Ancient Near East Subsequently, the Medes controlled much of the ancient Near East from their base in Ecbatana (modern-day Hamadan, Iran), most notably most of what is now Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and the South Caucasus. Following the fall of the Medes, the Achaemenid Empire was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over most of the Near East and far beyond, and the second great Iranian empire (after the Median Empire). At the height of its power, encompassing approximately 7.5 million square kilometers, the Achaemenid Empire was territorially the largest empire of classical antiquity, and the first world empire. It spanned three
Liye Ancient City Liye Qin Slips Museum and the Ruins Park were officially opened on October 28, 2010. In June 1985, a group of bricklayers digging to make bricks excavated ancient potteries and weapons, the archaeologists had gradually carried out archaeological excavations there since then. As part of the Wanmipo Hydropower station () construction, the archaeologists from Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology () and the local archaeological units started a rescue excavation for the site of ancient cultural remains in Liye on April 17, 2002, the ancient city gradually revealed. In the ancient city ruins, there are a moat, a