LONDON, ENGLAND.-The British Museum presents today Forgotten Empire: the world of Ancient Persia, on view through Jauary 10, 2006. Ancient Persia was the largest and wealthiest state in the Ancient Near East, eclipsing Assyria and Babylonia and overshadowing Greece in the west. This exhibition reveals the splendour of this vast empire (550BC to 330BC) through the art and archaeology of its rulers. The impact of its capital cities, such as Susa, Pasargadae and Persepolis and the legacy of its kings - Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes - will be assessed through its sumptuous material culture and magnificent architecture. The display will include some of the finest pieces from the collections of The National Museum of Iran, many of which have not been seen outside Tehran before, as well as key pieces from the Louvre in Paris, the Vorderasiatisches (Ancient Near East Antiquities) Museum in Berlin and the British Museum’s own significant collections.