Briant is the leading figure in the study of Achaemenid Persian History and has written widely on the Persian empire both from the point of view of Greek and Persian history. He taught in Toulouse for many years before being appointed Professor at the College de France in Paris, where he is the Chair in the History and Civilization of the Persian empire and of the empire of Alexander the Great. He was the Founder of the influential achemenet.net online resource for Persian history and archaeology. He received a doctorate honoris causa from the University of Chicago in 1999 and is the author of ten monographs, including the standard history of the Persian empire, and more than 100 articles.