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Persia: Quick Facts

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The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Photos

Antique map from 1902 showing Persia (Iran), Afghanistan, and Baluchistan, with detailed topography, cities, and political boundaries as understood in the early twentieth century. The map features fine lines and small text labeling geographic features, rivers, and settlements across the region.
Historical map showing ancient Mesopotamia with labeled locations of major archaeological and historical sites. Symbols and color codes indicate sites from the prehistoric era, Sumerian-Akkadian culture, Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian eras, Assyrian civilization, Hurrian era, late Persian, Greek, and Parthian eras, as well as marshland areas. The map covers the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, including present-day Iraq and surrounding areas.
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Related Topics and References

Topics

Major Events

Battle of Salamis
Greco-Persian Wars
Ancient mosaic detail showing Alexander the Great in armor riding his horse Bucephalus at the Battle of Issus, with another soldier visible behind him.
Battle of Gaugamela
David, Jacques-Louis: Leonidas at Thermopylae
Battle of Thermopylae
Alexander the Great at the Battle of the Granicus
Battle of the Granicus
Battle of Marathon
Battle of Marathon
Black and white illustration of heavily armored Spartan soldiers with shields and spears fighting in close combat at the Battle of Plataea, with fallen warriors on the ground.
Battle of Plataea
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Battle of Nahāvand
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Battle of Salamis
Battle of Issus
Battle of Issus
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Battle of Cunaxa
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Ionian revolt
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Battle of Artemisium
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Corinthian War

Related Places

Caria
Caria
ancient district, Anatolia
Clazomenae, ancient city, Turkey
Clazomenae
ancient city, Turkey
Stone ruins and two standing column fragments remain at the site of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Turkey, with grassy fields and distant buildings in the background.
Ephesus
ancient city, Turkey
Iran
Iran
country, Asia
Map showing the location of the ancient city of Susa in southwestern Iran, with surrounding countries including Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Major bodies of water such as the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Mediterranean Sea are also labeled, with a small inset globe highlighting the region within the larger context of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Susa
ancient city, Iran
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Arachosia
ancient Persian province, Afghanistan

Key People

Relief of three Achaemenid warriors, known as the Ten Thousand Immortals, depicted in profile on glazed bricks with patterned robes and bows, from the Palace of Artaxerxes at Susa.
Achaemenid Empire
Iranian empire
Detail from Charles Le Brun's painting showing Alexander the Great in profile, wearing a gold helmet with white plumes and a blue cloak, with soldiers in the background.
Alexander the Great
king of Macedonia
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Mongolian warrior-ruler
Xenophon, statue in front of the parliament building in Vienna.
Xenophon
Greek historian
Herodotus, detail of a Roman herm probably copied from a Greek original of the first half of the 4th century bce; in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples.
Herodotus
Greek historian
Cyrus II
Cyrus the Great
king of Persia
Coin depicting Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter
Macedonian king of Egypt
Darius the Great
Darius I
king of Persia
Bas-relief detail of Xerxes I wearing a robe and crown, holding a flower, from the north courtyard of the treasury at Persepolis, now in the Archaeological Museum in Tehran.
Xerxes I
king of Persia
ʿAbbās I
ʿAbbās I
Ṣafavid shah of Persia
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucid ruler
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani
Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī
Muslim journalist and politician
Khosrow I, crystal medallion, 6th century; in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris
Khosrow I
king of Persia
Khosrow II
Khosrow II
king of Persia
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al-Kāshī
Persian astronomer and mathematician
Shāpūr II, gold coin, 4th century; in the British Museum, London.
Shāpūr II
king of Persia
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Artaxerxes II
king of Persia
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Kavadh I
king of Persia
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Cambyses II
king of Persia
Ardashīr I, coin, 3rd century; in the British Museum
Ardashīr I
Sāsānian king

Related Quizzes

Marble bust of Alexander the Great, in the British Museum, London, England. Hellenistic Greek, 2nd-1st century BC. Said to be from Alexandria, Egypt. Height: 37 cm.
Ancient Greece
Vintage, old-timey world map for Former Names of Current Places Quiz.
Former Names of Current Places Quiz
Temple ruins of columns and statures at Karnak, Egypt (Egyptian architecture; Egyptian archaelogy; Egyptian history)
History Buff Quiz