Darius: Did you mean...?

A photorealistic representation of the Persian king Darius III (r. 336-330 BCE) as he may have appeared. This reconstruction is largely based on artistic evidence like the Alexander Mosaic (c. 100 BCE) and coins minted during the reign of...

East of the Zagros Mountains, a high plateau stretches off towards India. While Egypt was rising up against the Hyksos, a wave of pastoral tribes from north of the Caspian Sea was drifting down into this area and across into India. By the...

After securing the eastern Mediterranean seaboard and Egypt, Alexander the Great pushed east into Mesopotamia with the intention of bringing Darius to battle. After crossing the Euphrates River unopposed, he marched his army eastward along...

Headless, 2.5-metre tall (8.2 feet) granite statue of Darius I (r. 522-486 BCE) originally made to be set up in Egypt and found in 1972 in Susa on the west side of the Gate of Darius. Darius the Great is dressed in the Persian robe but in...

Relief of Darius I from Persepolis, 522-486 BCE

Tomb of Darius I, Naqsh-e Rustam, near Persepolis, Iran, c. 522–486 BCE

A modern recreation of the court of Darius the Great (r. 522-486 BCE), by Zvonimir Grbasic. Courtesy of Ancient History Magazine / Karwansaray Publishers.

The foundations of the Palace of Darius the Great at Susa (Iran), the capital of Elam and of the Achaemenid Empire. The palace was built on a 12-hectare (29.6 acres) artificial platform and occupied five hectares (12.3 acres). It consisted...

The Apadana (audience hall) of the Palace of Darius in Susa (Iran) was a large hypostyle room of 36 columns. Measuring 109 metres (357 feet) on each side, it was very similar to that of Persepolis in plan and dimensions with distinctive Persian...

The government of ancient Persia was based on an efficient bureaucracy which combined the centralization of power with the decentralization of administration. The Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) founded by Cyrus the Great (r. c. 550-530...