das
Regeneration In Process
Mesopotamia to Soghidana (spelling's off, I know) to the Indus to the Caucasus is an excellently sized empire for anyone, I think.
Sure, and it's going to be easier to keep together.
Persia has a very vibrant culture and scientific tradition itself
I can't really find much about Persia's scientific tradition as distinct from that of Babylonia. The culture is good, though.
What particularly interests me is the fate of Egypt, because I think that in this world the native 30th dynasty might very well hold on to power. Greek culture still will spread with Greek merchants and Greek mercenaries, but I imagine that it will have much less influence than in OTL (also, there will be no Alexandria, but I think that Navkratis would probably become a very prominent cultural center in its stead, in addition to remaining Egypt's greatest harbour and a center of maritime commerce). The Egyptian renaissance may start anew.