I’ve had a few people mention that it was getting kind of hard to keep track of all of the names I’ve mentioned on the show, especially because they all seem to be related to one another. Hopefully this resource helps keep everyone straight as the family tree becomes increasingly interwoven and complex.



Unfortunately, WordPress restricts what I can do with HTML without upgrading to their most expensive account option. Hopefully in the future that’s something I can figure out, but for now, here is the link to access and view the Achaemenid Family Tree in your browser. Step by step directions and guide to my format available below.



UPDATED DOWNLOAD as of July 6, 2019



As of April 2019, you can follow THIS LINK to view the Achaemenid Family Tree without downloading anything. I’m able to make things work by hosting the chart on Geneanet.org. It’s an imperfect system, as it was designed for modern family trees with where you know more of the parents, have less incest, and have genders accurately labeled (which I don’t do because it lets me highlight the kings on the download version). Some men are marked as women, in pink, if they don’t have a known wife, and there are a ton of “unknown mother” boxes that don’t appear on the download HTML version. Otherwise it works very similarly to the download.

When too much overlap happens, the chart will display two of the same name, one marked with “(duplicate)”

KEY – to understand some of the details

You can click on each name individually, and the chart will shift to focus on that individual.



Only the kings in the Achaemenid Persian line are marked as male as a way to highlight them. The same is true with the primary queens marked female. Everyone else is marked as “other” to make their box appear white, regardless of their gender.



I decided to give the most traditional lineage, reconciled with some of the speculation voiced on the show. This lead to some possibly incorrect inclusions



A name followed by: [?] indicates that their position on the family tree is possibly unclear, but they are definitely part of the extended family.



A name followed by: ? indicates that their inclusion on the tree at all is up for debate.



As pictured above, there is enough overlap and incest in the Achaemenid family tree that sometimes the same individual appears twice. The program automatically marks one version: (duplicated).

Download Directions

1. Select the newest family tree link above, or here.

2. Dropbox will open with the file pictured above. Either is fine. You do not need a Dropbox account for this, skip the prompt to create one if it shows.

3. Select the “Download” menu in the top right corner.

3. Choose “Direct Download.” You still do not need a Dropbox account. Continue to skip the prompt to create one if it comes up.

4. Open the file you just downloaded with any web browser (I use Chrome) and you should see the family tree, with Cyrus the Great already selected.