Darius I was born in 550 BCE. A king of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Darius took the throne in 522 BCE after a period of turmoil following the death of Cambyses and then put down a series of revolts, an achievement he proclaimed in the Behistun inscription. He organized the empire into provinces known as satrapies, standardized taxes, coinage and weights, and built the Royal Road and a new capital at Persepolis. His empire extended from the Indus Valley to Thrace. He launched an expedition against Greece after the Ionian Revolt, which ended in the defeat at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE.
Before and after
- 551 BCEBirth of Confucius
- 550 BCEFounding of Verona
- from 550 BCE to 366 BCEFounding of Peloponnesian League
- from 550 BCE to 330 BCEAchaemenid Empire
- 550 BCEBirth of Darius I
- from 550 BCE to 1979Persian Empire
- 544 BCEBirth of Sun Tzu
- 543 BCEOrigins of Phanagoria
- c. 539 BCEMaking of the Cyrus cylinder
More in Wars, politics & history
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- 2 September 31 BCEOctavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium
- August 70 CEThe Romans destroy the Temple in Jerusalem
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 6th century BCE.