Geographic HistoryMap of the Achaemenid Empire
On the Geographic History map, the Achaemenid Empire appears from 467 BC to 330 BC. It reaches its largest mapped extent in 438 BC: about 6.7 million km² across 176 provinces.
Founded by Cyrus the Great around 550 BC, the Achaemenid Empire was the first Persian empire, and at its height under Darius I it stretched from Egypt and the Aegean to the Indus. It was run through provinces called satrapies, linked by the Royal Road, with capitals at Pasargadae, Susa and Persepolis. Alexander the Great conquered it between 334 and 330 BC.
Mapped area over time
The Achaemenid Empire on the world maps
Largest other states in 438 BC
| State | Mapped area |
|---|---|
| Chu State | 740 thousand km² |
| Babyllinioi | 630 thousand km² |
| Yuezhi | 620 thousand km² |
| Chin | 550 thousand km² |
| Avalites | 460 thousand km² |
| Wusun | 430 thousand km² |
| Qedar | 390 thousand km² |
| Gojoseon | 360 thousand km² |
About this map
Territory comes from the Chronas historical dataset used by the Geographic History app. Areas are approximate, computed from about 2,400 province shapes, and describe this map rather than official historical figures - border data for the ancient and medieval world is necessarily a reconstruction.
Every year has a map
Drag a timeline across 2,500 years in the free Geographic History app - every province, ruler and battle, also offline.
