Darius I of Persia Last Will and Testament

Download a free copy of the Last Will and Testament of Darius I (550BCE-486BCE), king of Persia.

Darius I (also known as Darius the Great) was the third king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire. Darius held the empire at its peak, then including Egypt, and parts of Greece. The decay and downfall of the empire commenced with his death and the coronation of his son, Xerxes I.

Darius ascended the throne by assassinating his predecessor Gaumata with the help of six other Persian noble families; Darius was crowned the following morning. The new emperor met with rebellions throughout his kingdom, and quelled them each time. A major event in Darius' life was his expedition to punish Athens and Eretria and subjugate Greece – an attempt which failed. Darius expanded his empire by conquering Thrace and Macedon, and invading the Saka, Iranian tribes who had invaded Medes and even killed Cyrus the Great.

Darius organized the empire by dividing it into provinces and installing governors to govern each region. He organized a new monetary system, and made Aramaic the official language of the empire. Darius also worked on construction projects throughout the empire, particularly in Susa, Babylon, and Egypt. Darius created a codification of laws for Egypt.

Biographical information taken from Wikipedia.org