Cyrus, Darius,and Xerxes

The Persian name to most people in society these days seems to mean, "tawny camels." The deity of early Persians was, on the other hand, a pure creative spirit AhuraMazda, "the Lord of great knowledte." They recognized the life of the soul of man and its continued spiritual existence in worlds of good or evil after death. A view of life was equal in nobility to that of many a modern philosopher. The creator Ahura-Mazda, who the later Persians identified with Mithra, the sun god, had two sons, light and darkness, good and evil. The two were always stuggling for dominion over the universe, and in their tremendous warfare they called tot ehri banners every living thing and every force on earth. The king Xerxes lived from 520-465 B.C. He was the grandson of Cyrus and the son of Darius. Xerxes was king of the Persian Empire. Was not the first-born son of Darius, but he was the first son of Darius' wife Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus. He put down a revolt in Egypt, fought againts the Greeks in the Persian Wars, winning a victory at Thermopytae and suffering defeat at Salamis.

Darius ruled the Persian Empire from 521-486. Conquered the Indus Valley and attacked the Scythians, but never conquered them or the Greeks at hands suffered a defeat in the Battle of Marathon. Built the religious and administrative center in Persepolis.

Cyrus was the first Achaemenian Emperor of Persia, put a decree on his aims and policies, inscribed on a clay cylinder known to ge the first declaration of Human Rights.