How Did Cyrus Build The Empire

Cyrus II was the more effective emperor in military achievements, because he greatly expanded the Persian Empire by conquering many lands, and kept people from rebelling in these conquered kingdoms with leniency and wisdom. Cyrus ruled from 558-529 BCE, and was “the founder of the great Persian Empire.” First, Cyrus vastly expanded the empire by defeating his three biggest rivals: Medea, Lydia, and Babylon. There was a balance of power between these four kingdoms that prevented one from dominating and defeating the rest. Cyrus broke this. He conquered Medea in 550 BCE, 9 years after he began his reign. Lydia was next, in 547 BCE, where he demonstrated great trickery when he faked a withdrawal, but instead followed the Lydians all the way to the

He allowed the Jewish people, who Babylon had captured to return home to Judea and reconstruct their temple. Cyrus also gave them the money back that had been taken from their temple. This did have benefits for Cyrus though, as the Jews believed that he had saved them, and remained loyal to the Persian Empire. Finally, Darius I was not as effective militarily as Cyrus II. World History in Context claims that “Darius did not bring to the empire the spectacular military successes of his predecessors.” Besides one mention of a victory in India, there is no confirmed record of another win for Darius. In fact, he barely prevented his army from demolition. Lots is unknown about his military efforts, as after 519 BCE, Darius never documented his military campaigns. This can be interpreted that he likely did not have any major conquests in that time. Darius mainly focused on social policies and becoming wealthy during his reign, which partly explains why he was not as effective a military leader as