ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

achaemenid family tree

Imagine a big family with lots of relatives, like your own family. The Achaemenid family was like that, but it was a family of kings and important people who ruled over a big ancient empire called Persia.

At the very top of the family tree was a man named Cyrus the Great, who lived a long time ago. He was a powerful king who conquered many lands and made his empire very big. He had a son named Cambyses II, who became king after him.

Cambyses II also had a son named Bardiya, but he only ruled for a short time before he was killed. Then a man named Darius I became king, and his son Xerxes I became king after him.

The family tree gets a little complicated after that, because there were many kings and other important people in the family who married and had children of their own. But some of the most famous kings in the family were Artaxerxes I, Darius II, and Artaxerxes II.

Overall, the Achaemenid family tree shows us how power and leadership was passed down through the generations in ancient Persia. Just like in your own family, the people at the top had a big impact on the people below them, and their decisions and actions affected everyone in the family and the world around them.