Iran Culture and Information Center

Darius The Great

In the middle of the sixth century B.C., Cyrus the Great, Achaemenid prince, united the Iranian tribes, conquered western Asia, and created the vast Persian Empire. His successor was Cambyses, who secretly murdered his only brother the Bardiya (Greek : Smerdis), and since he himself had no son, he thus ended the direct line of succession. He then entrusted his household to a certain Oropasthes, led the Persian army into Africa, and added Egypt to his realm. This Oropasthes belonged to the Median tribe Magi, and bore, it appears, the title Patikhshayathiya (Greek : Patizeithes) which meant "protector of the kingdom". Amongst those who followed Cambyses into Egypt, the most notable was Darius (old Persian : Daryavahvsh), the eldest son of the Achaemenid prince Hsytaspes born in 550 B.C.. Darius married a daughter of Gobryas, aprominent Persian aristocrat, in 533 B.C. and started serving as a spear-man in the Royal Guard shortly after 530 B.C. By 522 B.C., he had already become the father of three sons.

While Cambyses was in Egypt, Oropasthes and his brother, Gaumata (Greek : Comates), usurped the kingdom. Since the people had no knowledge of Bardiya's death, Gaumata, who bore resemblence to the murdered prince, succeeded in convincing them that he was Bardiya, son of Cyrus. In order to win the enthusiastic support of the common people, the supers granted them freedom from military service and taxation for a period of three years. They furthermore deprived the Iranian nobles of their lands, houses, and household slaves, and destroyed their worshipping places (old Persian Ayadana). Greatly pleased with the actions of the Magi, the people rebelled against Cambyses, or to quote Darius, "... the people became evil. After that the lie waxed great in the country, both in Persis, in Media and in the other provinces."

Cambyses was returning to Persia and had reached Syria when he received the bad news. He sprang hastily upon his steed, meaning to march his army with all speed against the Magi. "As he made his spring, the bottom of his sword-sheath fell off, and the bared point entered his thigh". Feeling that he had received his death-wound, the king disclosed the secret of his brother's death and the plot of Magi to the Achaemenids and other noble Persians who had gathered around his deathbed,, beseeching them to recover the Persian throne. Twenty days after suffering the wound, Cambyses died. His was a natural death, and there was no question of committing suicide.

The nearest to the throne was Arsames, grandfather of Darius and a cousin of Cyrus, who, however was too old to take a strong hand in the matter. The next in line was his son Hystaspes, governor of Parthia and Hyrcania, who, because he was approaching fifty years of age, and being too remote from the scene, was reluctant to take any action against the Magi. Therefore, it was left to Darius to regain the kingship for the Achaemenids. Resolving to promptly destroy the rebels, he left Cambyses camp, and upon reaching Persia, ws joined by six of the greatest Persian noblemen, namely Gobryas, Hydarnes, Megabyzus, Intaphernes and Ardumanish. They knew that they could not rely on the support of the common people, since the Magi were not only popular, but also feared, as they were known to kill anyone who knew the secret of their usurpation. In a singular act of daring, the chiefs, led by Darius, forced their way into the castle Sikayauvati, situated in Nisaya, a district in Media, where the Magi lived, and slew the usurpers and their supporters. Afterwards, Darius was elected king, married two daughters of Cyrus as well as the only daughter of the true Bardiya, and strove to restore the situation that existed during the time of Cyrus.

"Saith Darius the King : The kingdom which had been taken away from our family, that I put in its place. I re-establish it on its foundation, as before, so I made the temples which Gaumata the Magian had destroyed. I handed back to the people the cattle, herds, servants and houses which Gaumata the Magian had taken from them. I re=established the people on its foundation, in both Persis and Media and the other lands".

A number of Iranian tribal chiefs and leaders of the subject peoples questioned Darius' authority and rebelled unsuccessfully against him. The story of Gaumata and the account of Darius, victory over him and the other rebels are given by Darius in the inscription of Behistun in three languages, namely Old Persian, Elamite and Neo-Babylonian. Accompanying the inscription is a rock relief showing Darius facing the rebellious leaders, whose hands are bound behind them, as well as two of Darius' friends who stand behind him.

