Cyrus the Great builds the Persian empire by ruling with tolerance and kindness The greatest leaders in history often leave behind some sort of legacy. Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Persian Empire around 500 BC, which was the largest empire of its time (Cyrus II, the Great). The empire stretched from ancient Iran and grew to include an area from Greece to India (Persian Empire). Cyrus' reign saw some of the first contact between Persia and Greece and helped Persia gain the political power that had once been held by the people of Mesopotamia (Cyrus, the Great). Cyrus the Great proved to be an effective leader who developed a strong army that was strategically stationed throughout the empire to stop rebellions and keep trade routes safe, treated prisoners kindly like Jews, and implemented an organized government administration that included satraps who ruled locally. Cambyses I, an early Achaemenid king, ruled Persia around 600 BC. Upon his death, his son Cyrus II took over as king in 559 BC, and later became known as Cyrus the Great. As ruler of Persia at the age of 41, Cyrus wanted to gain more power to strengthen the Persian empire. He began by negotiating an alliance with the Babylonians against the Medes, who at that time were ruled by Cyrus' grandfather Astyages (Cyrus the Great). Around 550 BC Astyages was worried that his nephew might try to form an alliance with his enemy Nabonidus, king of Babylon. Astyages asked Cyrus to come to him in the capital of Ecbatana to discuss the matter, but Cyrus would not (Pettman). With the support of the Babylonians, Cyrus led a revolt and defeated the Medes (Cyrus II, the Great). The Nabodinus Chro...... center of sheet ......w American Bible. 2000-2001 ed. Wichita: Fireside Bible, 2001. Print. Rev. Vers."Persian Empire." The Ancient Near East: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Ronald Wallenfels and Jack M. Sasson. vol. 3. New York: Sons of Charles Scribner, 2000. 171-76. World history in context. Network. November 25, 2013. "Persian Empire." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Mesopotamia. Ed. Don Nardo and Robert B. Kedric. 2007. 220-24. World history in context. Network. November 25, 2013..Pettman, Andrew. "Cyrus the Great." Encyclopedia of world history. Ed. Marsha E. Ackerman et al. vol. 1. New York: Facts on File, 2008. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Web.November 25, 2013. .Stockdale, Nancy. “Cyrus the Great”. World history: ancient and medieval times. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 14 December. 2013