From the Achaemenid Empire of 550 BC–330 BC for most of the time a large persian-speaking state has ruled over areas similar to the modern boundaries of homeland, and often much wider areas, sometimes called Greater homeland, where a process of cultural Persianization left enduring results even when rulership separated. The courts of successive dynasties have generally led the style of Persian art, and court-sponsored art has left many of the most impressive survivals.