Ancient Iran was home to numerous exceptionally powerful kings throughout history. This was particularly so in the era of the Persian Empire, also known as the Achaemenid Empire, which was the empire that was eventually defeated by Alexander the Great. When we look at the history of ancient Iran, who were these powerful kings that are particularly noteworthy?
Without doubt, one of the most powerful kings of ancient Iran was Cyrus the Great. He has the mighty distinction of having conquered three empires during his military career. The first was the Median Empire, which Cyrus conquered in 550 BC. Its king was Astyages, Cyrus’ own grandfather.
After this, Cyrus waged war against the Lydian Empire in Anatolia. Although there is some debate as to when this occurred, the weight of evidence shows it must have been around 547 BC, which was the year of the fall of Lydia. Cyrus subsequently conquered essentially all of Anatolia within the next few years.
Cyrus then turned his attention to the Babylonian Empire, which controlled most of the Fertile Crescent from the Persian Gulf to the border of Egypt as well as much of Arabia. In 539 BC, Cyrus’s army diverted the Euphrates River, thus lowering the protective moat around the city of Babylon.
With this obstacle out of the way, his army marched into the city, right through the city gates that had been carelessly left open. As a result, Cyrus was able to easily conquer Babylon and take over the empire.
Thus, in the space of only eleven years, this powerful king from ancient Iran conquered three empires and established an enormous realm for his dynasty.
Some time after Cyrus the Great, we come to Darius the Great. He was not descended directly from Cyrus, though he was part of the same royal house. Darius ruled from 522 to 486 BC. Darius is notable for several reasons.
For one thing, he ruled the Persian Empire from ancient Iran at its greatest territorial extent, certainly making him a powerful king. Despite confronting numerous rebellions, he was able to crush them effectively.
However, aside from his military achievements, one of the most significant aspects of Darius’ reign was his administrative reforms. He largely reorganized the Persian Empire, dividing it into provinces, each called a satrapy, and governors of provinces were known as satraps.
Furthermore, Darius established a system of standardized weights and measures and declared Aramaic the official language of the empire alongside Persian. Additionally, he built roads and developed a standardized monetary system. These measures all served the purpose of unifying the empire as much as possible, similar to what the Roman Empire did in later centuries.
Xerxes the Great was the son of Darius the Great. He ruled for twenty years, although according to some sources, he was co-regent with his father for the first ten years of his reign. In any case, Xerxes the Great was one of the most powerful kings of ancient Iran for several important reasons.
For one thing, Xerxes managed to maintain much of the power established by his father, Darius. Although there were rebellions in Babylon and Egypt, Xerxes was able to successfully suppress these. Furthermore, he completed many construction projects his father had left unfinished.
One such particularly notable project was that of the Palace of Darius at Susa, the capital of Elam, and the winter capital of the Persian Empire. He also oversaw the completion of multiple massive construction projects at Persepolis, the empire’s main capital.
However, it is fair to say that Xerxes the Great is most famous today for his massive invasion of Greece in 480 BC. This invasion involved an army that allegedly amounted to millions of soldiers, although most scholars today are doubtful of this.
In any case, it must have been one of the largest armies ever formed against another nation. One contemporary poet, Aeschylus, claimed that Xerxes had brought all of Asia against Greece and that the army was so large that its retreat destroyed entire nations.
It is true that Xerxes’ expedition was ultimately a failure. Nevertheless, his achievement in forming such a phenomenally large army is one reason why he is considered one of the most powerful kings of ancient Iran.
Another quite influential ruler of ancient Iran was Khosrow I, who came into power long after the culmination of the Achaemenid Empire founded by Cyrus. Khosrow I was king of the Sasanian Empire, which was founded in 224 AD by Ardashir I from the House of Sasan.
Several centuries later, Khosrow I came on the scene. He ruled over the entirety of Iran and much of the Fertile Crescent from 531 to 579 AD. However, unlike the Persian Empire in past centuries, Khosrow’s kingdom did not extend to the Mediterranean coast.
Some of Khosrow I’s most notable accomplishments include his many successful battles against the Romans of the Byzantium Empire. For instance, in 540 AD, he sacked the major Roman city of Antioch in ancient Syria and deported the population to Persia.
There were numerous wars and victories during Khosrow’s reign, including one particular victory which allegedly drove Emperor Justin II to insanity. Furthermore, he brought about the fall of the Hephthalite Empire in the east.
In addition to these military exploits, Khosrow was the driving force behind extensive reforms within ancient Iran, similar to Darius the Great centuries before hm. He set up considerable infrastructure to promote the well-being of his people and the effective running of the empire.
For these reasons, Khosrow I was remembered by the ancient Iranians as the most excellent of the Sasanian kings. In fact, he was one of the most distinguished and powerful kings in the ancient history of Iran.
