The Persian Empire was ruled the majority of the time by two important leaders. Darius and Cyrus. Cyrus, took over the Iranian Median Empire. He protested against his grandfather, Astyages, leader of Medes, and started war for consolidation about Cyrus’s power in the Median Empire. He established overlordship and began the inception of the Achaemenid Empire or the Persian Empire. The Persians easily exterminated the Babylonians, and the Chaldean/Babylonian Empire ended. Persia insisted in more expansion, so they marched their army into Egypt, while on the way we conquered Mesopotamia, and Judah/Israel. Around the southern Mediterranean, Persia easily conquered Egypt, and brought them under the Achaemenid rule. Babylon revolted against their leaders, the Persians. For a slight second, they had their independence until they were crushed once again by the Persians. The Persians, in the early ages of war, conquered Anatolia, and all the Greek city states there. This made all the Greek states to team up against Persia, and together, the Greeks were able to push Persia back and out of Europe. The Achaemenid Empire had no choice, but to move its capital back to Babylon where it would be safe and sound in the midst of its land. Alexander of Macedonia then conquered a few of the Greek city states back at Greece, and he later joins the Greeks and frees the Western Greek city states in Anatolia. Greeks then moved in and to reach another battle, called the Battle of Issus. The mountainous advantage for the Greeks made the numerous Persians fall into defeat. After Darius’s retreat, Greece liberated the people in Egypt. Persia then moved into Mesopotamia where they battled in flat open land against Darius’s army. Although the Greeks were heavily outnumbered, Darius’s army still was defeated. During Darius’s retreat, a fellow Persian murdered him and claimed himself the leader of Persia. This man’s name was Bessus, a Persian governor. Susa and Persepolis, the capital of Persia, were then captured by the Greeks. The Persians then gathered up for one last stand, but when Alexander the Great showed up, Bessus was arrested by the Persian forces, and executed. The Persians arrested him because they didn’t want the risk of their city's destruction. This marked the end of the Achaemenid Empire.
