Darius I the Great

Darius I
King of Persia King of Babylon Pharaoh of Egypt
Relief of Darius I in Persepolis
King of Persia
Reign	September 522 BCE to October 486 BCE (36 years)
Coronation	Pasargadae
Predecessor	Bardiya
Successor	Xerxes I
Born	550 BCE
Died	October 486 BCE (aged approximately 64)
Burial	Naqsh-e Rustam, Iran
Spouse	Atossa Artystone Parmys Phratagone Phaidime a daughter of Gobryas
Issue	Artobazanes Xerxes I Ariabignes Arsamenes Masistes Achaemenes Arsames Gobryas Ariomardos Abriokomas Hyperantes Artazostre
Full name Dārayava(h)uš
Dynasty	Achaemenid
Father	Hystaspes
Mother	Rhodogune
Religion	Zoroastrianism

Full name
Dārayava(h)uš

Darius I (Old Persian: Dārayava(h)uš, New Persian: داریوش Dāriush ; c. 550–486 BCE) was the third king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Also called Darius the Great, he ruled the empire at its peak, when it included much of West Asia, the Caucasus, parts of the Balkans (Thrace-Macedonia and Paeonia), most of the Black Sea coastal regions, parts of the North Caucasus, Central Asia, as far as the Indus Valley in the far east, and portions of north and northeast Africa including Egypt (Mudrâya), eastern Libya and coastal Sudan.

Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing Gaumata, the alleged magus usurper of Bardiya with the assistance of six other Persian noble families; Darius was crowned the following morning. The new king met with rebellions throughout his kingdom and quelled them each time. A major event in Darius's life was his expedition to punish Athens and Eretria for their aid in the Ionian Revolt, and subjugate Greece. Although ultimately ending in failure at the Battle of Marathon, Darius succeeded in the re-subjugation of Thrace, expansion of the empire through the conquest of Macedon, the Cyclades, and the island of Naxos, and the sacking of the city of Eretria.