29 Facts About Darius III

Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Darius was a distant member of the Achaemenid dynasty.

In 338 BC, Artaxerxes Darius III met an abrupt end after being poisoned by the court eunuch and chiliarch Bagoas, who installed his youngest son Arses on the throne.

Darius III only reigned for a few years, until Bagoas had him poisoned as well.

Darius III was installed on the throne and soon forced Bagoas to drink his poison after discovering that the eunuch had planned to poison him as well.

Darius III is partially remembered in Iranian traditions as Dara II, the last king of the mythological Kayanian dynasty, which reflected memories of the Achaemenids.

Darius III first adopted the regnal name of Darius when he ascended the Achaemenid throne in 336 BC.

Darius III is not attested in any Persian sources and is almost completely only known from the reports of Greek historians, who portray his career as a contradiction to that of the successful Alexander the Great.

Darius III was a distant member of the royal Achaemenid dynasty.

Darius III was the son of a certain Arsames, and grandson of Ostanes, whose father Darius II ruled the Achaemenid Empire from 424 BC to 405 BC.

Darius III's mother was Sisygambis, a woman of obscure origins.

Darius III was probably of Achaemenid descent, although it is unknown to which branch she belonged.

Darius III had a brother and sister; Oxyathres and Stateira I respectively.

Darius III's exploit was noticed by Artaxerxes III, who sent him gifts and gave him the Satrapy of Armenia.

Macedonian propaganda, made to legitimize the conquests of Alexander the Great a few years later, accused Darius III of playing a key role in the murder of Arses, who was portrayed as the last king of the Achaemenid royal house.

Darius III summoned Bagoas and asked him to drink a toast for him, giving him his cup which was filled with poison.

Darius III sent an advance force into Asia Minor under the command of his generals Parmenion and Attalus to liberate the Greeks living under Persian control.

Darius III attempted to employ the same strategy, with the Spartans rebelling against the Macedonians, but the Spartans were defeated at Megalopolis.

Greek sources such as Diodorus Siculus' Library of History and Justin's Epitoma Historiarum Philippicarum recount that Darius III fled out of fear at the Battle of Issus and again two years later at the Battle of Gaugamela despite commanding a larger force in a defensive position each time.

At the Battle of Issus, Darius III even caught Alexander by surprise and failed to defeat Alexander's forces.

Darius III petitioned to Alexander through letters several times to get his family back, but Alexander refused to do so unless Darius III would acknowledge him as the new emperor of Persia.

Darius III had a good number of troops who had been organized on the battlefield properly, he had the support of the armies of several of his satraps, and the ground on the battlefield was almost perfectly even, so as not to impede movement of his scythed chariots.

Darius III then fled to Ecbatana and attempted to raise a third army, while Alexander took possession of Babylon, Susa, and the Persian capital at Persepolis.

Darius III reportedly offered all of his empire west of the Euphrates River to Alexander in exchange for peace several times, each time denied by Alexander against the advice of his senior commanders.

Darius III did attempt to restore his once-great army after his defeat at the hands of Alexander, but he failed to raise a force comparable to that which had fought at Gaugamela, partly because the defeat had undermined his authority, and because Alexander's liberal policy, for instance in Babylonia and Persis, offered an acceptable alternative to Persian policies.

Darius III led his army through the Caspian Gates, the main road through the mountains that would work to slow the following army.

Darius III did not accept this plan and his conspirators became more anxious to remove him for his successive failures against Alexander and his forces.

Patron, a Greek mercenary, encouraged Darius III to accept a bodyguard of Greek mercenaries rather than his usual Persian guard to protect him from Bessus and Nabarzanes, but the King could not accept for political reasons and grew accustomed to his fate.

Bessus and Nabarzanes eventually bound Darius III and threw him in an ox-cart while they ordered the Persian forces to continue.

Darius III was captured by Alexander, tortured, and executed.