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 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 {{link=Achaemenian dynasty">Achaemenian dynasty , he was noted for his administrative genius and his building projects, especially those at Persepolis .
Darius I seated before two incense burners, detail of a bas-relief of the north courtyard in the ...
By courtesy of the Oriental Institute, the University of Chicago