In the first three columns of his inscription on the rock of Behistun near Kirmanshah, Darius relates how he obtained the throne and crushed the rebellions. The translation of the fourth column (with omission of the first line) is as follows:
«Saith Darius the King : this is what I did by the favor of Ahurmazda in one year after that I became king. XIX battles I fought, by the favour of Ahurmazda I smote them, and IX kings I captured them. One was Gaumata by name, a Magian he lied, thus he said : "I am Bardiya the son of Cyrus," he made Parsa rebellious. One way Assina by name, an Elamite; he lied thus he said : I am king in Elam; he made Elam rebellious to me. One, Nidintubel by name, a Babylonian; he lied thus he said : I am Nebuchadrezzar, the son of Nabonidus, he made Babylon rebellious. One, Martiya by name, a Persian; he lied, thus he said : I am Imanish, King in Elam; he made Elam rebellious. One, Phraortes by name, a Mede, he lied, thus he said : I am Khshathrita, of the family of Cyazares; he made Media rebellious. One Cissantakhma by name, a Sagartian, he lied : I am king in Sagartia, of the family of Cyaxares. He made Sagartia rebellious. One Frada by name, a Margian; he lied, thus he said I am king in Margiana; he made Margiana rebellious. One, Vahyazdata by name, A Persian; he lied; thus he said : I am Smerdis, the son of Cyrus. He made Parsa rebellious. One, Arkha by name, an Armenina; he lied, thus he said : I am Nebuchadrezzar, the son of Nabonidus. He made Babylon rebellious."
"Saith Darius the King : these IX king I captured in these battles."
"Saith Darius the King : these countries which became rebellious, the Lie made them rebellious. Because these kings deceived the people, then Ahurmazda put them at my hands, as was my desire, thus I did to them."
"Saith Darius the King : thou who shalt be king hereafter, turn thyself strongly from the Lie, the man who shall be a liar, him thou punish well, if thus thou shalt think, May my country be secure."
"Saith Darius the King : this is which I did by the favor of Ahurmazda in one year. Thou who shalt hereafter read this inscription, let that which has been done by me convince thee. May thou not think it false."
"Saith Darius the King : I vow the utterance by Ahurmazda that this I did truly, not false, in one year."
"Saith Darius the King : by the favor of Ahurmazda, and there is much else also done by me, that is not written in this inscription, for this reason it has not been written lest he who may read this inscription hereafter, for him that which has been done by me may seem much, this may not convince him, he may think it false."
"Saith Darius the King : those former kings as long as they lived, so much was not done by them as was done by me by the favor of Ahurmazda in one year."
"Saith Darius the King : now let what has been done by me convince thee, then do not conceal it for the sake of the people, if thou shalt not conceal this record, if thou shalt tell it to the people, may Ahurmazda be a friend to thee, and may thy family be in abundance, and may thou live long."
"Saith Darius the King : if this record thou shalt conceal, if thou shalt not tell it to the people, may Ahurmazda be a smiter unto thee and may no family be to thee."
"Saith Darius the King : this which I did in one and in the same year, by the favour of Ahurmazda I did; Ahurmazda bore me aid and the other gods who are."
"Saith Darius the King : for this reason Ahurmazda bore me aid and the other gods who are, because I was not hostile, I was not a Lie follower, I was not a doer of wrong, neither I nor my family. According to righteousness I conducted myself. Neither to the weak nor to the powerful did I do wrong. The man who cooperated with my house, him I rewarded as well; whoso did injury I punished them as well."
"Saith Darius the King : thou who shalt be the king here after, the man who shall be a Lie-follower or who shall be a doer of wrong, onto them thou not be a friend, but punish them as well."
"Saith Darius the King : thou who shalt hereafter behold this inscription which I have inscribed, or these sculptures, do thou not destroy them, but thence onward protect them, as long as thou shalt be in good strength."
"Saith Darius the King : if thou shalt behold this inscription ot these sculptures, and shalt destroy them and shalt not protect them as long as unto thee there is strength, may Ahurmazda be a friend unto thee, and may family be unto thee in abundance, and may thou live long, and what thou shalt do, that may Ahurmazda make successful for thee."
"Saith Darius the King : if thou shalt behold this inscription or these sculptures, and shalt destroy them and shalt not protect them as long as unto thee there is strength, may Ahurmazda be a smiter unto thee, and may family not be unto thee, and what thou shalt do, that for thee may Ahurmazda utterly destroy!"
"Saith Darius the King : these are the men who were there at the time when I slew Gaumata the Magian who called himself Smerdis; at the time these men cooperated as my followers : Intaphernes by name, son of Vayaspara, a Persian; Otanes by name, sopn of Thukhra, a Persian, Goubrava by name, son of Marduniya, a Persian; Hydarnes by name, son of Bagabigna, a Persian; Megabyzus by name, son of Bagabigna, a Persian; Ardumanish by name, son of Vahauka, a Persian."
"Saith Darius the King : thou who shalt be king hereafter, protect the family of these men."
"Saith Darius the King : by the favor of Ahuramazda this is the inscription which I made. Besides, it was in Aryan, and on clay tablets and on parchment it was composed. Besides, a sculpture figure of myself I made. Besides, I made my lineage. And it was inscribed and was read off before me. Afterwards this inscription I sent off everywhere among the provinces. The people unitedly worked upon it."

Thanks to his brilliant strategy and courageous tactics, Darius regained all parts of the Persian Empire for the Achamenids. He suppressed a fresh rebellion in Elam in 519 B.C., and subdued the Scythian tribes of central Asia, namely the pointed-hat Scythians (Old Persian : Saka Tigrahakhauda) and the Homa worshipping Scythians (Old Persian : Saka Haumavarga, Greek : Amyrgioi Scythians). He added another column to his inscription, and the portrait of Skunkha, king of pointed-hat Scythians to the relief. Then he visited Egypt and by showing generosity and kindness, he won the affection of the Egyptians. He joined the Red Sea to the Nile by digging a canal, known as Darius, Suez canal, and recorded his achievement on the stone stele he set up on its banks : "Saith Darius the King : I am a Persian, from Persia I seized Egypt; I gave order to dig this canal from a river by name Nile which flows in Egypt, to the sea which goes from Persia. Afterward this canal was dug as I ordered, and ships went from Egypt through this canal to Persia as was my desire."

