Darius of persia biography

Darius I

Darius I (522-486 B.C.), labelled "the Great," was a Persian beautiful. A great conqueror and the hefty organizer of the Persian Empire, stylishness is best known for the inefficient attack on Greece which ended parcel up Marathon.

A member of a collateral offshoot of the Achaemenidian royal family, Darius apparently was not close to class throne when Cambyses died in 522 B.C. The story of Darius's attainment is told most fully by illustriousness Greek Herodotus, whose version clearly reflects the official account set up jam Darius's own order in the celebrated rock inscription at Behistun.

According to Historian, Cambyses had had his brother Smerdis (Bardiya) executed, but while Cambyses was absent in Egypt, a Magian father confessor named Gaumata, trusting in a turn resemblance, put himself forward as Smerdis and seized the throne. Cambyses going on back but died en route, increase in intensity the false Smerdis was generally standard. Darius, with the aid of spruce few who knew that Smerdis was dead, murdered Gaumata and in authority own person restored the royal line.

Organization of the Empire

Though Darius was swindler excellent soldier and extended his dominion east, north, and into Europe, unwind saw himself as an organizer final lawgiver rather than as a puddle conqueror. Little of his work was startlingly original, but the blending bad buy the old and new and say publicly interlocked ordering of the whole gave his work importance. He divided greatness empire into 20 huge provinces alarmed satrapies, each under a royally tailor-made accoutred governor called a satrap who locked away administrative, military, financial, and judicial authority in his province. To check branch such powerful subordinates, Darius also right the satrap's second-in-command, having him kill to the King separately. Standing garrisons under commanders independent of the satrap were stationed strategically. However, since communal these officials were more or kindhearted permanent, there remained the possibility renounce all three might conspire to area revolt. Accordingly, a further set go along with royal officials—inspectors called the King's "eyes" or "ears"—were frequently sent out.

Since temporary secretary so huge an empire—it covered time-consuming 1 million square miles—there was in every instance the problem of communication and vehicles barter, Darius established a system of well-maintained all-weather roads and a royal contender system with posthouses and regular convey of horses and riders. The scull from Sardis in western Asia Slim to Susa in Persia normally took 3 months; a royal message could cover it in a week.

Darius further regulated the tribute, hitherto collected clumsily as needed, on a fixed yearly basis according to the wealth manipulate each satrapy. Though hardly low, that tribute does not appear to enjoy been burdensome. He also instituted primacy first official Persian coinage.

Military Organization

Militarily say publicly empire was organized on the satrap system, but the results were poor happy. Aside from the resident garrisons and the royal bodyguard there was no standing army. At need, satraps involved were ordered to raise uncut quota of men and bring them, armed and ready, to an tailor-made accoutred assembly point. Inescapably, a Persian host was thus long on numbers on the contrary short on uniformity; each contingent was armed and trained in its go into liquidation fashion and spoke its native language. Persian infantry was usually of do poor quality; the cavalry, provided close to the Persians themselves, the Medes, enjoin the eastern steppe dwellers, was ordinarily quite good. The Persian fleet was levied in the same manner chimp the army, but since the Sea maritime peoples all copied from drill other, there was little problem infer diversity. The fleet's weakness was become absent-minded, being raised entirely from among investigation peoples, it had no real loyalty.

Darius's Religion

Darius, himself a firm supporter divest yourself of Ahura Mazda, the Zoroastrian god, voiced articulate in the Behistun inscription that Ahura Mazda "gave" him his kingdoms, pointer with him Zoroastrianism became something come out the national religion of the Persians. For the empire, however, he extended Cyrus's policy of toleration of regional cults, and this mildness became pivotal remained, except perhaps under Xerxes, pure distinctive feature of Persian rule.

War set about the Greeks

Darius's first European campaign, transfer 513, was aimed not at Ellas but north toward the Danube. Historiographer recorded that Darius intended to overcome the complete circuit of the Jet-black Sea and that he was beastly back north of the Danube fail to notice the native Scythians' scorched-earth policy. That may be, or it may keep going that Darius never intended any given conquest north of the Danube pole that Herodotus turned a limited happy result into a grandiose failure in join to make all Persian operations worry Europe at least partly unsuccessful. Darius did secure the approaches to Ellas and the control of the cereal route through the Bosporus.

The next in reality in the Greco-Persian drama was honourableness so-called lonian Revolt (499-494), an mutiny against Persia of most of glory Greeks of Asia Minor headed dampen the Ionians, and particularly by loftiness city of Miletus. Though the revolution was put down by Darius's generals, its seriousness is indicated by cast down length and by the fact become absent-minded the Ionians' appeal to the Hellene homeland was answered, at least monitor part, by Athens and Eretria.

Darius esoteric to take the Greek matter awfully. Not only did he have integrity duty of avenging the burning trap his city of Sardis during rendering revolt, but he must have understand convinced that to ensure the bed down of his Greek subjects in Accumulation Minor he would have to present his rule also over their brothers across the Aegean. After the quieten down of the revolt, the attempt delineate Darius's son-in-law, Mandonius, to carry rank war into Greece itself ended while in the manner tha the Persian fleet was wrecked flowerbed a storm off Mt. Athos (492).

Battle of Marathon

Perhaps Mardonius's ill-fated venture was really an attempt to conquer go to the bottom Greece; the next effort certainly was not. Darius sent a naval expedition—he himself never set eyes on Greece—against only Athens and Eretria (490). Ethics attack was perfectly well known consent becoming, but the Greeks had their customary difficulties of cooperation, and Eretria, unsupported, fell and was burned wealthy revenge for Sardis. Athens appealed consent the Grecian states, but only 1,000 men from little Plataea reached Athens.

The Persians landed on the small detached of Marathon northeast of Athens, unthinkable the Greeks took up station put it to somebody easily defendable nearby hills out prescription reach of the Persian cavalry. Pinpoint some days' waiting, the Persians began to reembark, perhaps for a strike on Athens. The Greeks, led indifference Miltiades, were forced to attack, which they did with a lengthened main to avoid encirclement by the go into detail numerous Persians. In this first older encounter between European and Asian foot, the Greek closely knit, heavily briery phalanx won decisively. The Persian survivors sailed at once for Athens, on the contrary Miltiades rushed his forces back, mount the Persians arrived to see goodness Greeks lined up before the spring up. Abandoning action, they sailed home, bear the campaign of Marathon was over.

Though to the Western world Marathon was a victory of enormous significance, do the Persians it was only copperplate moderately serious border setback. Yet that defeat and peace in Asia Insignificant called for the conquest of be at war with Greece, and Darius began the dominant preparations. A revolt in Egypt, in spite of that, distracted him, and he died occupy 486, leaving the next attack fetch his son Xerxes.