Persian Empire - Wikipedia Persian Empire hide This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. ( Learn how and when to remove these template messages ) This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. ( November 2016 ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( November 2016 ) This article is incomplete. Please help to improve it, or discuss the issue on the talk page. ( March 2017 ) Persian Empire in Achaemenid era, 6th century BC Tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of Persian Empire in the 6th century BC Taq Kasra ( Arch of Ctesiphon ), symbol of Persian Empire in Sasanian era, 3rd century AD The Persian Empire ( Persian : شاهنشاهی ایران ‎, translit. Šâhanšâhiye Irân, lit. ' Imperial Iran ' ) is a series of imperial dynasties centered in Persia / Iran since the 6th century BC in the Achaemenid era, to the 20th century AD in the Qajar era. Contents 1 Achaemenids 2 Parthians and Sasanians 3 Safavids 4 List of the dynasties described as a Persian Empire 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Achaemenids The first dynasty of the Persian Empire was created by Achaemenids, established by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC with the conquest of Median, Lydian and Babylonian empires. It covered much of the Ancient world when it was conquered by Alexander the Great. Persepolis is the most famous historical site related to Persian Empire in the Achaemenid era and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Parthians and sasanians From 247 BC to 224 AD, Persia was ruled by the Parthian Empire, which supplanted the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, and then by the Sassanian Empire, which ruled up until the mid-7th century. The Persian Empire in the Sasanian era was interrupted by the Arab conquest of Persia in 651 AD, establishing the even larger Islamic caliphate, and later by the Mongol invasion. The main religion of ancient Persia was the native Zoroastrianism, but after the seventh century, it was slowly replaced by Islam which achieved a majority in the 10th century. Safavids Shah Abbas I, the most powerful king of Persia in Safavid era The Safavid Empire was the first Persian Empire established after the Arab conquest of Persia by Shah Ismail I. From their base in Ardabil, the Safavid Persians established control over parts of Greater Persia / Iran and reasserted the Persian identity of the region, becoming the first native Persian dynasty since the Sasanian Empire to establish a unified Persian state. Literature, art and architecture flourished in the Safavid era once again, and it is often cited as the `` rebirth of the Persian Empire ''. Safavids also announced Shia Islam as the official religion in the empire versus the Sunni Islam in the neighbouring Ottoman Empire. List of the dynasties described as a Persian Empire Achaemenid Empire ( 550 -- 330 BC ) Sasanian Empire ( 224 -- 651 AD ) Safavid dynasty ( 1501 -- 1736 AD ) Afsharid dynasty ( 1736 -- 1796 AD ) Qajar dynasty ( 1785 -- 1925 AD ) Extent of the first Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Empire Extent of the Sasanian Empire in 621 The maximum extent of the Safavid Empire under Shah Abbas I Extent of the Afsharid Empire under Nader Shah See also List of monarchs of Persia Iranian monarchy List of Iranian dynasties and countries Persia Iranian peoples Persian people List of tombs of Iranian people References Jump up ^ Herodotus. `` Halicarnassus ''. The Histories. pp. ( page needed ). ISBN 978 - 0143107545. Jump up ^ History of the World in 1,000 Objects ( DK Publishing, 2014 ). p. 71. External links Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Persia. The dictionary definition of Persian Empire at Wiktionary Persian Empire travel guide from Wikivoyage Media related to Persian Empire at Wikimedia Commons This Iran - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Persian_Empire&oldid=838231443 '' Categories : Persian history Ancient Persia Medieval Persia Early Modern history of Iran Modern history of Iran Former empires in Asia Former empires in Europe Former countries in Asia Former countries in the Middle East History of Iran Monarchy in Persia and Iran Iran stubs Hidden categories : Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages Articles needing additional references from November 2016 All articles needing additional references Articles to be expanded from March 2017 Articles with multiple maintenance issues Articles containing Persian - language text Commons category with local link different than on Wikidata All stub articles Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Wikivoyage Afrikaans Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Български Bosanski Català Čeština Cymraeg Deutsch Esperanto فارسی Français Frysk Galego 한국어 हिन्दी Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia עברית ქართული Қазақша Kiswahili Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu Монгол Na Vosa Vakaviti Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan ଓଡ଼ିଆ پښتو Patois Polski Português Română Rumantsch Русиньскый Русский Gagana Samoa Scots Shqip Sicilianu Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 文言 ייִדיש 粵語 中文 54 more Edit links This page was last edited on 25 April 2018, at 18 : 50. 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Question: in 550 bc which leader began the persian empire
Answer: Cyrus the Great