Darius the Great – Great Persian Ruler, Administrator, Lawgiver and Architect
Darius I of Persia (548-486 BC), commonly identified as Darius the Fantastic, was 1 of the greatest kings of Persia (modern-day day Iran) and 1 of the wonderful kings that dominated Persia in the Achaemenid Empire, also identified as the Persian Empire (c. 550-330 BC).
He ascended the throne in 521 BC, possessing killed the earlier king, Gaumata the Magian, who he regarded as an usurper. Darius’ variation of these functions may nevertheless be read through in the monumental Behistun Inscription, around the city of Kermanshah in western Iran.
Darius dominated the Persian Empire at its peak, when it prolonged from the Indus River (present day day Pakistan) through Central and Southwest Asia to Egypt and element of Europe. He faced down many revolts through the Empire this sort of this kind of a revolt by the Babylonians. He even further extended the Empire by conquering the Scythians, Thrace and Macedon.
The Ionian Revolt (499-498) – and connected revolts in Aeolis, Caria, Cyrus, and Doris – rose in opposition to the Persian Empire.
Darius sent two punitive expeditions against the Athenians to punish them for supporting the Ionian Revolt but these, unusually, were being defeated: the to start with as a result of the wreck of the Persian naval fleet in a storm off Mt Athos (492) and the second ending a armed forces catastrophe at the Battle of Marathon (490).
The Athenians experienced also wrought destruction in Persia throughout the Ionian Revolt – for instance, they ruined Sardis, political funds of the western province of the Persian Empire.
In accordance to the historic Greek historian, Herodotus, Darius vowed under no circumstances to ignore the destruction of Sardis. In his Histories (Guide 5: 105), Herodotus relates the following: “And he [Darius] commanded one particular of his servants to repeat to him the phrases, ‘Master, bear in mind the Athenians’, a few times each time he sat down to meal.”
Darius’ conquests had been pointed out for the humane way in which he dealt with the peoples he conquered.
Darius reformed the administration and finances of the Persian Empire. He divided his empire into 20 administrative provinces named “satrapies”, every single a single dominated by a “satrap” (governor). He viewed around his Empire’s revenues with an eagle eye: for case in point, every single satrap had a secretary who viewed the actions of the satrap and claimed back instantly to Darius.
He levied a new once-a-year tax and brought in a new standardized currency. He encouraged commerce – for example, by setting up roadways and canals, by creating a highly effective navy, and by sending out expeditions of exploration.
Darius was identified as a terrific lawgiver, who was severe but reasonable, and he standardized the legislation throughout the total of the Persian Empire. Even foreigners acknowledged his wonderful traits as a lawgiver. In the Bible (Daniel 6:8), is penned: “the regulation of the Medes and Persians which alters not”. Darius made a codification of rules for Egypt.
Darius the Wonderful was a follower of the Zoroastrian god, Ahura Mazda, and less than Darius Zoroastrianism became the condition religion. But in religious matters Darius was, unusually for his time, mentioned for his spiritual tolerance.
Darius the Great was a fantastic architect. He created Susa, a gorgeous new funds city (positioned near Shustar, in fashionable working day Iran). He also created the terrace and the wonderful palaces of the spectacular metropolis of Persepolis (518-516), the Persian Empire’s ceremonial funds whose ruins however amaze modern people (in 1979 UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Web page)..
