The ancient people of southwestern Iran, including the Elamites and then the Persians, have long realized the importance of road and sea communication and transportation between the East (Indian subcontinent) and the West (Southern Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Levant) and benefited a lot from trade along this route. But the Persian Gulf, which was Iran’s largest maritime border and area and was the ancient route of such communication, had a special place in the political, military, economic and ideological landscape of the Achaemenid Kingdom - the most important and largest kingdom emerging from the southwest of Iran; Because controlling it and passing through it leads to the conquest of distant and unknown lands, which brought ideological prestige as well as rich human and material resources to Persian conquerors. The mention of some people living on the shores of the Persian Gulf in the royal inscriptions and Persepolis fortification tablets as well as the writings of Greek historians and geographers show that they were not unknown and unaffected people in the fate of the Achaemenid Kingdom, and as the cultural materials found on the shores and islands of this bay reveal, there have been stable and extensive interactions between them and the central government of Persia. The creation and construction of royal-administrative centers in the hinterlands of the Persian Gulf, such as Tamukkan/Taóce (present-day Borazjan region), shows the precise and calculated planning of the first Achaemenids to take advantage of the strategic position of the Persian Gulf and its special capabilities to dominate the farthest east and west of the world. This was provided by a powerful navy that made the conquest of Athens and Memphis possible in the farthest western borders and had revealed what seas and deserts the “Persian spear” had crossed to establish solidarity, harmony, order and welfare (pax Achaemenidica) in the whole world.

Culture is considered as a relatively new notion in human sciences. Its noticeable feature is the relation amongst different cultures which is formed as a result of human interactions. The most important element to establish these interactions is geography; since various geographical conditions has a significant role in different cultural areas. Needless to mention that this new human and social science realm to study the cultural effects, interactions and relations amongst various culture and geography is characterized as cultural geography. It is worth mentioning that culture as a vital fundamental principle in literature in a mutual interaction, contributes to improvement, establishment and strength of a nation’ s cultural identity. One of the constituents of literary-cultural formation in ancient civilizations is allegory, as a remarkable index of symbolism or a specific intercultural action that is able to reread the minds of different tribes of a unique notion. Lotus, as a cultural allegory and entity possesses a special signification. The present study via descriptive-analytical approach investigates and analyses this ancient Persian allegory in Achemenians and Sassanids dynasties. The findings represent that lotus allegory has appeared as a symbolistic essence from Achemenians to Sassanids dynasties. It entails an accumulation of abstract and intellectual concepts such as universal peace, worship, splendor, love, etc.

Odes is a collection in four books of poems by Quintus Horatius Flaccus, the Roman writer and poet of the first century BC. The poems cover a wide range of topics about human relationships, everyday issues, and historical events. Parthians as one of the most important neighbors and rivals of the Roman Empire, and Achaemenids as Parthians’ descendants have been mentioned in different parts of this collection. Considering the shortage of sources on some parts of the history of Ancient Iran, especially the Parthian period, that has made the researchers encounter problems, this literary work would be a good source for contemporary historians who intend to study the foreign relations of Parthians with the Roman Empire, and the viewpoints of Romans on Iranians in the Achaemenid period. This research adopts an analytical-descriptive method to study how the Ancient Iranians are depicted in Odes of Horace and to compare critically the historical materials contained therein with other historical texts of the ancient world.

The wars of Iran and Greece during the Achaemenid period, which took place during the reign of Darius the Great and his successor, Xerxes, are among the most important historical issues, that for some reason, the Persians failed in these wars. One of the most influential factors in any war is the geographical issues of the battle zone. The present study has examined and analyzed the role of geographical factors in the performance of the Achaemenids against the Greeks. This study analyzes how the geographical factors, both military and natural, influenced the Iran-Greece wars. This article tries to answer the question of Achaemenids were caught in which the geographical traps in their attacks on Greece that affected the outcome of the battle. The results indicate that despite the fact that the Achaemenids considered many aspects in their attacks, but in several situations, they neglected to consider and identify geographical barriers that weakened or defeated them. The authors of the present paper completed the data collection through library studies and presented the results through historical descriptive analysis.

