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The Achaemenid Empire, also known as the first Persian Empire, was one of the greatest empires of antiquity, stretching at its zenith from the Indus Valley in the east to Greece in the west. The Achaemenids were the pioneers of empire-building of the ancient world, successfully imposing a centralized rule over various peoples with different customs, laws, religions and languages, and building a cosmopolitan army made up of contingents from each of these nations.

Darics.

Large Rams.

Times of War. The Achaemenids were known for their large cavalry contingent.

Satrapy Tribute. The empire was divided into provinces, called “Satrapies,” that sent yearly tribute to the ruling Achaemenid dynasty in Persepolis as a form of tax.

The Greek city-state of Athens is remembered as a famed center for the arts, learning, and philosophy, as well as one of the earliest forms of democracy. That wasn't to say that they weren't warriors. Athens, at its height, had one of the most powerful navies in the ancient world and, through conquering and colonizing, built a vast empire. The city-state rose to power after defeating the invading Achaemenid Persians twice in the early fifth century BC. Their empire lasted until 404 BC when they lost the Peloponnesian War to Sparta. While Athens never recovered its previous strength, the city-state kept its reputation as a place of learning, and its scholars were well sought out as teachers.

Silver Owls. The mines at Laureion in Attica provided Athens with a wealth of silver from which to mint her famous and highly prized coin, The Athenian Owl.

Epilektoi Infantry. The best of the hoplites were chosen to form a group of elite professional soldiers.

The Britons were the Celtic tribes of the British Isles. Using chariots, longswordsmen and powerful melee soldiers, they staged fearsome revolts against Rome to protect their customs and interests. Also, they built thousands of unique structures such as hill forts, crannogs and brochs.

Deas Celtica. Celtic religion and druidry inspired their warlike mindset.

Carthage, a city-state in modern-day Tunisia, was a formidable force in the western Mediterranean, eventually taking over much of North Africa and modern-day Spain in the third century BC. The sailors of Carthage were among the fiercest contenders on the high seas, and masters of naval trade. They deployed towered War Elephants on the battlefield to fearsome effect, and had defensive walls so strong, they were never breached.

Trademasters. The Carthaginians were broadly known for their extensive trade over the Mediterranean Sea.

Mining Economy. The Carthaginian economy was centered around mining, with stone comprising much of Carthage's structures.

Numidian Cavalry. The Numidian cavalry's horses, ancestors of the Berber horse, were small compared with other horses of the era, and were well adapted for faster movement over long distances.

The Gauls were the Celtic tribes of continental Europe. Dominated by a priestly class of Druids, they featured a sophisticated culture of advanced metalworking, agriculture, trade and even road engineering. With heavy infantry and cavalry, Gallic warriors valiantly resisted Caesar's campaign of conquest and Rome's authoritarian rule.

Deas Celtica. Celtic religion and druidry inspired their warlike mindset.

The largest migration in Europe of this period was that of the Cimbri people. The Cimbri were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Jutland region, in the north of modern-day Denmark. In the late 2nd century BC, their migration south into Italy and France would spark the decade-long Cimbrian War against the Roman Republic, bringing "Terror Germanicus" to the hearts of the Roman people.

Seeresses. Seeresses accompanied the Germanic armies and envisioned prophecies of victory from sacrifices.

The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China. Founded by the commoner Liu Bang, the empire lasted from 202 BC to AD 220 with a short break from AD 9 to AD 23 when Wang Mang took the throne, making it the longest imperial dynasty in Chinese history. The Han dynasty was a period of relative peace, as well as cultural and technological growth, and for that reason is considered the first "Golden Age of China". The name of today's largest ethnic group in the world, the Han Chinese, derives from this very period.

The Iberians were a people of mysterious origins and language, with a strong tradition of horsemanship and metalworking. A relatively peaceful culture, they usually fought in other's battles only as mercenaries. However, they proved tenacious when Rome sought to take their land and freedom from them, and employed pioneering guerrilla tactics and flaming javelins as they fought back.

Starting Walls. With exception to alluvial plains and river valleys, stone is abundant in the Iberian Peninsula and was greatly used in construction of structures of all types.

Massive Towers.

The Kingdom of Kush was an African kingdom located at the confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nile, and River Atbara, in present-day Sudan. It rose following the collapse of Egypt's New Kingdom, with its early capital at Napata. In the 8th century BC, the Kushites invaded Egypt and established the Twenty-fifth dynasty, ruling as Pharaohs until expelled by the Assyrians. The capital moved to Meroe, the center of the Meroitic kingdom known as Aethiopia in Greek geography. Weakened due to internal rebellion, The kingdom lasted until the 4th century AD and was overtaken by the Kingdom of Axum. Influenced by Egyptian culture, the Kushites built throughout their reign pyramids and temples and worshipped gods like Amun.

Large Rams.

Macedonia was an ancient Greek kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula. Under the leadership of Alexander the Great, Macedonian forces and allies took over most of the world they knew, including Egypt, Persia and parts of the Indian subcontinent, allowing a diffusion of Hellenic and eastern cultures for years to come.

Founded in 322 BC by Chandragupta Maurya, the Mauryan Empire was the first to rule most of the Indian subcontinent, and was one of the largest and most populous empires of antiquity. Its military featured bowmen who used the long-range bamboo longbow, fierce female warriors, chariots, and thousands of armored war elephants. Its philosophers, especially the famous Acharya Chanakya, contributed to such varied fields such as economics, religion, diplomacy, warfare, and good governance. Under the rule of Ashoka the Great, the empire saw 40 years of peace, harmony, and prosperity.

The Ptolemaic dynasty was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC. They were the last dynasty of ancient Egypt.

Polybolos.

Nile Delta. The Nile Delta is a region where the Nile River divides into several branches to flow into the Mediterranean Sea, in northern Egypt.

The Romans controlled one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching at its peak from southern Scotland to the Sahara Desert, and containing between 60 million and 80 million inhabitants, one quarter of the Earth's population at that time. Rome also remained one of the strongest nations on earth for almost 800 years. The Romans were the supreme builders of the ancient world, excelled at siege warfare and had an exquisite infantry and navy.

Fertility. Rome was one of the most populous cities in the ancient world.

Testudo Formation. The Romans commonly used the Testudo or 'turtle' formation for defense: Legionaries were formed into hollow squares with twelve men on each side, standing so close together that their shields overlapped like fish scales.

Centurions. Centurions were the officers responsible for a centuria, a group of 100 soldiers.

The Macedonian-Greek dynasty that ruled most of Alexander's former empire.

Sparta was a prominent city-state in Ancient Greece, and its dominant military power started in the 7th century BC. It peaked after the Peloponnesian Wars in the late fifth century BC but declined soon after, ending when they lost to Thebes in the battle of Leuctra in 371 BC. Spartan culture was obsessed with military training; all Spartan boys were drafted into strict training at age seven, and their military service lasted until they were sixty. All trades were done by their serfs, the Helots. Spartans lived a strict and minimalistic lifestyle, separate from many of the other civilizations, due to reforms such as iron money, which were given by Lycurgus, the legendary lawgiver.

Ritualistic Exercise.

Laws of Lycurgus. Under the constitution written by the mythical lawgiver Lycurgus, society was shaped around the training and development of superior warriors in defense of the Spartan state.

Agoge. The institution of the Agoge was established to rigorously train Spartan boys from the age of 6 to be fearsome warriors.