540-330 BC

During this period several empires developed, the largest of which was that of the Achaemenids of south-central Iran. Also known today as the Persian Empire, it extended from Bulgaria and Libya to north India and Central Asia. Darius and later his son Xerxes (reigned 486-465 BC) attempted to force the mainland Greeks to acknowledge Persian power but Sparta and Athens refused to yield. The last Achaemenid ruler, Darius III (reigned 336-330), was defeated by Alexander III of Macedon (Alexander the Great) at the battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC and Alexander claimed the empire.

In south Asia some of the kingdoms launched campaigns of conquest, creating the first real states – the mahajanapadas. This was also the period of the Buddha (died 400 BC). In southern India a different culture prevailed, characterised by megalithic burials accompanied by grave goods including iron tools.

In China the Eastern Zhou ruled a large area, although from around 475 BC (Warring States period) the region was fragmented into many small states. In Japan the Neolithic Jômon culture continued in the far north. Around 500 BC, social organisation in Southeast Asia became more complex as self-governing villages began to develop into centralised chiefdoms, particularly along the coast. Also at this time bronze reached the islands of Southeast Asia, accompanied by emerging iron working technology.