After the Persian victory over the Medes, Cyrus was declared the only emperor of the peoples who inhabited the Iranian plateau.
In order to obtain wealth to solve problems caused by low agricultural production due to land infertility, Ciro began the process of territorial expansion, beginning in that period the history of Persian Empire.
After a short time, Emperor Cyrus the Great conquered together with the Persian army an enormous territory. In this way, Cyrus became the greatest emperor of the ancient Middle East. Cyrus' hegemony became known through a policy of respect for the cultural and religious differences of the conquered peoples, but which did not exempt them from heavy taxes.
With the death of the great emperor, in the year 529 a. a., the successors of Ciro, like Cambyses and Darius I, continued the expansionist policy, which extended the frontier of the Persian Empire, which went on to incorporate the region of ancient Egypt and northern Greece to the valley of the Indus River (located in present-day Pakistan, a country in South Asia).
Leandro Carvalho
Master in History