Rise of Persia : A man, Cyrus by name, united the trained army consisting of the local peasants who attained Persians into a powerful nation. This apart, he built up a well trained army who attained enormous fame in valour and courage. At first Cyrus rebelled against his peasant soldiery, and within the rule of the Medes. He gathered three years he defeated the Median king and made himself master of the Median kingdom. Then with the help of his army, he conquered the countries like Lydia, Asia Minor, Babylonia, etc. and thus established a vast Persian Empire. Possibly Cyrus and his army reached the Indian border. He established the capital of Persia at Pasargadae After the death of Cyrus, his son Cambyses became the Persian king. He too was a conqueror. He conquered Egypt and further extended the territory of the Persian Empire. The next king Darius was the greatest king of Persia. In history he is noted more as a good ruler than as a conqueror. During his reign the Persian people got the most humane and just treatment from the ruler. That is why he is popularly known as 'Darius the Great'. He proceeded upto the Indus Valley as a conqueror. But while going to occupy Greece he was defeated in the Battle of Marathon by the Athenians. After his father's death, Xerxes, son of Darius, again invaded Greece with a huge army. Despite attaining victory for the time being in the Battle of Thermopylae Xerxes and his army were defeated by the Greeks in the Battle of Plataea. None of the later Persian kings was as powerful or intelligent as Cyrus or Darius. They paid more attention to pomp and luxury than to administration. As consequence, the Persian Empire was getting weak and heading towards a quick fall. At last Alexander, the Macedonian hero, defeated King Darius III and occupied Persia. This in brief, is the story of the Persian Empire.
