How were the Achaemenids able to keep an empire this massive for 2 centuries?

How were the Achaemenids able to keep an empire this massive for 2 centuries?

The biggest empire before the Achaemenid empire was this, comparatively quite tiny.

There wouldn't be an empire that would eclipse the Achaemenid empire in size until the Arab caliphates, more than a millennium later.

By not being autistic cultural/religious supremacists

Well their were a lot of internal divisions within the empire. The Persian kings wasn't called the king of kings for no reason. I think that the system was was kind of like a glass at then end of the table. It wouldn't fall on its own but it on its own but the slightest push would.

They weren't autistic enough. That's why they fell.

Rome, Han China, and Mauryan empire were comparable

No, they fell because one guy decided to be autistic

Nah they fell because they lacked a good counter to Macedonian troops/Darius III being a fuckwit

To fight autism, one must walk the path of the autist.

It didn't.
A lot of the territory Darius conquered was lost well before Alexander came around.

Thessaly and Macedon were Persian only during Xerxes campaign.

Crimea was also Persian for just a few years. A lot of the territory around the Caspian also escaped Persian control after less then a century.

Egypt was also in constant revolt as Egypt usually is

They didn't even conquer Crimea really.

t. real conquest pro

Useless post.

t. post usefulness expert

The Median Empire was larger then the Assyrian Empire. Also you might want to mention that the Achaemenids were from the same dynasty as Astayges, Cyrus the Great's maternal grand father and the transition from "Median" to "Persian" is more of a cadet branch taking over then a different successor empire. Its more like Iranian hegemony for closer to 400 years then 220.

Reminder that Darius III's predecessor, Atarxerxes III, repeatedly blocked Philip's influence and power and had he not been assassinated the conquest of Persia might not have happened.

Forgot picture.

Egypt revolt was put down both times by Darius and Xerxes, and several of their successor. And yes they got far into the Crimea, it was part of Darius's anti-Scythian campaign that might've had Persian soldiers near the Danube.

But they didn't conquer Crimea.

That's a matter of opinion. Darius had an extremely effective and successful campaign into the Crimea against the Scythians and compelled at least the development of two new provinces: the Scythians of the plains and the Scythians of the marshes. The ones around or across the Danube river likely old paid tribute since we know the Persian expedition did not build any fortresses or garrisons there.

*likely only

Alot of that land was unpopulated or inhabited by simple shepards and farmers who are not hard to keep in line. Same with the Roman Empire, by the way. These empires were great, but people give them too much credit.

The Achaemenid empire is literally the empire with the highest percentage of the global population under their rule.

45% of the world's population lived in that empire. Stop fucking bullshitting.