Early Islamic History

Aryans were nomadic people in search of better land when they entered the Iranian plateau toward the end of the second millennium B.C. The reason for their migration may have been that they exhausted the natural resources, such as croplands and pastures, in their homeland. A group of these immigrants settled along the western slopes of the Zagros Mountains and set the foundation for an emerging empire known in the West as the Achaemenid Empire. Most of Iran’s present-day nomads, still living on the slopes of these rugged mountains, are descendants of the original Aryans.

ACHAEMENID EMPIRE (550–330 B.C.)
The Achaemenid Empire, known also as the Persian Empire, became one of the greatest empires that the world had ever seen. It was established by Cyrus the Great, who defeated the powerful Babylonian Empire in 539 B.C. While in Babylon, Cyrus ordered the release of Jewish prisoners who had lived in captivity for many years. For this he became known as the “liberator of Jews,” as is revealed in Jewish history and as is documented in the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. The empire that Cyrus created reached its peak during the reign of Darius the Great (541–486 B.C.). Under Darius, the empire stretched from the western borders of modern India to the valley of the Nile River and included numerous satellite kingdoms.