The Empire That Ruled Half the Ancient World — And Then Vanished

Before Rome dominated the ancient world, there was Persia. The Achaemenid Empire became the largest empire on Earth, ruling from Egypt to India and governing nearly half the world’s population. Built by Cyrus the Great and expanded by Darius I, Persia created roads, trade networks, and an imperial system centuries ahead of its time. This is the rise and fall of the empire that changed history, and the slow collapse that allowed Alexander the Great to bring it down.