Persia — The First World Empire
The first empire to span the known world — from the Indus to the Aegean — and the faith of fire that taught good thoughts, good words, good deeds.
Origin
Founded by Cyrus the Great around 550 BCE, the Achaemenid Persian Empire was the first true world empire, stretching from the Indus Valley to Egypt to the shores of the Aegean — the largest the earth had yet seen. Persia ruled not by terror alone but by tolerance: it respected the gods, laws, and customs of every people it gathered in, knit together by the Royal Road and a genius for administration.
The Heroes
- Cyrus the Great — founder of the empire, who freed the Jews from Babylon and issued the Cyrus Cylinder, often called history's first charter of human rights.
- Darius the Great — who organized the empire, built Persepolis, and laid the Royal Road.
- Xerxes — the king of kings who marched on Greece.
- Ferdowsi — the poet who preserved Persia's legends in the Shahnameh.
Symbols of the Lineage
The Faravahar, the winged guardian of the Zoroastrian faith. The Lion and Sun. The columns and winged bulls of Persepolis. The Cyrus Cylinder. The cypress tree and the mythical simurgh.
Beliefs & Worldview
Persia gave the world Zoroastrianism, one of its oldest revealed religions. The prophet Zarathustra taught of Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, and the cosmic struggle between truth (asha) and the lie. Fire burned as the sacred sign of the divine, and the whole of the faith distilled into three words: good thoughts, good words, good deeds.
Timeline — Major Events
- c. 550 BCE — Cyrus the Great founds the Achaemenid Empire.
- 539 BCE — Persia takes Babylon; Cyrus frees the exiled Jews.
- 518 BCE — Darius begins building Persepolis.
- 490 & 480 BCE — The wars with Greece.
- 330 BCE — Alexander conquers Persia; later the Parthians and Sasanians restore Persian glory.
Cultural Artifacts
The Cyrus Cylinder, baked clay inscribed with a king's mercy. The terraces and gateways of Persepolis. Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, the Book of Kings. Persian carpets, and the qanat channels that carried water across the desert.
The Living Lineage
Persia lives on in Iran and across a vast cultural world, in the poetry of Rumi, Hafez, and Ferdowsi, and in Nowruz, the Persian New Year, kept by hundreds of millions each spring. To claim Persian heritage is to claim the first empire to embrace the world.
Recommended Reading
Ferdowsi, Shahnameh; Tom Holland, Persian Fire; the histories of Herodotus.
The First World Empire
The empire that first spanned the world deserves an heirloom worthy of it. Each piece in the Persian Collection renders the Faravahar, the Lion and Sun, and the columns of Persepolis in black and gold — the glory of the king of kings, fixed for the wall. Explore the collection →