Cyrus the Great

'Cyrus the Great' is a biography of Cyrus II of Persia (c. 600-530 BC), the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian Empire. Under his rule, which lasted c. 30 years, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Western Asia and much of Central Asia. From the Mediterranean Sea and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet seen. He respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered, which became a very successful model for centralized administration and establishing a government working to the advantage and profit of its subjects. Cyrus the Great has been known for his innovations in building projects; he further developed the technologies that he found in the conquered cultures and applied them in building the palaces of Pasargadae. He is also well recognized for his achievements in human rights, politics, and military strategy, as well as his influence on both Eastern and Western civilizations.

Jacob Abbott (1803-1879) was an American writer of children's books. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820 and studied at Andover Theological Seminary from 1821 to 1824. Abbott was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He had two brothers and four sons, all of whom were also well-known authors.