Meanwhile, he had sent his admiral of the fleet, the ionian Scylax, to explore the Indus valley. Scylax went to Peshawar, sailed down the Kabul and Indus river, explored the shores of Indian Ocean, Oman Sea and the Red Sea and sailed through Darius' Canal to the Nile.

At the same time, Aryandes, satrap of Egypt sent an army into Libya and added it to the Persian Empire.

Around 514 B.C.; Darius embarked upon his last campaign, crossed the Danube, defeated the European Scythians and subdued Thracia and Macedonia. By these brillinat victories, he became the master of the largest empire that had ever been created.

Darius organized his empire, one which in extent exceeded all its predecessors, in a firm way known before and comparable only to the Roman Empire. He ruled over many nations and lands, whose names are given in the Royal inscriptions and whose representatives are shown on the Achaemenid reliefs. Each nation (Old Persian : kara) lived in a country (Old Persian : dabyu). The number of the Empire's peoples and lands changed in accordance with the expansion of the kingdom and the decisions of the kings. Concerning the empire and kingship that he possessed, Darius has left us a vivid description :
"I am Darius the Great King, King of kings, King of countries containing in all kinds of men, King in this great earth far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Acheamenian, a Persian, an Aryan, having Aryan lineage."
"Saith Darius the King : by the favour of Ahuramazda these are the countries (Old Persian : dahyava) which I seized outside of Persis; I ruled over them; they bore tribute to me; what was said to them by me, that they did; the law which is mine, that held them firm : Media, Elam, Parthia, Aria, Bactria, Sogdiana, Chorasmia, Drangiana, Arachosia, Sattagydia, Gandra, Sind, Amyrggian Scythians, Pointed-hat Scythians, Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, Armenia, Cappadocia, Lydia, Ionia, Scythians who are across the (Black) Sea, Skudra (Macedonia), petsos-wearing Greeks (thessalia), Libyans, Ethiopeans, Makranians, Carians."
"saith Darius the King : Ahuramazda, when he saw this earth in commotion, thereafter bestowed it upon me, made me king; I am king. By the favour of Ahuramazda I put it down in its place; what I said to them, that they did, as was my desire. If now thou shalt think that «how many are the countries which king Darius held?» look at the sculptures (of those) who bear the throne, then shalt thou know, then shall it become known to thee: the spear of Persian man (i.e. Darius) has gone forth far, then shall it become known to thee: a Persian man has delivered battles far indeed from Persia.

Darius divided his realm into 20 administrative provinces (Old Persian : khshassapava, Greek : satrapy). Although this system seems to have existed before Darius, nevertheless it was his organizing genius which established it on a definite and permanent footing. His system was the base of all governments which ruled in western Asia after him. Even the Roman and Frankish provincial systems had great resemblance to the Persian. Each satrapy was ruled by a satrap, who possessed civil authority, collected taxes, maintained order and looked after the welfare of people living under his rule. In most strapies, if not in all, the military authority was in the hands of a general (Old Persian : karan karan, Greek : Karanus), while a treasures looked after the revenue and the economy of the province. The annual military inspection by the King or his royal secretary attached to the court of each satrap, and the King's special representatives (known as the King's eyes and ears) who could at any time be sent for inspection, were all effective checks on the power of satraps.

The Persian king was at once the representative of the Persian nation, the leader chosen by God, and the center of the government. But there were limitations to his power. He had on all important occasions to consult the Empire's nobles who formed a type of "House of Lords"; and for judicial matters to consult the Royal Judges. "The Royal Judges are certain picked men amongst the Persians" says Herodotus, "who hold their office for life, or until they are found guilty of some misconduct."

Darius also fixed the yearly tribute each satrapy was to pay, introduced the system of coinage in Iran minting coins in both gold and silver. The gold coin was called Darik, and weighed nearly 8.35 grams, the silver was known as Siglos (Hebrew : Shekel) and weighed 5.6 grams. Both coins pictured the King as a running archer on the obverse."

Darius also organized the Persian forces on a decimal system, starting from a group of 10, and finishing with an army os 10000. The empire's elite army was the 10000 "Immortals", whose lances had golden or silver pomegranates at their ends. But the finest soldiers of the empire were the Special Royal Guard, 1000 in number, whose spears ended in golden apples, and their commander, Hazarapatish (Greek : Khiliarkhus), held the highest rank amongst the courtiers.

Of the other achievements of Darius, the fine Royal roads with which he linked his capitals together, and the Postal system he introduced, deserve special mention. Also notable was his sound understanding of the laws and customs of his subjects. He ordered the priests of many nations to collect their own laws, and made these the official laws for their respective communities. The Egyptians remembered Darius as one of their law-givers, and Plato mentioned him as a great statesman whose laws had kept the Persian Empire in order to the time of his writing.