"Persian 1" is a course in the Persian Department . In this Beginner's course, students are introduced to simple vocabulary, how to structure a Persian sentence and some basic phrases for a simple conversation.

Persian Empire

The Persian Empire (Persian: امپراتوری ایران saying EMPERATURIE IRAN) was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The most widespread entity considered to have been a Persian Empire was the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) under Darius and Xerxes (or Xerkes) — famous in antiquity as the foe of the classical Greek states (See Greco-Persian Wars) — a united Persian kingdom that originated in the region now known as Pars province of Iran/Persia.

It was formed under Cyrus the Great, who overthrew the empire of the Medes, and conquered much of the middle east, including the territories of the Babylonians (Asuristan), the Phoenicians, and the Lydians. Cyrus' son, Cambyses, continued Cyrus' conquests by conquering Egypt.

Most of the successive states in Greater Iran prior to March 1935 are collectively called the Persian Empire by Western historians.

Virtually all the successor empires of Persia were major regional and some major international powers in their day.