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Which regions did the Achaemenid Empire control at its greatest extent?
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Achaemenid Empire
Frieze of Archers from the palace of Darius I at Susa, c. 510 bce; some believe the warriors are among the Ten Thousand Immortals.
At its greatest extent, the Achaemenid Empire was the largest empire the world had known at that time, stretching across vast territories in Africa, Asia, and Europe.1
The empire's reach included the following regions:
- South: It extended to Egypt and reached the Indus River in the Indian subcontinent.12
- East: The territory encompassed Gandhara.1
- North: The empire reached Khwārezm and Armenia.1
- West: It extended through parts of Greece, including Thrace and Macedonia, and maintained control over Ionia on the west coast of Anatolia.12
To manage this expansive territory, the Achaemenid kings implemented a complex administrative system, dividing the empire into provinces known as satrapies, and utilized the Persian Royal Road to facilitate communication and trade across these diverse regions.13