(Same as Ancient Near East M110A and Iranian M110A.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). From end of Elam and rise of Medes to Macedonian conquest of Achaemenid Persia. Emphasis on political history, state structure, empire's religions, and Greco-Persian interactions. Further accents on Cyrus' empire and Darius' world order, age of Persian Wars, Cyrus the Younger, Achaemenid Egypt, Alexander's conquest. P/NP or letter grading.