When did the Persian Empire begin and end?

The imperial era begins in 550 BCE, when Cyrus the Great defeated the Median king Astyages and founded the Achaemenid Empire. If 'Persian Empire' means the classical empire, it ends in 330 BCE with Alexander's burning of Persepolis. If it means Iranian imperial rule broadly, it runs to 651 CE with the fall of the Sassanids, or to 1925 with the end of the Qajar dynasty.

How long did the Persian Empire last?

The Achaemenid Empire lasted 220 years (550–330 BCE). Counting all the successive Iranian empires from Cyrus to the fall of the Sassanids in 651 CE gives about 1,200 years of near-continuous Persian imperial rule, interrupted only by the Seleucid period.

Who were the kings of the Persian Empire in order?

The principal Achaemenid kings were Cyrus the Great (559–530 BCE), Cambyses II (530–522), Darius I (522–486), Xerxes I (486–465), Artaxerxes I (465–424), Darius II (423–404), Artaxerxes II (404–358), Artaxerxes III (358–338), Arses (338–336) and Darius III (336–330).

How big was the Persian Empire at its peak?

Under Darius I around 500 BCE the Achaemenid Empire covered roughly 5.5 million square kilometres from the Indus to the Aegean and from the Caucasus to Nubia, and ruled an estimated 44 million people — close to 40 percent of the world's population, the highest share any empire has ever held.

What ended the Achaemenid Empire?

Alexander of Macedon's invasion. He defeated Darius III at Granicus (334 BCE), Issus (333) and Gaugamela (331), took Babylon and Susa, and burned Persepolis in 330 BCE. Darius III was killed by his own satrap Bessus the same year, ending Achaemenid rule.

What is the difference between the Achaemenid, Parthian and Sassanid empires?

The Achaemenids (550–330 BCE) were the first world empire, ruled from Persepolis and Susa through satrapies. The Parthians (247 BCE–224 CE) were a horse-archer power from the northeast that held Rome at bay for three centuries with a decentralised feudal structure. The Sassanids (224–651 CE) restored a strongly centralised Persian state with Zoroastrianism as its official religion, and were Rome's and then Byzantium's principal rival.

Which empire came after the Persian Empire?

After the Achaemenids came Alexander's empire and its Seleucid successor state; after the Sassanids came the Rashidun Caliphate from 651 CE. Iranian imperial statehood re-emerged under native dynasties — Samanid, Buyid, Safavid — with the Safavids re-founding a unified Iranian state in 1501.

678 BCE – 1925 CE · Nine dynasties

Persian Empire Timeline

Q: What is the timeline of the Persian Empire?

The Persian Empire is not one state but a succession: the Median kingdom (c. 678–550 BCE), the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE), the Seleucid interlude (312–247 BCE), the Parthian (Arsacid) Empire (247 BCE–224 CE), the Sassanid Empire (224–651 CE), and after the Arab conquest a chain of Iranian dynasties culminating in the Safavid (1501–1736), Afsharid, Zand, Qajar (1789–1925) and Pahlavi (1925–1979) states.

Persia was never one empire but a sequence of them. This is the dated chronology — Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Sassanid, and the Islamic-era Iranian states through to the Qajars — with every ruler in order, the battles that changed the map, and the extent of each realm.

Image: Map of the Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent — Wikimedia Commons

The short answer

What is the timeline of the Persian Empire?

Persian imperial history runs in a chain: Median (c. 678–550 BCE) → Achaemenid (550–330 BCE) → Seleucid (312–247 BCE) → Parthian (247 BCE–224 CE) → Sassanid (224–651 CE) → Islamic-era Iranian dynasties → Safavid (1501–1736) → Afsharid and Zand (1736–1789) → Qajar (1789–1925) → Pahlavi (1925–1979). The classical "Persian Empire" of Greek historians is the Achaemenid state founded by Cyrus the Great.

550 BCE

Empire founded

Cyrus defeats Astyages

5.5M km²

Peak extent

Under Darius I, c. 500 BCE

44M

Subjects at peak

~40% of humanity

1,200 yrs

Cyrus to the Sassanid fall

550 BCE – 651 CE

Dynastic Timeline · 700 BCE – 1925 CE

Median (678 BCE – -550)

Achaemenid (550 BCE – -330)

Seleucid (312 BCE – -247)

Parthian (247 BCE – 224)

Sassanid (224 – 651)

Islamic dynasties (651 – 1501)

Safavid (1501 – 1736)

Afsharid / Zand (1736 – 1789)

Qajar (1789 – 1925)

