Darius I Hystapses father of Darius I was with Cambyses II (son of Cyrus the Great) as a member of the royal guard. When Cambyses II died, Darius I and 6 nobles killed Bardiya the second son of Cyrus the Great. Bardiya was actually an impersonator when the real one was killed by Cambyses II. The Darius claimed that Gaumata (Bardiya’s impersonator) was the real usurper, so Darius I had a claim to the throne. Many believe Gaumata’s story was invented, so that Darius had more claim to the throne. (the famous inscription of Darius on the base of Bisitun mountain
The Great The was known for his administrative genius and his massive building projects. He was an expansionist like the previous two kings, and he was a great king. Darius I was not loved by the people. His clam to the throne was poor and he was a lot harsher on the people. he ruled from 521 BCE to 486 BCE. He was a very forceful king, yet he was still one of the greatest kings of the Archaemenid dynasty. Darius I wanted to be remembered in Persia, so he made an effort to be remembered. He found out that one of the traitor nobles attempting to claim the throne had a man on the inside. Darius quickly found out that it was his official, so he had him killed. Also when he established control again in Egypt, he put their satrap to death because Darius was concerned of his loyalty to him.
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Athority
There were nine nobles who thought they had a good claim to the throne and that they could throw him out, but he quickly threw them out. Darius was said to be a descendant of Ariaramnes of Persia. There were many revolts in Egypt in his time, but he put them down. The revolts lasted four years. There was a policy of clemency and the punishment for any rebel leader; it made an organization to his empire. His empire was then organized and he was very powerful.
The Greeks
Darius attempted to conquer Greece several times, but each time he failed. He made it his lifelong goal to take Greece, quite literally. He was still planning an attack on Greece right before he died. He went and disrupted the grain trade network of Greece by attacking the Scythians on the northwestern borders of the Black Sea. then around 500 BCE Ionian Greeks took Persia by surprise and attacked, but Darius fought back. He had to return to Persia, so he put his son-in-law, Mardonius in charge of the Ionians,to restore order. They went to battle another battle with Greece called the Battle of Marathon; they lost. Darius had to retreat to plan another invasion, but he died, so he could not finish.Then a huge revolt in Egypt caused the plans to be delayed even more.