The first Persian Empire, Achaemenid Empire, lasting from 550 BCE to 330 BCE, reached its height under ruler Cyrus the Great. At its peak, it encompassed Iraq and Iran, Syria, Israel, Anatolia, parts of Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, a large portion of Central Asia, and Macedonia to the north of the classical Greek Empire. The tension between the Persians and Greek civilizations would eventually provoke Alexander the Great, whose conquest of Persia eventually ended the Achaemenid Empire.
Significantly smaller than the Achaemenid Empire, the Parthian Empire lasted from 247 BCE to 224 CE. The Parthians were the arch rivals of the Roman Empire and defeated them in Rome 's early attempts at eastward expansion toward Persia. This conflict caused the