The ancient Persian military evolved from the earlier armed forces of the Medes which, in turn, developed from the warrior class of the indigenous people of the Iranian Plateau, the Aryan migrants (including the Persians) who later settled there, and the Assyrian army which was defeated by the Medes.
More about: Ancient Persian WarfareDefinition
Timeline
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625 BCE - 585 BCEMedian army organized during the reign of Cyaxares of the Medes.
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c. 550 BCE - 530 BCEAchaemenid Army organized under Cyrus the Great of Persia based on Cyaxares' model.
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522 BCE - 486 BCEThe Achaemenid Persian military is expanded and refined under the reign of Darius I the Great.
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486 BCE - 465 BCEAchaemenid Persian military expanded further under the reign of Xerxes I.
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247 BCE - 224 CEUnder the Parthian Empire, cavalry becomes the dominant force of the military in the region.
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224 CE - 240 CEReign of Ardashir I who founds Sassanian Empire and reorganizes the military drawing on all the models of the past and present.
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224 CE - 651 CEUnder the Sassanian Empire, the Persian military becomes the greatest fighting force in the ancient world, repeatedly defeating Roman Empire.
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651 CESassanian Empire falls to invading Muslim Arabs; Persian army and navy are disbanded.
