2. Cyrus the Great
Cyrus defeated
the Mede king to
gain control of the
Persian Empire.
He allowed
conquered lands
to keep their
customs and
religion.
He was killed in
battle, fighting the
Massagetae.
3. Cambyses II
Camkyses II became
ruler after the death
of his father, Cyrus the
Great. He conquered
Egypt and brought it
into the Persian
Empire.
He died accidentally while
putting down a revolt in his
Iranian homeland.
4. Darius I
Darius I, sometimes
called Darius the Great
was elected as monarch
by Iranian nobles
following the Iranian
revolt. He expanded the
Persian Empire into India
and Europe.
He died of an illness while
trying to put down an
Egyptian revolt.
5. Xerxes
Xerxes was the son of
Darius I. He succeed in
putting down the
Egyptian revolt. He
entered into war with
Greece, but was
defeated
Xerxes’s defeats led to a
palace coup, where he
was murdered.
6. Artaxerxes
Artaxerxes came to power
very young after the
murder of his father,
Xerxes. There were many
revolts throughout the
empire. He dealt with his
enemy Athens by
supporting Athens’s
enemies.
After his death, he was
succeeded by two sons
who were both murdered
by a third son who
became:
7. Darius II
After murdering his
half-brothers,
Darius II assumed
power and put
down the several
revolts that were
occurring
throughout the
empire, most
importantly in
Egypt.
After Darius II’s
death, Egypt
successfully broke
away from Persia for
several decades.
8. Artaxerxes II
Artaxerxes II put down several
rebellions during his reign,
most importantly those of his
brother, Cyrus, who he killed
in battle,
and another from a group of
Satraps. Artaxerxes II crushed
both rebellions and ruled
longer than any other Persian
ruler.
9. Artaxerxes III
Artaxerxes III assumed rule
because he was the son of
Artaxerxes II. Like his father,
he had trouble with the
Greeks and the satraps. Also
like his father, he tried and
failed to regain control of
Egypt. He put down revolts
from the satraps with cruelty,
and by the end of his
Reign, the whole empire was
firmly under his control, and
remarkably peaceful.
10. Darius III
Darius III was installed as
ruler by the vizier Bagoas
after Bagoas had poisoned
Artaxerxes III and his son.
Darius III then poisoned
Bagoas upon attaining
power.
Darius III’s rule was full of
satrap revolts and foreign
invasions. The Persian
empire effectively ended
when Darrius III was
defeated by Alexander
the Great.
