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The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the largest empire by that point in history, spanning a total of 5.5 million square kilometres. The empire spanned from the Balkans and Egypt in the west, West Asia as the base, the majority of Central Asia to the northeast, and the Indus Valley to the southeast.
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Dedoplis Mindori is an archaeological site in Georgia's east-central region of Shida Kartli, at the confluence of eastern and western Prone, tributaries of the Kura. A multi-layer site, it has yielded some Acheulean and Mousterian stone tools, burials from the Late Bronze to the Iron ages, and several settlements and burials from the Classical Antiquity and Middle Ages. Of particular importance is a substantial complex of what once were religious buildings, dated to the 2nd–1st century BC, and inscribed on the list of the Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance. The Dedoplis Mindori plain is adjoined by a group of mounds, known as Aradetis Orgora, where archaeological finds span several periods of local culture sequence, from the Chalcolithic to the Early Middle Ages.
Boges was a Persian official and military commander, who functioned as governor (hyparchos) of Eion in Thrace under the King of Kings Xerxes I. According to Herodotus, following the Persian defeats at Plataea and Mycale, Boges refused to abandon Eion when it was besieged by the Athenians and Cimon in 476/5. When he perhaps could have surrendered the town and marched out safely, Boges decided to endure till the end, as he wished not to suffer the ignominy of falling into the enemy’s hands. When the provisions of Eion had finally run out during the protracted siege, Boges built a large fire, killed his wife, children, concubines and servants, and threw them into the fire. He then reportedly collected all pieces of silver and gold that were stored in Eion and threw them into the river Strymon. He then threw himself onto the fire. Boges was highly honored by Xerxes I for his valiance and loyalty, and even Herodotus himself concurred. When Herodotus wrote his Histories in the second half of the fifth century BC, Boges was still praised by the Persians for his deeds. The children of Boges who survived within the Achaemenid Empire were also greatly honoured by Xerxes I.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Briant, Pierre (2018). From Cyrus to Seleukos: Studies in Achaemenid and Hellenistic History. UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies. p. 313. ISBN 978-0999475546.
- 1 2 Gagoshidze, Iulon; Knauß, Florian; Babaev, Ilyas (2007). "An Achaemenid " Palace " at Qarajamirli (Azerbaijan) Preliminary Report on the Excavations in 2006". Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia. 13 (1–2): 31–45. doi:10.1163/157005707X212652.
- ↑ Knauss, Florian; Gagoshidze, Iulon; Babaev, Ilias (2010). "A Persian Propyleion in Azerbaijan: Excavations at Karacamirli". In Nieling, Jens; Rehm, Ellen (eds.). Achaemenid Impact in the Black Sea: Communication of Powers. Black Sea Studies. Vol. 11. Aarhus University Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-8779344310.
- 1 2 3 Canepa, Matthew P. (2018). The Iranian Expanse: Transforming Royal Identity through Architecture, Landscape, and the Built Environment, 550 BCE–642 CE. University of California Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0520964365.
- ↑ Knauss, Florian; Gagoshidze, Iulon; Babaev, Ilias (2010). "A Persian Propyleion in Azerbaijan: Excavations at Karacamirli". In Nieling, Jens; Rehm, Ellen (eds.). Achaemenid Impact in the Black Sea: Communication of Powers. Black Sea Studies. Vol. 11. Aarhus University Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-8779344310.
- 1 2 3 Canepa, Matthew P. (2018). The Iranian Expanse: Transforming Royal Identity through Architecture, Landscape, and the Built Environment, 550 BCE–642 CE. University of California Press. p. 350. ISBN 978-0520964365.
- 1 2 3 Knauss, Florian; Gagoshidze, Iulon; Babaev, Ilias (2010). "A Persian Propyleion in Azerbaijan: Excavations at Karacamirli". In Nieling, Jens; Rehm, Ellen (eds.). Achaemenid Impact in the Black Sea: Communication of Powers. Black Sea Studies. Vol. 11. Aarhus University Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-8779344310.