Cyrus II: Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II founded the Achaemenid Empire. Defeating Media and taking Babylon were major developments. Pasargadae preserves monuments associated with this period. Accounts of his childhood and death differ and require comparison between sources.
Reign: About 559–530 BCE
These cultural and symbolic images do not depict Dorehami members or events.
Image and licence
File:CyrustheGreatTomb 22059.jpg — Truth Seeker — CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / crop
File:Pasargadae, Irán, 2016-09-24, DD 03.jpg — Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / crop
Object images show the period’s heritage and are not necessarily authenticated portraits of this person.
Context and a reading path
Study Cyrus within the formation of an empire, not simply as an individual hero. Expansion, governing different territories and royal self-presentation are connected topics. The title the Great does not replace examining actions and evidence.
How to read the evidence
Read about Pasargadae, the Cyrus Cylinder and ancient authors with different questions. How does an official text portray the king? When and for whom did an outside writer work? Check popular internet quotations against a reliable translation.
A question to discuss
Which parts of our image of Cyrus come from contemporary evidence, and which from later narratives?
The answer need not be settled beforehand. First note what the source actually tells us, then separate questions from guesses. Children can draw an object or building from the period; an imagined picture should not be presented as historical evidence.
Sources and further reading
Content reviewed: 19 October 2026
Back to the Achaemenids
Cambyses II
530–522 BCE
Bardiya and the Gaumata question
522 BCE
Darius I: Darius the Great
522–486 BCE
Xerxes I
486–465 BCE
Artaxerxes I
465/464–424/423 BCE
Xerxes II
424/423 BCE
Sogdianus
424/423 BCE
Darius II
about 423–404 BCE
Artaxerxes II
about 404–359/358 BCE
Artaxerxes III
359/358–338/337 BCE
Arses: Artaxerxes IV
338–336 BCE
Darius III
336–330 BCE
Bessus: a claimant after Darius III
330–329 BCE