Enrique Quintana

In the world of historical research, the origin of the Persian Empire is usually a theme open to debate, but not the status of Cyrus the Great as its founder. In the late years some authors from the Elamite world have raised the question about the ethnicity of this king. Thanks to the contributions of these scholars the confluence between Elamites and Persians is becoming increasingly evident. At present, the hypothesis about the Elamite origin of Cyrus and his Elamite ancestry and ethnicity are fashionable. However, Anshan is considered the place of settlement of the first Achaemenids, including Cyrus, so the title "king of Anshan" reflects the extension of the Achaemenid Empire. Thus, a Persian or Achaemenid kingdom of Cyrus and his ancestors in Anshan is thought. Our goal aims to present this issue as a matter of more comprehensive ideas, as it is possible to explore deeper the sources. In this sense, based on information provided by the texts, we are allowed to consider that Cyrus could be a character whose Median origin was borne among the Parthians. For this, geography is important. Assyrian sources let raise another solution to the traditional identification of Persia before the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Parthians could also be in Elamite and Assyrian sources, therefore we discuss the traditional identification of Ecbatana, the capital of the Medes, in Assyrian texts. Résumé

The present topic is little known. No great interest has been dedicated to it. Only when studying the inheritance right to the throne scholars have glancingly mentioned something about family relations. The ancient royal incest theory has attracted most attention. Royal marriage between brother and sister, father and daughter, mother and son, has been in vogue among scholars, though not generally accepted. This theory, being definitely challenged and contested, due to the lack of any textual base, has not been followed nor incorporated. With the scarce documental sources at hand, the Elamite family is introduced unadorned. From the texts it appears a surprisingly monogamous royal Elamite family.