Concept
Darius the Great
Overview
Darius I (Old Persian: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavaʰuš; c. 550 – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West Asia, parts of the Balkans (Thrace–Macedonia and Paeonia) and the Caucasus, most of the Black Sea's coastal regions, Central Asia, the Indus Valley in the far east, and portions of North Africa and Northeast Africa including Egypt (Mudrâya), eastern Libya, and coastal Sudan.
Darius ascended the throne after overthrowing the Achaemenid monarch Bardiya (or Smerdis), whom he claimed to be an imposter named Gaumata. The new king met with rebellions throughout the empire but quelled each of them. Darius organized the empire by dividing it into administrative provinces, each governed by a satrap. He organized a new uniform monetary system, and he made Aramaic a co-official language of the empire alongside Old Persian. He also put the empire in better standing by improving roads and introducing standard weights and measures. Through these changes, the Achaemenid Empire became centralized and unified. Darius undertook other construction projects throughout his realm, primarily focusing on Susa, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Babylon, and Egypt. A trilingual inscription carved upon a cliff-face of Mount Behistun to record his conquests later become a key source for the Old Persian language and decipherment of cuneiform. His career is also known from extensive records from Greek historiography, in which he is known for his punitive expedition against Athens and Eretria for their participation in the Ionian Revolt.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
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These then he sent on the same errand on which he had sent Mardonius, saying to them, “Make slaves of the men of Eretria and of the men of Athens, and bring them to me that I may see them.” So these two went down from the city of Susa to Cilicia, having with them a very great army and well-appointed; and while they were encamped here in a plain that is called the Aleian plain, there came also to that country the…
Herodotus, Stories of the Persian wars
States what Darius the Great is.
But after he had gained a third Olympic prize with the same mares, it happened that he died by the hands of the sons of Pisistratus, when Pisistratus himself was no longer alive; they slew him near the Prytaneum, having placed men to waylay him by night. Cimon was buried in front of the city, beyond that which is called the road to Cœla, and opposite him these same mares were buried, which won the three Olympic…
Herodotus, The Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
States what Darius the Great is.
The first Artaxerxes, among all the kings of Persia the most remarkable for a gentle and noble spirit, was surnamed the Long-handed, his right hand being longer than his left, and was the son of Xerxes. The second, whose story I am now writing, who had the surname of the Mindful, was the grandson of the former, by his daughter Parysatis, who brought Darius four sons, the eldest Artaxerxes, the next Cyrus, and two…
Plutarch, Plutarch
States what Darius the Great is.
Philosophers who discussed Darius the Great
Related ideas
- Ancient Egyptian religion
- Greek language
- Athens
- Herodotus
- Ancient Greek
- Indus River
- Latin
- Lydia
- Indo-Iranians
- Mediterranean Sea
- Iranian peoples
- Parthia
- Babylon
- North Africa
- Oligarchy
- Pakistan
- Romania
- Achaemenid Empire
- Black Sea
- Bulgaria
- Zoroastrianism
- Eretria
- Thrace
- Caucasus
Place in the tradition
Part of Ancient history.