Cyrus II of Persia, also known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty (the eponymous ancestor of the Persian royal house) of Persia, which lasted two centuries. He was also the conqueror of a wide area from central Asia to the Mediterranean Sea. The sources for his reign are varied; there are many royal inscriptions, including the Cyrus Cylinder, and contemporary Babylonian and Biblical texts. Furthermore, he became the subject of a number of classical works by such authors as Herodotus, Xenophon, and Ctesias (as quoted by Diodorus).