Darius I

521-486 b.c.e..

King of Persia

Sources

The Persians. The Persians were a cattle-herding group who moved from Central Asia into Iran at the end of the second millennium b.c.e.. and formed an independent political unit following the collapse of Elam-ite power in the mid-seventh century b.c.e.. They spoke Old Persian, a member of the Indo-European language family. The founder of the Persian Empire was Cyrus II (the Great), who, after achieving dominance in Iran, conquered Babylon in 539 b.c.e.. Darius I, a member of the Achaemenid royal family in Iran, came to power, under circumstances that remain unclear, following the death of Cyrus’s son Cambyses II on his return from his successful conquest of Egypt. Darius’s ascent to the throne was greeted by widespread rebellion, which he ruthlessly crushed.

Empire. With his own house in order, Darius began a series of conquests aimed at expanding his control. He conquered parts of northwest India and led his forces into the lands of the Scythians north of the Black Sea. Forays to the west brought him into contact with east Greek (Ionian) colonies in western Anatolia. Faced with continual revolt by Ionian cities (499–494 b.c.e..) and defeated on the plains of Marathon in Greece in 490 b.c.e.., Persian forces temporarily retreated but retained control of the city-states in Macedonia, Thrace, and around the Bosporus Straits. Darius also retained power over Egypt. He reorganized his realm into twenty provinces, or satrapies. Each province was governed by a satrap who was responsible for the collection of taxes, military matters, and civil affairs. In some areas garrisons were under the control of commanders appointed by and responsible to the king. The satrap was usually a wealthy aristocrat who may have been a close relative of the king, and he modeled his administration on that of the “Great King.” Monumental royal inscriptions were typically trilingual, written in Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian. The administrative language of the empire was Aramaic, which was widely used throughout the realm.

Persepolis. Darius commissioned the building of a new dynastic capital at Persepolis in the province of Fars, the homeland of the Achaemenids. The reliefs on the stairway of his Apadana, or audience hall, depict the king, his court, and delegates of his empire bringing him gifts. The reliefs represent the Achaemenid ideal of a harmonious, culturally diverse kingdom of peoples ruled by a benevolent king who cares for the welfare of his people. Darius also built palaces in the ancient city of Susa and at Babylon. Persepolis was burned by Alexander III (the Great) of Macedon in 331 b.c.e..

Sources

Pierre Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire, translated by Peter T. Daniels (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2002).

Ilya Gershevitch, ed., The Median and Achaemenian Periods, volume 2 of The Cambridge History of Iran (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).

A. T. Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948).