Darius Iii Of Persia

Darius III, also known as Codomannus, was a Persian usurper who ruled as the penultimate king of the Achaemenid Empire from 336 BCE until his overthrow in 328 BCE. His brief but turbulent reign was characterized by brutal repression, military failures, and the gradual collapse of Persian power - laying the groundwork for the eventual downfall of the once-mighty Achaemenid Dynasty.

Rise to Power

Darius III was not a member of the legitimate Achaemenid royal line, but rather a provincial governor who seized the throne through a coup d'état in 336 BCE. He killed the previous king, Artaxerxes IV, and consolidated his control over the Persian heartland through a combination of political maneuvering and ruthless violence.

Initially, Darius III attempted to maintain an aura of stability and legitimacy, continuing many of the policies of his Achaemenid predecessors. He continued the standardized imperial bureaucracy, the satrapy system of regional governance, and the core tenets of Zoroastrianism that had defined the Persian state for centuries.

Military Failures

However, Darius III's reign was marked by a series of disastrous military campaigns that steadily chipped away at Persian power and prestige. In 334 BCE, he led the Persian army in a doomed attempt to stop the advance of Alexander the Great's Macedonian forces, suffering a decisive defeat at the Battle of the Granicus.

Over the next several years, Darius III was unable to mount an effective defense as Alexander carved through the western satrapies of the empire. The Persian king tried to rally his forces for a final showdown, but was again routed at the Battle of Issus in 333 BCE. This second crushing defeat forced Darius III to abandon his family to Alexander's custody and flee eastward.

Brutal Crackdown

Darius III's humiliating military failures only emboldened opposition and unrest within the Persian Empire. Provincial governors, nobles, and common people alike began to question the usurper's right to rule. In response, the king unleashed a ruthless campaign of repression, executing suspected dissidents and ordering the razing of rebellious cities.

This iron-fisted approach further alienated the Persian populace, who increasingly saw Darius III as a tyrant rather than a rightful monarch. Widespread civil uprisings and peasant revolts broke out across the empire, stretching Persian military forces to the breaking point. The regime's crackdown only fueled more resistance, creating a vicious cycle of violence.

Downfall

Darius III's hold on power continued to deteriorate as the 330s BCE wore on. In 328 BCE, a major rebellion erupted in the eastern satrapies, led by a coalition of disgruntled nobles, provincial governors, and religious leaders. The Persian army sent to quell the uprising was decisively defeated, and the rebels marched on the capital.

Rather than face capture, Darius III fled with a small retinue, but was assassinated soon after by his own men. This left the shattered Achaemenid Empire without a clear successor, paving the way for its gradual collapse over the following decades. Persian territories in the west were conquered by Alexander, while eastern regions fractured into warring factions.

The Achaemenid Dynasty that had ruled Persia for over two centuries thus came to a violent and chaotic end, largely precipitated by the failed reign of the usurper Darius III. His brutal but ineffectual attempts to maintain power only accelerated the Empire's downfall, a cautionary tale about the dangers of ruthless authoritarianism.