Achaemenid Empire
The empire was forged by Cyrus the Great. It spanned three continents, including parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan; parts of Central Asia, Asia Minor, Thrace; much of the Black Sea coastal regions; Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and Syria; and all of the significant population centres of ancient Egypt as far west as Libya. The empire was the foe of the Greek city-states of the Greco-Persian Wars. It freed the Israelites from their Babylonian captivitya nd instituted Aramaic as the its official language. Because of the empire's vast extent and long endurance, Persian influence upon the language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and government of nations around the world has lasted ever since.