AP. The passing of one of the greatest down home actors of all time -- Andy Griffith -- brings to mind that, sadly, many of the actors who lived in the fictional town of Mayberry, NC are no longer with us.
The Medes were an people of Indo-Iranian (Aryan) origin who inhabited the western and north-western portion of present-day Iran. By the 6th century BC (prior to the Persian invasion) the Medes were able to establish an empire that stretched from Aran (the modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan) to Central Asia and Afghanistan.
The Medes unified Iran as a nation and empire in 625 BC. The Achaemenid Empire (550â330 BC), founded by Cyrus the Great, was the first of the Persian empires to rule from the Balkans to North Africa and also Central Asia, spanning three continents, from their seat of power in Persis (Persepolis).