Cyrus the Great

Intro Cyrus II of Persia (Old Persian: 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 Kūruš; c. 600 – 530 BC),[b] commonly known as Cyrus the Great,[7] was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire.[8] Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Median Empire and embracing all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East,[8] expanding vastly across most of West Asia and much of Central Asia to create what would soon become the largest empire in history at the time.[8] The Achaemenid Empire's greatest territorial extent was achieved under Darius the Great, whose rule stretched from Southeast Europe in the west to the Indus Valley in the east.