Darius the Great

Third Achaemenid King of Kings who centralized the empire.

Darius the Great was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE.^[1] He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, including much of West Asia, parts of the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Indus Valley, and portions of North Africa and Northeast Africa.^[1] After claiming that the Achaemenid ruler Bardiya was actually a pretender named Gaumata, Darius overthrew him and took the throne.^[2]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Coronation

Pasargadae

Full name

Dārayava(h)uš

Reign

29 September 522 BCE – October 486 BCE

Predecessor

Bardiya

Successor

Xerxes I

Spouse

Atossa
Artystone
Parmys
Phratagune
Phaedymia
a daughter of Gobryas

Dynasty

Achaemenid

Father

Hystaspes

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Hystaspes had five sons, with Darius being the oldest; who his mother was remains unknown.^[3] Alireza Shapour Shahbazi (1994) states that Rhodogune was believed to be the mother of Darius.^[4] Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (2013) reports that documents recently discovered at Persepolis show Darius's mother was Irdabama, a wealthy landowner from a line of local Elamite rulers.^[4] The empire was split by Darius into administrative districts, with a satrap placed in charge of each one.^[2]

Standardized weights and measures were brought in, and roads were enhanced, which improved the empire's condition.^[2] A relief in three languages—Elamite, Old Persian, and Babylonian—was carved by Darius on Mount Behistun.^[5] A short autobiography that covers his ancestry and lineage is how the inscription starts.^[5] Darius repeatedly asserts that Ahura Mazda, the supreme god, granted him the right to be king.^[6]

What the cited sources add

Herodotus states that Darius, fearing a conspiracy of the six, sent for each and questioned him to know if they approved the deed.^[7] Darius seized Intaphrenes with his sons and all his household, suspecting the man was plotting a rebellion.^[7] Intaphrenes' wife came to the palace gates weeping, and Darius granted her the life of one of her imprisoned kinsfolk.^[7] She chose her brother, saying she could get another husband and other children but could by no means get another brother.^[7]

Darius was pleased and delivered to her the one she asked for and the eldest of her sons, putting all the rest to death.^[7] The Caspian tribes, including those inhabiting the territory of Dāḡestān, were located in the eleventh satrapy under Darius I.^[8]

References

Wikipedia, "Darius the Great" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "DĀḠESTĀN"; Suny, "The Making of the Georgian Nation", Indiana University Press, 1994; Durant 1954, p. 355 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Darius the Great" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pollard, "Worlds Together, Worlds Apart concise edition vol.1", W. W. Norton, 2015, p. 132 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Darius the Great" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shahbazi 1994, p. 41–50 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Darius the Great" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shahbazi 1994, p. 41–50; Llewellyn-Jones 2013, p. 112; Stoneman 2015, p. 189 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Darius the Great" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Duncker 1882, p. 192; Egerton 1994, p. 6 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Darius the Great" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shahbazi 1994, p. 41–50; Kuhrt 2013; Frye 1984; Schmitt 1994, p. 40; Zournatzi, "The Apadana Coin Hoards, Darius I, and the West", American Journal of Numismatics, 2003, p. 1–28; "Persepolis : discovery and afterlife of a world wonder", 2012, p. 171–181 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"Herodotus Histories 3.80-3.83", Lacus Curtius. facts only, no text reused. penelope.uchicago.edu
"DĀḠESTĀN". facts only, no text reused. iranicaonline.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Darius the Great (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.