I. Tracking an empire : The physical environment ; Why "Achaemenid"?

2. Forerunners of the Achaemenids: the first half of the first millennium BCE : Iranians into Iran ; Elam ; Assyria ; Babylonia ; Anatolian kingdoms ; The Medes

3. Persia rising: a new empire : Cyrus I in an Elamite-Persian milieu ; The fall of Assyria and its aftermath ; Cyrus' conquest of the Medes ; Cyrus' conquest of Lydia and Ionia ; Cyrus in Eastern Iran and Central Asia ; Cyrus' conquest of Babylonia ; Images of Cyrus ; Cyrus in the Greek traditions ; Back to Anshan

4. From Cyrus to Darius I: empire in transition : Death of Cyrus ; King Cambyses ; Cambyses' invasion of Egypt ; The death of Cambyses and the crisis of 522 BCE ; The Bisitun inscription of Darius I ; Herodotus' version of Darius' accession (3.61-88) ; Comparisons ; Fission or fusion? ; Appendix: Darius' war for the succession

5. Darius, the great king : Darius triumphant, Bisitun revisited ; Consolidation and expansion ; The Scythian-Danube expedition ; Darius and the Aegean periphery ; The Ionian revolt ; Darius' second Aegean campaign and the Battle of Marathon

6. Mechanics of empire : Kings, queens, and the Royal Court ; Administration of the empire ; Tribute to the king and coins ; Satraps and provincial personnel ; The Persepolis tablets: Persian administration, economy, and stratification ; The Persian army ; Communication networks: the royal road

7. Xerxes, the expander of the realm : The death of Darius and the accession of Xerxes ; Xerxes' royal inscriptions ; Xerxes and the invasion of Greece: sources and problems ; Medism ; Earth and water ; The invasion of Greece ; The Aegean front and the Athenian problem

8. Anatomy of empire : Royal capitals ; Achaemenid royal ideology ; Achaemenid religion

9. Empire at large: from the death of Xerxes to Darius II : Palace intrigue and the assassination of Xerxes ; Reign of Artaxerxes I ; Ezra and Nehemiah: discontent in the Levant ; Revisiting the northwestern front: Persian-Greek interchange ; From Artaxerxes I to Darius II ; The Murashu archive: land management practices in Achaemenid Babylonia ; Excursus: Achaemenid throne names ; Darius II and dynastic continuity ; Opportunity on the northwestern front

10. Maintaining an empire: Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III : The death of Darius II and the accession of Artaxerxes II ; The war between the brothers ; Aftermath of the rebellion ; Royal inscriptions of Artaxerxes II ; Persia triumphant: the northwestern front ; Cyprus and the Egyptian problem ; Egypt in revolt and the Arshama archive ; Revolts in Anatolia ; From Artaxerxes II to Artaxerxes III: another succession crisis ; Inscriptions and reign of Artaxerxes III

11. Twilight of the Achaemenids : The death of Artaxerxes III, reign of Artaxerxes IV, and accession of Darius III ; Macedon rising ; Sources and problems ; The invasion begins: battles of Granicus (May 334 BCE) and Issus (November 333 BCE) and Alexander's operations in Asia Minor ; The loss of Egypt, the battle of Gaugamela, and the surrender of Babylon and Susa (332-331 BCE) ; The defense of Parsa

Appendixes : A. Timeline ; B. Chronological chart of Achaemenid Persian kings ; C. Lineages of the Achaemenid royal family ; D. Further readings.