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The Persian Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian king Darius the Great (Darius I) of the Achaemenid Empire in the 5th century BC. Darius built the road to facilitate rapid communication throughout his empire. The course of the road has been reconstructed from the writings of Herodotus, archeological research, and other historical records. It began in the west in Sardis (on the Aegean coast of Lydia, about 60 miles east of _zmir in present-day Turkey), traveled east through what is now the middle northern section of Turkey, (crossing the Halys according to Herodotus) and passed through the Cilician Gates to the old Assyrian capital Nineveh (present-day Mosul, Iraq), then turned south to Babylon (near present-day Baghdad, Iraq). From near Babylon, it is believed to have split into two routes, one traveling northeast then east through Ecbatana and on along the Silk Road, the other continuing east through the future Persian capital Susa (in present-day Iran) and then southeast to Persepolis. (Photo by: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)