In the Iranian art history, most of the reliefs are from the Achaemenian period and represent the artistic basis of this period. The reliefs of Persepolis are the manifestation of the thoughts of artists who were bound to their proper principles and beliefs. Therefore, they tried to create works which accorded to the social classes. All the faces are apparently alike, but the creators of these statues made a slight difference which was the criterion for the recognition of each of them. The achaemenian artist follows defined rules; the difference in reliefs of human groups in Persepolis indicates that the beard-style would change in accordance with the social class. So, three kinds of beard-style can be seen in Persepolis: short, medium and long. The soldiers and ordinary people have short beards, because naturally they are not in a high position. The nobles have long beard and their beard-styles are different from that of the soldiers because they are in a higher position from soldiers. The kings are in the highest position. So, they have the longest beards. They have also the highest dignity materially and spiritually. With this classification we can find out the material and then the spiritual position of the people by looking carefully at any one of them. By comparing the reliefs of Farvahar and Daryush we can understand their similarities between the beard-styles of these two, which show the relation between relief of Farvahar and that of Daryush. The Achaemenian artist has made a resemblance between Farvahar and Daryush, paying attention to the beard-style in order to show the spiritual dignity of the king. Employing the beard-style in the reliefs of the Persepolis also implies that the Achaemenian sculpture has had in mind the aspects of realism and these styles are considered signs for recognizing different groups of people. Definitely, the same classification existed in the real world. Using the beard-style in the reliefs is not limited to the Achaemenian period. Paying attention to the existing works which date back to the period before ACHAEMENIANS, we can find out that beard had been an indicator of one's dignity and superior position. As we see in the relief related to Daryush, the king has a longer beard. Certainly, the idea of using beard-style in artistic works in this large scale has been taken from very old thoughts which rooted in the ancient beliefs of the people in that period. It had been a tradition which had come down to the ACHAEMENIANS. The artist had used this method intentionally to express his ideas. To create such works, the artist, having returned to his artistic originality and composing the reality with symbols, has created a? Work in which, comparing different groups, one can see the elevation of art in accordance with ranks. The sculptor believed that the reliefs which had higher social and intellectual rank deserved the best artistic creation. Thus, divinity is the basis of the art in question, and the beard-style is a good means to this end, because it represents the spiritual side for Iranians.

The PersianEmpire was founded after the conquest of Cyrus II (559-529B. C). Cyrus II, the founder of Persian Empire, came to power in 559 BC. During 559 to 539 BC, by conquering Ecbatana, Sardis, Babylon and coasts of Asia Minor, Cyrus was able to be the heir of great civilizations such as Assyrian Empire, Elam, Median Kingdom, Lydia and Babylonia. However, there is little or no clear information about the early stages of his life and his coming to power. As sources tell of the early stages of his life, different images emerge. One of these sources that is of great importance is the narrative of Ctesias. Ctesias describes Cyrus as the son of a bandit and a maid of the tribe of Mard, who revolts against them by passing through the stages of power in the Median Valley, transferring power to his family. This image of Cyrus is in contrast to the image presented by other literary and material sources of the Near East and classical Greek texts. In those narratives, Cyrus' place is considered to be the continuation of a royal family. This article aims to analyze the different aspects of narrative of Ctesias and to study why this narrative and the various elements within it have been formed. In this regard, this research will address this issue in a descriptive-analytical and library method, by studyingliterary and material data of the Achaemenid period.

The world empire of Achaemenid Iran is recognized as a hegemonic power in the international system of ancient times. This government had hegemonic coordinates in the classical and modern sense, which required a hegemonic power above all else. The Mazdei hegemony was formed based on the political ideas of Iranshahri and the Iranian world order, which was reflected in the Achaemenid foreign policy strategy. The main question is; How was Iranshahri political thought of the Achaemenid era formed based on the concept of hegemony and hegemonic system in the creation of a new Iranshahri world order in the international arena? The results show that Achaemenid Iran as a hegemonic power at the level of the triple system of the ancient world controlled three important regional systems of the ancient world, i.e. the system of the Indian subcontinent and South Asia, the system of the Middle East and the Near East, and most of the Mediterranean system. In addition to legitimate military and economic measures to maintain its hegemony over the international systems, this government used techniques to control power centers, including the balance of power technique to control centrifugal regional powers. Also, the foundation and focal point of Iran's hegemony is based on the justice and specific ideology of the imperial government. In this era, based on the earthly and cosmic order of the imperial system, the cultural, military, economic and political hegemony of Iranshahri was formed and with a dynamic and advanced economy based on economic and commercial power, it created a powerful and unified monetary system in the ancient world. The research method in this article is based on the comparative method and the data collection method is based on library and reliable internet sources.

