Persian Empire

The Persian Empire is any of a series of imperial dynasties centered in Persia (Iran).

The first of these was established by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC, with the Persian conquest
of Media, Lydia and Babylonia. Several later dynasties "claimed to be heirs of the Achaemenids.

Persian dynastic history was interrupted by the Islamic conquest (651 AD) and later by the Mongol invasion.

The main religion of ancient Persia was Zoroastrianism, but after the 7th century this was replaced by Islam.

In the modern era, a series of Islamic dynasties ruled Persia independently of the universal caliphate. Since 1979
Persia (Iran) has been an Islamic republic.

Assyrian people
"The Assyrian people,[23] most commonly known as Assyrians and other later names, such
as:Chaldeans, Syrians, Syriacs (see names of Syriac Christians), are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in
ancient Mesopotamia. They are Eastern Aramaic speaking Semites who trace their ancestry back to the Sumero-
Akkadiancivilisation that emerged in Mesopotamia circa 4000- 3500 BC, and in particular to the northern region
of the Akkadian lands, which would become known as Assyria by the 24th Century BC. The Assyrian nation
existed as an independent state, and often a powerful empire, from the 24th century BC until the end of the 7th
century BC.

upanishads

The Upanishads are a collection of texts of religious and philosophical nature, written
in India probably between c. 800 BCE and c. 500 BCE, during a time when Indian society started to
question the traditional Vedic religious order. Some people during this time decided to engage in the
pursuit of spiritual progress, living as ascetic hermits, rejecting ordinary material concerns and giving
up family life. Some of their speculations and philosophy were compiled into the Upanishads. There
is an attempt in these texts to shift the focus of religious life from external rites and sacrifices to
internal spiritual quests in the search for answers.

Etymologically, the name Upanishad is composed of the terms upa (near) and shad (to sit), meaning
something like “sitting down near”. The name is inspired by the action of sitting at the feet of an
illuminated teacher to engage in a session of spiritual instructions, as aspirants still do in India today.