Greece vs Persia: The Rise of the First Superpower (TRIH ep 668, part 1)
550 BCE · Resource
In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the early Persian response to the Ionian Revolt, beginning with the burning of Sardis in 498 BC and the king Darius I’s fury, likened to George W. Bush after 9/11. They trace the rise of the Achaemenid Empire from Cyrus the Great through Cambyses, Bardiya, and the succession crisis that brought Darius to power.
On these timelines: The Rest Is History (podcast), Resources: Combined
Around 550 BCE
- Persian invasions of Greece (499 BCE)
- Gautama Buddha (563 BCE)
- Achaemenid Persian Empire (550 BCE)
- Confucius (551 BCE)
- Roman Republic founded (509 BCE)
- Cyrus the Great (600 BCE)
- Cleisthenes' reforms (508 BCE)
- Socrates (469 BCE)
- Ramayana (500 BCE)
- Babylonian Captivity of the Jews (597 BCE)