Precisely “Darius the Mede” in “Book of Daniel”, who rules over Babylon, is not clear in any primary historical sources. Neither the Babylonian nor the Persian history has recorded such a person. This project is due to gain his clear picture. As “Darius the Mede” is unknown to any other source, many historians view his presence in Daniel as simply a mistake by the author. The author perhaps inadvertently placed the Persian King Darius I at an earlier date than the King actually reigned. However, it is suggested here that “Darius” was a second name for “Cyrus” who was called “Medes” in some primary sources. Moreover in “Daniel”, Angel Gabriel informs the prophet that there will be four Persian kings before the coming of “Alexander the Great”. It is argue here that a much later writer of a manuscript of “Daniel” may have been misled by some facts in the Old Testament. Finally, it will be suggested that some of the facts which had come from the Old Testament should be re-examined.

Before the establishment of Athens Science College, the most ancient foothold of scientific reflection was the philosophical and scientific boards of the Zoroastrian clergy (Moghs). The reports at hand prove that Greek thinkers and philosophers have enjoyed the springs of Persian knowledge in several ways. One of the oldest available sources to study the socio-intellectual conditions of Ancient Persia is Avesta; the ancient Persians’ scripture. Another proof to the centrality of the Persians, the Zoroastrian Clergy in particular, to the ancient knowledge is the accounts of ancient philosophers and historians, some of which are mentioned in the present article.It so appears that having learnt mathematics and astronomy from Babel as well as other neighboring countries, the Zoroastrian and/or the median Clergy launched a movement to develop the knowledge of time; then having stabilized the Persian worldview and philosophy, they launched another movement to transfer this knowledge to other nations. Under ACHAEMENIANS, Persia enjoyed great political, military, economic, and scientific power; hence it was powerful enough to transfer knowledge to other countries. In fact, Governors (Satraps) were the political and cultural representatives of Persia in other countries, who were usually accompanied by the clergy and/or the clerk (dabir). The two latter could successfully render the Persian thoughts and worldview to other nations. As a result, having developed in the East, i.e. in Persia, the popular Ancient knowledge, particularly philosophy, medicine, and astronomy was transferred to the West; after centuries, having become more developed, it returned to the East again.At the Islamic era, the Persians established many science centers, the most important of which was Beyt al-Hikmat (House of Knowledge) in Baghdad, where many scientific works from the languages of science, i.e. Sanskrit, Mid-Persian (Pahlavi), Syriac, and Greek were translated into Arabic; they also launched a movement to develop their contemporary knowledge; all of which was later yielded the West up. Nowadays the scholars of East and West unanimously acknowledge that the developed knowledge and Technology of the West is, no doubt, indebted to the scholars of the Islamic as well as other Eastern countries. Evidently, the Persians and their science centers, especially Gundishapour, have played an important role in the developmental trend of knowledge and sciences.

Calendars are one of the main bases of the administrative affairs of ancient archives in all administrative structures. What distinguishes the Achaemenid imperial administrative structure from other ancient states is the variety of archives in this period in terms of script, language and calendar. At the center of the kingdom, the Old Persian and Elamite calendars were used. In the Mesopotamia and Jewish islands on the Nile, Babylonian calendar and in Egypt, Egyptian calendar was used. Despite the fact that in correspondence between different archives a standard calendar was not used, the main question of the present research is how ACHAEMENIANS coordinated these calendars? In order to answer this question, the first calendars in this period based on the royal inscriptions and Persepolis archives along with Mesopotamia and Aramaic documents from Egypt and Bacteria are introduced, and then the ways in which these calendars are adapted in administrative documents have been investigated. The hypothesis of this paper is that the ACHAEMENIANS tried to adapt different calendars without requiring different parts of the kingdom to use the same calendar. Since the Old Persian, Elamite and Babylon calendars had the same structures – they were lunisolar, in which the lunar months and the solar year were calculated– in order to begin the year at the spring equinox, it was necessary to add intercalary months to the calendar during the year. In Mesopotamia and Elam, the addition of the intercalary month was influenced by political factors. However, in this study, it is suggested that the ACHAEMENIANS coordinated the local calendars in their administrative system by mathematical and astronomical calculations and by the addition of the intercalary. The best evidence for this claim is the Egyptian administrative documents, in which, in coordination with the Imperial bureaucracy and along with the traditional solar calendar, the lunisolar dating is also used.