Achaemenid
American Heritage Dictionary:
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A·chae·me·nid
(ə-kē'mə-nĭd, -kĕm'ə-) 
also A·chae·me·ni·an (ăk'ə-mē'nē-ən)
adj.
Of or relating to the dynasty that ruled the Persian Empire.
n.
A member or subject of this dynasty.
also A·chae·me·ni·an (ăk'ə-mē'nē-ən)adj.
Of or relating to the dynasty that ruled the Persian Empire.
n.
A member or subject of this dynasty.
[After Achaemenes, legendary ancestor of Cyrus II, founder of the dynasty.]
Oxford Dictionary of Architecture & Landscaping:
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Achaemenian
Achaemenid
Period in Persian architecture from the time of Cyrus the Great (d. 529 BC) until the death of Darius (330 BC). Its most elaborate buildings include the vast palace complex at Persepolis (518–c.460 BC) which included large relief decorations, while the apadana (or Hall of the Hundred Columns) had elaborate capitals with vertical volutes and animal-heads. Reliefs of green, yellow, and blue glazed bricks were employed at the palaces of Susa, and the rock-cut tombs at Naksh-i-Rustam have similar capitals to those at Persepolis, with door-surrounds derived from Egyptian precedents.
Bibliography
- Cruickshank (ed.) (1996)
- Lloyd & Müller (1986)
The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)
Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology:
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Achaemenids
[Na]
A group of Persian communities that moved into western Iran during the early 1st millennium bc. The founding father of the ruling house was Achaemenes who lived in the 7th century bc, his descendants expanding the area of influence to create an empire that extended from central Asia and northern India to France and Egypt in the 6th century bc. Notable later rulers of the Achaemenids include Cyrus II (559–530 bc), Darius (522–486 bc), and Xerxes I (485–465 bc). The Achaemenid period was an important one for Iranian civilization and was one of the richest in terms of contacts between the classical world and the Near East. It saw the appearance and spread of Zoroastrianism, and some spectacular architecture at, for example, Darius' capital at Persepolis. However, tensions between the Achaemenids and the Greeks were always in the background, and erupted into several key battles: Darius was defeated by the Greeks at Marathon in 490 bc and the same fate befell Xerxes ten years later. In 330 bc Alexander the Great conquered and destroyed the Achaemenid empire.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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Achaemenids
Achaemenids (ăk'əmĕn'ĭdz), dynasty of ancient Persia. They were descended presumably from one Achaemenes, a minor ruler in a mountainous district of SW Iran. His successors, when Elam declined, spread their power westward. Cyrus the Great established the Persian rule by his conquest of Astyages of Media. The Achaemenids (c.550-330 B.C.) were important for their development of government administration, the appearance of literature written in cuneiform, and the spread of Zoroastrianism; during this period there was also a great flourishing of Persian art and architecture. The Achaemenid rulers after Cyrus were Cambyses II, the impostor Smerdis, Darius I, Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, Xerxes II, Sogdianus, Darius II, Artaxerxes II (opposed by Cyrus the Younger), Artaxerxes III, Arses, and Darius III. The dynasty ended when Darius III died in his flight from Alexander the Great.
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Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Dictionary of Architecture & Landscaping
A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Copyright © 1999, 2006 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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