The Late Period encompasses the 26th - 31st Dynasties ('c'.664 - 332 BC). The 26th Dynasty was a period of renewed splendour after the decline of the 3rd Intermediate Period. In 525 BC the Persians (who came from what is now Iran) conquered Egypt. The Persians reformed the administration, codified laws, commissioned temple buildings and undertook public works. With the death of the Persian king Darius II (404 BC) Egypt became independent again. In 343 BC, however, the Persians once again captured Egypt, but only for the short period of 13 years until their defeat by Alexander the Great, which marks the beginning of the Graeco-Roman Period.