Скачать или смотреть Cyrus the Great: King of the World

In this video, we cover the life of King Cyrus the Great who was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire.

The man who would become Cyrus the Great is believed to have been born sometime between 590 and 576 BCE. The accounts of his birth and early life are recorded mostly in legendary form, having been preserved in the writings of Greek historians Xenophon and Herodotus. According to Herodotus, Cyrus was the son of King Cambyses and the Median princess Mandane, who was the daughter of Astyages, the king of Media.

Cambyses was the king of Anshan, in modern-day southwestern Iran. He ruled over a population made up of Elamites and Persians. Upon his death in 559 BCE, Cyrus took over the rulership. At the time, Anshan was operating as a puppet state under the dominion of the Median empire.

According to Herodotus, Cyrus revolted against his Median overlords a decade into his rule. The defection of Median troops to his side helped him to overthrow the Median king and take possession of his capital at Ecbatana. According to an ancient Babylonian text known as the Nabonidus Chronicle, King Astyages gathered together his remaining forces and marched against Cyrus. However, these troops also revolted to the other side. The Median king was put in chains by his own men and delivered before Cyrus.

Cyrus showed himself to be a benevolent conqueror. His tolerance for the existing practices of the Medes gained him favor among them. As a result, he was able to bring together the Medes and the Persians to form the genesis of what would become the Medo-Persian world empire.

Credits:
Illustration - Jonathan Benbow bongwedesign.com
Script - Steve Theunissen
Voice Actor - James Fowler
Video Editor - Julia Nazario