Becoming king at the age of 43 in 336 B.C., Darius III quickly demonstrated his independence from his deadly benefactor. Bagoas tried to...

When Xerxes was assassinated in 465 B.C. He was succeeded by his son Artaxerxes I, but several parts of the empire soon revolted,...

His mother was Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, and husband of Darius the Great. Xerxes, therefore, did not have to prove himself to...

Smerdis continued to rule until September 522 B.C. when he was assassinated by seven Persian noblemen. The ringleader of the coup was...

Cambyses II was born to Cyrus and his wife Cassandane, a sister of the Persian nobleman Otanes. Cambyses II had a younger brother, named...

Although it is often assumed that Cyrus was a Zoroastrian, there are no contemporary sources that describe him as a follower of Zoroaster...

Cyrus the Great, succeeded to the Persian throne, specifically the Anshan Kingdom of the Achamenid Dynasty in 559 B.C., while his father,...

The Egyptians under Necho II had invaded the Near East in 609 B.C. in a belated attempt to help their former Assyrian rulers....

Assurbanipal was one of the longest reigning kings of Assyria. He ruled over the empire for 42 years and, in that time, campaigned...

Upon his father's death, Assurbanipal (Ashurbanipal) held a great coronation festival for his brother's ascension to the throne of...

Esarhaddon took the throne and defeated his brothers' factions during a six-week civil war. The two brothers themselves, after the...

During the reign of Sargon II, Sennacherib had effectively maintained the administration of the empire while his father was away on...

When Tiglath-Pileser III died, Hoshea at first remained loyal to Assyria, but later on, possibly as part of a general rebellion, he...

In the first half of the eighth century, Assyria had lost its ability to campaign outside its borders, and internally local officials had...

Ashurnasirpal II’s son and successor, Shalmaneser III, had a 35-year reign that was filled with military campaigns, especially in the...

Ashurnasirpal II is most famous for his grand palace at Kalhu (also known as Nimrud in modern-day Iraq). Taking 15 years to build, he...