History of the Persian Empire

At the foot of the Mount of Mercy in southeastern Persia, Darius the Great built his capital, Persepolis-symbol of Persian glory for two centuries. At its height the Achaemenid Empire, with its power centered in this city, reached from the Nile and Greece eastward to India. Dominating the major travel routes between East and West, it was the meeting ground of the great cultures of the ancient world.