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Darius I (Old Persian: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavaʰuš; Greek: Δαρεῖος Dareios; c. 550 – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE.
- Overview
- Ascent to monarchy
- Fortification of the empire
Darius the Great was an Achaemenid ruler noted for his administrative genius, his great building projects, and his benevolence toward the diverse peoples under his sovereignty. His policies and building projects helped fortify his vast empire and enhance trade throughout.
How did Darius the Great come to power?
Darius was a member of the royal bodyguard of Cambyses II, the son and heir of Cyrus the Great who ruled for several years before dying mysteriously in 522. Later that same year, Darius took the throne after killing an alleged usurper he claimed had only pretended to be Cambyses’ brother Bardiya.
How was Darius the Great influential?
Darius the Great helped unify the Achaemenid empire, which spanned a vast heterogeneous territory. Much of this unification was achieved through building upon the administrative reform program begun by Cyrus the Great to fit the needs of the expansive empire. It was also achieved through Darius’s encouragement and patronage of local traditions and building projects.
Darius I, (born 550 bc—died 486), king of Persia in 522–486 bc, one of the greatest rulers of the Achaemenid dynasty, who was noted for his administrative genius and for his great building projects. Darius attempted several times to conquer Greece; his fleet was destroyed by a storm in 492, and the Athenians defeated his army at Marathon in 490.
Darius was the son of Hystaspes, the satrap (provincial governor) of Parthia. The principal contemporary sources for his history are his own inscriptions, especially the great trilingual inscription on the Bīsitūn (Behistun) rock at the village of the same name, in which he tells how he gained the throne. The accounts of his accession given by the Greek historians Herodotus and Ctesias are in many points obviously derived from this official version but are interwoven with legends.
According to Herodotus, Darius, when a youth, was suspected by Cyrus II the Great (who ruled from 559 to 529 bc) of plotting against the throne. Later Darius was in Egypt with Cambyses II, the son of Cyrus and heir to his kingdom, as a member of the royal bodyguard. After the death of Cambyses in the summer of 522 bc, Darius hastened to Media, where, in September, with the help of six Persian nobles, he killed Bardiya (Smerdis), another son of Cyrus, who had usurped the throne the previous March. In the Bīsitūn inscription Darius defended this deed and his own assumption of kingship on the grounds that the usurper was actually Gaumata, a Magian, who had impersonated Bardiya after Bardiya had been murdered secretly by Cambyses. Darius therefore claimed that he was restoring the kingship to the rightful Achaemenid house. He himself, however, belonged to a collateral branch of the royal family, and, as his father and grandfather were alive at his accession, it is unlikely that he was next in line to the throne. Some modern scholars consider that he invented the story of Gaumata in order to justify his actions and that the murdered king was indeed the son of Cyrus.
Darius did not at first gain general recognition but had to impose his rule by force. His assassination of Bardiya was followed, particularly in the eastern provinces, by widespread revolts, which threatened to disrupt the empire. In Susiana, Babylonia, Media, Sagartia, and Margiana, independent governments were set up, most of them by men who claimed to belong to the former ruling families. Babylonia rebelled twice and Susiana three times. In Persia itself a certain Vahyazdata, who pretended to be Bardiya, gained considerable support. These risings, however, were spontaneous and uncoordinated, and, notwithstanding the small size of his army, Darius and his generals were able to suppress them one by one. In the Bīsitūn inscription he records that in 19 battles he defeated nine rebel leaders, who appear as his captives on the accompanying relief. By 519 bc, when the third rising in Susiana was put down, he had established his authority in the east. In 518 Darius visited Egypt, which he lists as a rebel country, perhaps because of the insubordination of its satrap, Aryandes, whom he put to death.
Britannica Quiz
Having restored internal order in the empire, Darius undertook a number of campaigns for the purpose of strengthening his frontiers and checking the incursions of nomadic tribes. In 519 bc he attacked the Scythians east of the Caspian Sea and a few years later conquered the Indus Valley. In 513, after subduing eastern Thrace and the Getae, he cross...
Apr 10, 2017 · Darius I (l. c. 550-486 BCE, r. 522-486 BCE), also known as Darius the Great, was the third Persian King of the Achaemenid Empire. His reign lasted 36 years, from 522 to 486 BCE; during this time the Persian Empire reached its peak. Darius led military campaigns in Europe, Greece, and even in the Indus valley, conquering lands and expanding his ...
- Radu Cristian
Feb 11, 2019 · February 11, 2019. • 4 min read. The pivotal Persian ruler Darius I (550–486 B.C.) came to power at age 28 and quickly proved himself a great military leader and an even greater administrator....
Jul 21, 2019 · Updated on July 21, 2019. Darius the Great (550 BCE–486 BCE) was the fourth Persian king of the Achaemenid Empire. He ruled the empire at its height, when its lands included much of West Asia, the Caucasus, as well as parts of the Balkans, Black Sea coastal regions, North Caucasus, and Central Asia. Under Darius' rule, the kingdom stretched ...
Darius I, known as Darius the Great, (born 550—died 486 bc), King of Persia (522–486 bc). He was the son of Hystaspes, satrap of Parthia. Much of what is known of him is through his own inscriptions. He took the throne by force, killing Bardiya, a son of Cyrus the Great, calling him an impostor who
Darius I ( Old Persian: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavaʰuš; Greek: Δαρεῖος Dareios; c. 550 – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE.
