Persia. The Birth and Collapse of an Ancient Superpower

Relying on numerous sources, the author recreates the main stages of the history of Ancient Persia – the conquests of Cyrus the Great, the flourishing of the empire under Darius I, the Greco-Persian Wars, and finally, the collapse of the Achaemenid state under the onslaught of the Macedonians. The book is written vividly and engagingly: the great kings Cyrus II, Cambyses II, Darius I, Xerxes I, Darius III appear before the reader as living people with their passions and weaknesses. A whole section is devoted to the structure of the great empire of antiquity and everyday life within it.