Founded in West Asia in 550 BC, the Achaemenid Empire was a former Iranian dynasty. Cyrus the Great founded it. Under Xerxes I, the Achaemenid dynasty expanded to its greatest extent, spanning from the Balkan Peninsula and Eastern Europe in the west to up to the Indian border in the east. The empire, which spanned 5.5 million square kilometres, was the biggest in history up to that point (2.1 million square miles). The founder of the Achaemenid Empire, Cyrus the Great, was a related descendant o ... (Read More)