Among these wandering tribes lived a man named Cyrus, son of Cambyses, heir to a small but sturdy clan called the Achaemenids. Cyrus was not born in a palace, nor was he raised by wolves—though given the state of hygiene at the time, it might’ve been an upgrade. Instead, he was raised in a tent that leaked when it rained (which was rarely, but always inconveniently), and his mother’s favorite bedtime story was, “Don’t mess with the Medes, they’ll steal your sheep.”
