Persia (פרס, prs). Empire that conquered the ancient Near East, including Israel, and ruled for about 200 years (ca. 550–330 bc). Ancient Persia was a region in the Zagros Mountains in what is now southwestern Iran (the province of Fars), situated between the Iranian Plateau and the Mesopotamian lowlands. The name “Persia” later came to be applied to the entire territory ruled by two Persian dynasties—the Achaemenids and the Sassanids.

The Achaemenid Persian Empire was founded in 550 bc with Cyrus II the Great’s conquest of Media. In 525 bc, Cambyses II conquered Egypt and brought it under Persian control. At its peak, Persia was the largest empire the world had yet seen, stretching from Macedonia and Ethiopia in the west to India in the east. The Achaemenids ruled until Alexander the Great’s conquest in 330 bc.

Starting about 550 years later, the Sassanid Persian Empire (ad 224 to 651) conquered part of the same territory that was ruled by the Achaemenids. (This article focuses on the Achaemenid Persian Empire, which overlapped with the end of the Old Testament period.)