Darīus (Dāreios). 1. Darius I the Great, king of Persia from 521 to 486 BC, a member of the Achaemedid family. A brilliant administrator, he restored order after anarchy and reorganized the empire, creating twenty provinces called satrapies. In 499 the Greek cities of Ionia, which were his vassals, revolted, but by 494 the revolt was suppressed. The cities of mainland Greece had been implicated and in 491 Darius sent envoys to Greece demanding submission. When this was not forthcoming he sent an army, which was defeated at Marathon in 490 (see PERSIAN WARS). Darius died four years later and was succeeded by his son Xerxes, who continued the war against Greece.
2. Darius III Codomānus (c.380–330 BC), the king of Persia overthrown by Alexander the Great.
