Life
- Darius the Great was the third of the Great Kings of the Persian Empire
- Lived ~550–486 BC
- He did not inherit the throne of Persiam but came to it through political intrique
- Succeeded by his son Xerxes
Reign
- His main achievement was consolidation and organization of the empire his predecessors had conquered
- Started minting gold coins, called garics
- Divided the empire into 20 provinces
- Each with a great deal of autonnomy
- He allowed religious freedom and donated money towards building various temples
- Military operations
- Retaking of Babylon
- Ionian Revolution
- Invasion of Greece
- Lost at the battle of Marathon