Dynasty by dynasty

The nine Persian dynasties in order

Persian and Iranian imperial dynasties, 678 BCE – 1925 CE
Dynasty	Dates	Capital(s)	Founder	Ended by
Median	c. 678–550 BCE	Ecbatana (Hamadan)	Deioces / Cyaxares	Conquest by Cyrus the Great
Achaemenid	550–330 BCE	Pasargadae, Persepolis, Susa, Babylon	Cyrus the Great	Alexander of Macedon
Seleucid (Hellenistic)	312–247 BCE in Iran	Seleucia, Antioch	Seleucus I Nicator	Parthian revolt of Arsaces
Parthian (Arsacid)	247 BCE–224 CE	Nisa, Ctesiphon	Arsaces I	Ardashir I of Persis
Sassanid	224–651 CE	Ctesiphon	Ardashir I	Arab conquest / Rashidun Caliphate
Iranian Islamic dynasties	821–1501 CE	Bukhara, Shiraz, Tabriz, Herat	Tahirid, Samanid, Buyid, Timurid lines	Safavid unification
Safavid	1501–1736	Tabriz, Qazvin, Isfahan	Shah Ismail I	Afghan invasion of 1722
Afsharid & Zand	1736–1789	Mashhad, Shiraz	Nader Shah / Karim Khan Zand	Qajar conquest
Qajar	1789–1925	Tehran	Agha Mohammad Khan	Pahlavi coup and 1925 Majlis vote

Achaemenid

Kings of the Persian Empire in order (550–330 BCE)

Achaemenid Great Kings and the defining act of each reign
King	Reign	Defining act
Cyrus the Great	559–530 BCE	Defeats Media, Lydia and Babylon; issues the Cyrus Cylinder; frees the Jewish exiles
Cambyses II	530–522 BCE	Conquers Egypt at Pelusium (525 BCE); dies on the return march
Darius I	522–486 BCE	Bisotun inscription, satrapy reform, the Royal Road, Persepolis begun; loses Marathon (490)
Xerxes I	486–465 BCE	Invades Greece — Thermopylae and Salamis (480); completes the Gate of All Nations
Artaxerxes I	465–424 BCE	Peace of Callias with Athens; Ezra and Nehemiah sent to Jerusalem
Darius II	423–404 BCE	Backs Sparta in the Peloponnesian War; Egypt begins to slip
Artaxerxes II	404–358 BCE	Defeats his brother Cyrus the Younger at Cunaxa (401); King's Peace of 387
Artaxerxes III	358–338 BCE	Reconquers Egypt (343 BCE); restores central authority by force
Arses (Artaxerxes IV)	338–336 BCE	Puppet of the vizier Bagoas; poisoned
Darius III	336–330 BCE	Loses Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela; killed by the satrap Bessus

Turning points

The battles and treaties that moved the map

Key events in Persian imperial history
Year	Event	Consequence
550 BCE	Cyrus defeats Astyages at Pasargadae	Median kingdom absorbed; the Achaemenid Empire founded
547 BCE	Fall of Lydia and Sardis	Persia reaches the Aegean and inherits coinage
539 BCE	Fall of Babylon	Mesopotamia and the Levant added; Cyrus Cylinder issued
525 BCE	Battle of Pelusium	Egypt becomes the 27th dynasty under Persian rule
490 BCE	Marathon	First Persian invasion of Greece checked
480 BCE	Thermopylae and Salamis	Second invasion halted; Greek naval supremacy established
331 BCE	Gaugamela	Achaemenid field army destroyed
330 BCE	Burning of Persepolis	End of the Achaemenid Empire
53 BCE	Carrhae	Parthians annihilate Crassus; Rome's eastward expansion stopped
260 CE	Edessa	Shapur I captures the Roman emperor Valerian
636–642 CE	Qadisiyyah and Nahavand	Sassanid collapse; Arab conquest of Iran
1501 CE	Ismail I crowned at Tabriz	Safavid state re-founds a unified Iran and adopts Shi'ism
1925 CE	Majlis deposes the Qajars	End of the last Iranian dynasty of imperial descent

Extent

How big was the Persian Empire?

Territorial extent by dynasty
Empire	Peak year	Area	Population	Reach
Achaemenid	c. 500 BCE	~5.5 million km²	~44 million	Indus to the Aegean, Caucasus to Nubia
Parthian	c. 1 CE	~2.8 million km²	~7 million	Euphrates to the Hindu Kush
Sassanid	c. 620 CE	~3.5 million km²	~20 million	Egypt and Anatolia briefly, to Central Asia
Safavid	c. 1600 CE	~2.9 million km²	~8 million	Caucasus and Mesopotamia to Khorasan

The Achaemenid figure of roughly 44 million subjects is the reason historians call it the first world empire: no later state has ruled so large a share of living humanity. The administrative machinery that made it possible — twenty satrapies, a standardised silver coinage, the 2,500-kilometre Royal Road and a relay post that crossed it in a week — is the empire's more durable legacy than its borders.

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