
In this video, I briefly explore the history of imperial Persia – the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) founded by Cyrus the Great (c. 600–530 BC) and the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736 AD) that established the Twelver denomination of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of the Persian Empire (a video clip from my lecture in the course ASIAN THOUGHT AND BEHAVIOR, Temple University, Philadelphia, Fall 2019–Spring 2020).