HISTORY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

HISTORY - Essay ExampleHe was crowned King of Anshan after the death of his father in 559 BC. He soon started on a series of colossal achievements that marked his 29-year reign as the greatest in Persian history (Wikipedia.org, 2007).Cyrus first great achievement was the conquest of the Median Empire ruled by his maternal grandfather Astyages. Being a vassal kingdom of the Median Empire, Anshan was subject to its feudalistic lordship policies. Cyrus decided to rebel against Median control. In an armed struggle that lasted 5 years 554 BC to 549 BC, he finally managed to defeat the Median armies and enchant Ecbatana, which marked the end of the Median Empire. Cyrus then united it with Anshan to create the Achaemenid EmpireCyrus second great achievement occurred 3 years later when he conquered the Lydian Empire. In 547 BC, Croesus, ruler of the Lydian Empire attacked Pteria, a city of the Achaemenid Empire. Croesus besieged the city, captured its inhabitants and forced them to serve as slaves. Cyrus gathered a large army and marched against the Lydian forces. Many fierce battles were fought, close to notably the Battle of Pteria and the Battle of Thymbra. In the latter, acting on the advice of one of his military commanders named Harpagus, Cyrus used a new military plan he logical his soldiers to follow behind camels as they marched to fight. The plan was to create panic among the horses rode by the Lydian cavalry who were not used to the smell of camels. The plan worked and the Lydian army was totally defeated, scaling Cyrus conquest of the Lydian Empire in 546 BC (Wikipedia.org, 2007).Cyrus third great achievement was the conquest of Asia Minor 4 years later. It began when Cyrus ordered his military commander named Mazares to absorb a Lydian called Pactyas who had earlier tried to create a rebellion in Sardis capital of the Lydian Empire against Cyrus rule. Pactyas fled to Ionia where he