Ancient World
Siddhartha Gautama: The Life of the Buddha in Ancient India
The Buddha's teaching and the monastic community he founded grew into Buddhism, one of the major world religions.
Era · c. 3000 BC – AD 500
Ancient World
The first cities, empires and written records, from the pyramids of Egypt to Greece and the Roman Empire.
Ancient World
Pisistratus (561 BC): The Tyrant Who Rebuilt Ancient Athens
Pisistratus ruled Athens as tyrant until his death in 528/527 BC; his son Hippias was expelled in 510 BC, opening the way to the reforms of Cleisthenes.
Ancient World
Nabonidus at Tayma: Babylon's Absent Antiquarian King
Nabonidus ruled from Tayma for about a decade while his son Belshazzar governed Babylon, a long absence later used to discredit him after Cyrus took Babylon.
Ancient World
Confucius (551-479 BC): The Life and Teachings of Kong Qiu
Confucius died with little political success, but his disciples preserved his teachings, which became the official orthodoxy of the Chinese state and shaped East Asian society for two millennia.
Ancient World
Oxus Treasure: Gold and Silver of the Achaemenid Persians
The treasure was bequeathed to the British Museum in 1897 and is the most important collection of Achaemenid gold and silver to survive.
Ancient World
Cyrus the Great Founds the Persian Empire (550 BC)
Cyrus defeated Astyages and took over the Median kingdom, creating the core of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
Ancient World
Paestum (c. 550 BC): The Greek Temples of Poseidonia in Italy
Three monumental Doric temples survive almost intact, making Paestum one of the most important sites for understanding Greek architecture.
Ancient World
Fall of Sardis (547 BC): Cyrus the Great Defeats Croesus
Persian victory; the Lydian kingdom ended and western Anatolia passed under Achaemenid rule.
Ancient World
Pasargadae and the Tomb of Cyrus the Great in Iran
Built as Cyrus's royal capital; its tomb survives as the best-preserved monument of the founder of the Persian Empire.
Ancient World
Bimbisara and the Rise of Magadha in the Buddha's Lifetime
Bimbisara made Magadha the leading power of the eastern Ganges plain, preparing the way for its later empires.
Ancient World
Cyrus Cylinder: Persian Proclamation and Modern Icon
A Babylonian foundation inscription presenting Cyrus as Marduk's chosen king; in modern times a celebrated symbol of tolerance and Iranian heritage.
Ancient World
Fall of Babylon to Cyrus the Great (539 BC): End of an Empire
Persian victory; the Neo-Babylonian Empire ended and Mesopotamia, Syria and the Levant passed under Achaemenid rule.