550 - 330 BCE - Achaemenid Empire

Cyrus the Great, in 546 BCE defeated Croesus, the Lydian king, and ruled over the entire Aegean coast of Asia Minor, Armenia, and the Greek colonies. His next move was eastwards to Parthia where he fought and conquered Babylon. There he freed the Jews who had been held captive, thus becoming immortal in the Book of Isaiah. In 529, when Cyrus died, the empire stretched as far as the Hindu Kush in present-day Afghanistan.

The next ruler, Cyrus's unstable son, Cambyses II (Kambiz II), captured the city of Egypt and died shortly thereafter in 522 BC. Next was Darius I orDarayarahush who battled the Greeks to expand into the Greek mainland. Darius lost at the Battle of Marathon in 490 was forced to pull back the borders to Asia Minor.

The Achaemenid Empire had impressive administrative planning, and brilliant military maneuvering which led to the tight control they had over large territories. Cyrus and Darius had a global worldview and established the great Achaemenid world power in less than thirty years. The Achaemenids allowed for regional autonomy in the form of the satrapy system. A satrapy was an administrative branch, based on geography. A satrap or governor ruled the region and worked with a state secretary, who kept books and records. The twenty satrapies were connected by a 2,500-kilometer highway, the most impressive road from Susa to Sardis, built by Darius. Relays of mounted couriers could reach the most remote areas in fifteen days. The language in greatest use in the empire was Aramaic. Old Persian was used and as a result of the extensive trade encouraged in all parts of the Empire, Persian words for items of trade entered the English language; such as bazaar, shawl, sash, turquoise, tiara, orange, lemon, melon, peach, spinach, and asparagus. Other accomplishments of Darius's reign included codification of the data, a universal legal system upon which much of later Iranian law would be based, and construction of a new capital at Persepolis, where vassal states would offer their yearly tribute at the festival celebrating the spring equinox. Remains of Persepolis can still be seen today and play a vital part in Iran’s long history. Darius gave the people in his empire a vision of sameness and single identity, which has been manifested in the art, and architecture of that era.
The beginning of the end for Achaemenids came with Xerxes, the son of Darius. He was mainly occupied with suppressing coups in Egypt and Babylonia. He also tried to conquer the Greek Peloponnesus, but overextended his army and lost at Salamis and Plataea. By the next ruler Artaxerxes I, the imperial court was disparate and witnessed internal political factions and infighting. The disention continued until the next ruler, Darius III was killed by the hands of his own subjects.

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Timeline for the Achaemenid Kings

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728 - 550 BCE - Median Empire

Starting in 550 BEC, the Median Empire was the first Iranian dynasty in the northeastern section of present-day Iran, Northern-Khvarvarana and Asuristan (present day Iraq), and South and Eastern Anatolia. The inhabitants, the Medes, and their neighbors, the Persians, spoke Median languages that were closely related to Aryan (Old Persian). Zoroastrian was the chosen religion, with a priestly caste called the Magi. Traditionally, the creator of the Median kingdom was one Deioces, who, according to Herodotus, reigned from 728 to 675 BCE and founded the Median capital Ecbataba or present day Hamadan. Deiscos was succeeded by his son Phraortes (675-653 BCE), who subjugated the Persians and lost his life in battler against the Assyrians.
As early as the 9th century, nomadic warriors entered western Iran, probably from across the Caucasus. The Scythians are thought to have been the most dominant group. By the mid-7th century BCE, there were many Scythians in western Iran, who with the Medes posed a serious threat to Assyria. Herodotus reports that the Scythians were overthrown when their kings were given wine and then easily slain. It is possible that the Scythians simply withdrew voluntarily from western Iran and went to plunder elsewhere.
According to records, Cyaxares organized the Median army into units built around specialized weapons: spearmen, bowmen, and cavalry. The unified and reorganized Medes fought the Assyrians at the religious capital, Ashur. An alliance between Babylon and the Medes was formed by the betrothal of Cyaxares' granddaughter to Nabopolassar's son, Nebuchadrezzar II (605-562 BCE). In 612 BCE the attack on Nineveh was revisited, and the city fell in late August. The Babylonians and the Medes together chased the Assyrians westward into Syria.
The Babylonians took over fertile highlands while the Medes gained control over the lands in eastern Anatolia and eventually became embroiled in war with the Lydians, the dominant power in western Asia Minor. Finally in 585 BCE, peace was established between Media and Lydia, with the Halys (Kizil) River declared as the natural border. Cyaxares had rule over vast territories of Anatolia to the Halys, the whole of western Iran eastward, and all of southwestern Iran, including Fars.
Astyages succeeded his father, Cyaxares, on the Median throne but very little is known of his reign. Eventually Astyages and the Medians were soon overthrown by the rise of Cyrus II the Great.