The book “Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean. OK. 525-479 BC e." is a translation of the fourth volume of the famous second edition of The Cambridge Ancient History. The period covered by this volume was a time of such events and such historical changes that were of enormous significance for the Mediterranean world. The first part of the book examines the early history of the Medes and Persians, the emergence and strengthening of the Persian power, the main regions that were part of it, as well as the history of its expansion during the reigns of Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes - right up to the moment when this great empire reached the limits of its growth. The second part is devoted to the history of Hellas, where, during the period under review, Sparta became the leader of the military-political coalition of Greek city-states, and Athens went from an enlightened tyranny to a moderate democracy with its entrepreneurial activity and political foresight. The clash between the Persian Empire, which had almost reached the natural limits of its expansion, and the union of freedom-loving and rising Greek city states, was inevitable. The most important chapters of this book outline the causes and course of the Ionian Greek revolt against Persian rule, as well as the history of the two Persian invasions of Hellas, including the three epic battles of Marathon, Thermopylae and Salamis. The third part of the volume turns to the western Mediterranean, while the presentation goes beyond the chronological framework indicated in the title of the book. Italy is gradually becoming a very important factor in the history of this region, so the Italic peoples and their languages from the late Bronze Age to the Iron Age are examined here, as well as the Etruscans and their culture. The final chapter is devoted to Sicily: the local tribes that inhabited the island since ancient times, the social, economic and cultural development of the main Greek colonies, the emergence and strengthening of tyrannical regimes, as well as the first clash between the Greeks and the Punes, ending with the Battle of Himera, in which the Greek city-states under the leadership of Gelon of Syracuse and Feron of Akragant, they managed to repel the Carthaginian attack. The text layer is recognized. Content available. The quality is good.