Darius I

Darius I (Darius the Great) (dərī`əs), d. 486 B.C., king of ancient Persia (521–486 B.C.), called also Dariavaush and Darius Hystaspis (after his father, Hystaspes or Vishtaspa). A distant cousin of Cambyses II (see under Cambyses), he succeeded to the throne after the fall of the impostor claiming to be Smerdis. The first years of his reign were spent in putting down revolts in Persia, Media, Babylonia, and the East. He then proved himself the true successor of Cyrus the Great and one of the most able of the Achaemenids by revising and increasing Cyrus' use of the satrapies. These provinces were ruled by satraps, who functioned as viceroys and were responsible only to the Great King; the satraps were, however, checked by generals, ministers of home affairs, and secret police, all of whom were responsible to Darius alone. This system proved so efficient that it was later adopted by Alexander the Great and, still later, by the Parthians. Darius also undertook lengthy campaigns; an incursion against the Scythians began in 512 B.C., and it involved taking Thrace and Macedonia and building a bridge across the Danube. He was involved in a dispute with the Greeks after giving refuge to the tyrant Hippias, but more serious quarrels began with the revolt (c.500 B.C.) of the Ionian cities against Persian rule. Having put down the rebels, Darius set out to punish the Greek city-states that had aided in the insurrection (see Persian Wars). His first expedition was turned back by storms; his second met defeat in the memorable battle of Marathon (490 B.C.). Darius consolidated Persian power in the East, including NW India. He continued Cyrus' policy of restoring the Jewish state, and under his auspices the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem was completed in 515 B.C. For this reason he is mentioned warmly in Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah. He left the Behistun Inscription. Written in Old Persian, Assyrian, and Susian (the Iranian language of Elam), it provided the key for deciphering Babylonian cuneiform. Upon his death he was succeeded by his son Xerxes I.

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Darius I

 known as Darius the Great

Darius I seated before two incense burners, detail of a bas-relief of the north courtyard in the …

(credit: Courtesy of the Oriental Institute, the University of Chicago)

(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 had usurped power. He continued the conquests of his predecessors, subduing Thrace, Macedonia, some Aegean islands, and land stretching to the Indus valley. He failed in his great expedition against the Scythians (513) but put down the Ionian revolt (499), which had been supported by Eretria and Athens. After that he twice tried to conquer Greece, but a storm destroyed his fleet in 492 and the Athenians defeated him at the Battle of Marathon in 490. He died before a third expedition could be launched. Among the greatest of the Achaemenian dynasty, he was noted for his administrative genius and his building projects, especially those at Persepolis.

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Darius I

known as Darius the Great, surname Hystaspis. ?550--486 bc, king of Persia (521--486), who extended the Persian empire and crushed the revolt of the Ionian city states (500). He led two expeditions against Greece but was defeated at Marathon (490)