achaemenids

In around 530 BC, the founder of the Achaemenid empire, Cyrus the Great, embarked on a campaign against the Massagetae. During the campaign, Cyrus himself was killed, and the Massagetae queen Tomyris reportedly had a wineskin filled with blood and thrust Cyrus’ head in it, so as to “slake his...

Cyrus the Great was undoubtedly one of the greatest and most influential people in all of human history, known for his innovations in human rights, politics, and military strategy, and for his influence on both Western and Eastern civilizations. His empire encompassed all of the previous Near...

Sometime in 551 BC, during the revolt of Cyrus the Great against Media, the battle of the Persian border was fought. Although the battle was not particularly desicive, Cyrus’ father Cambyses was killed during the battle. What if Cyrus the Great was killed at the Battle of the Persian Border...

In 522 BC, Cambyses II of the Achaemenid Empire, died in Egypt, apparently from a knife to the thigh. Afterward, an impostor named Gaumata claiming to be Cambyses’ brother Smerdis assumed the throne. He promised a three year tax holiday to the provinces before being deposed by seven nobles, of...

So I did try to do a TL like this some time ago, but it died very quickly and I’ve decided to reboot it, and make it much better than the last attempt. So without further ado let’s start the timeline. Alexander advancing with his Companions Persian Gold and...

As a fun thought experiment, I would like to know how it could be possible for the rather extravagant beards of the ancient mesopotamians and achaemenid persians to be replaced with a clean shaven face as the male standard of beauty! Bonus points if body hair removal is included :p The Pod...

Cyrus, The Younger, was a Persian nobleman who claimed the Achaemenid throne in the late 5th century BCE, slightly after the Peloponnesian War raging in Greece. He also hired a few thousand Greek mercenaries (including the famous Xenophon) to fight for him in his bid for the throne against...

Self-explanatory title. Either the Achaemenid Empire never forms or fails to reach the Aegean Sea. What happens? Was the disunity of the greek city-states inevitable, or was it a byproduct of persian puppeteering? What happens to the Lydian Empire? Could it end up becoming a substitute for the...

So just revisiting an old idea of mine -- what if (1) the Neo-Babylonian Revolt of 627 BCE was put down by a more competent successor to Ashurbanipal, and (2) the Assyrian Empire endures more or less at its then strength for about another century? Additional ideas from linked TL -- Lydia will...

According to the Qur’an, before the days of Muhammad there was another prophet by the name of Hud. This man preached monotheism to the early Arab tribes, urging them to abandon their wicked, hedonistic, polytheist ways or face the wrath of the One True God. The tribes ignored the prophet and so...

Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia was a rather unprecedented event. While the Macedonian phalanx was effective, it was nowhere near the sole factor contributing to the Macedonian king's success against the extremely wealthy, powerful Achaemenid Empire, which fielded a mixed-arms force...

Of satraps and kings Prelude Megos Alexandros III Argead The ascension of Philip II to the Makedonian throne in 359 BCE signaled a defining moment in Makedonian, Greek, and even world history. Makedon, a largely irrelevant backwater in the Greek world for generations, had been...