Cyrus the Great Cyrus II the Great (about 576 - July, 529 BC) was a king of Persia, famous for his military prowess and mercy. He is considered to be the first significant king of Persia and the founder of the vast Persian Empire; he was however not the very first king of Persia, nor the first king of the Achaemenid Dynasty.
The name "Cyrus" (a transliteration of the Greek Kυρoς) is the Greek version of the Persian Koroush or Khorvash meaning: "Like the sun" -- in Persian khour means "sun" and vash is a suffix of similarity.