Dareios III.

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Name of Dareios III.
Greek
for Manetho 		Dareios
Darius III of Persia.jpg
Dareios III. at the battle of Issus (detail)
Descent of Dareios III.

Dareios III. ( Ancient Greek : Δαρεῖος; Persian داریوش Dāriyūsch dɔːriˈuːʃ ; Old Persian Dārayavahusch , Dārayavausch ; Latin Darius ; * around 380 BC Chr .; † July 330 BC Chr. In Hecatompylos (at today's Damghan , Iran), surnamed Codomannus ) was the successor of the Asses v 336-330. The last Persian king of the Achaemenid Empire . He was his opponent Alexander the Great , who ruled the Persian Empire from 334 BC. BC conquered, not grown. While fleeing from the Macedonian king, Darius was murdered by a group of nobles around the satrap Bessos .

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There are no information about Dareios III. informative Persian sources such as royal inscriptions available. There are only a few Babylonian documents of primary texts, such as a list of the kings of Uruk and documents of astronomical content. The most important surviving historical representations of Dareios III. are the Anabasis Arrians , the 17th book of Diodor's historical library (with a large text gap), the Alexander story by Curtius Rufus (only available from the 3rd book), the Alexander biography of Plutarch and the 11th and 12th books by Marcus Iunianus Iustinus ' Extract from the Philippian story of Pompey Trogus . All of these works were only written centuries after Darius' death and are based on Hellenistic Alexander historians such as Ptolemy , Aristobulus and Kleitarchus who report from the Macedonian or Greek point of view (lost today) .

Origin, family and early life

Dareios III. came from a branch of the Achaemenid dynasty. He was a great-grandson of Darius II , grandson of Ostanes (name variant Artostes) and son of Arsames (or Arsanes) and the Sisygambis . According to Babylonian sources, he was originally called Artashata (Artašata) and took the throne name Darius after he came to power as the third Achaemenid king . The credibility of the news handed down only by Justinus that Darius III. The epithet Kodomannos led to is controversial. He was married to his sister, Stateira , and had a brother named Oxyathres . Of his children, two daughters named Stateira and Drypetis are known, as well as another, not named, daughter who is married to a Mithridates, and two sons named Ochos and Ariobarzanes .

About the life of Darius III. Little information is available before his accession to the throne. According to Plutarch, he was first a royal courier. He is described as a brave warrior and distinguished himself under Artaxerxes III. in a campaign against insurgent Kadusier in Azerbaijan, in which he defeated a challenging opponent in a duel. For this act he was made a satrap of Armenia .

Seizure of power

The mighty Chiliarch and Eunuch Bagoas let 338 BC. The king Artaxerxes III. poison and also kill all his sons except the youngest, Arses, who succeeded the throne. When Arses proved to be too obedient, Bagoas had him murdered two years later, along with all of his children. The eunuch then elevated Artashata to the throne as a distant relative of the last ruling Achaemenids, whereby the high reputation of the new king as a brave warrior played an essential role in the acceptance of this decision by the Persian nobility. Artashata's accession to the throne, who now called himself Darius, probably took place around May 336 BC. BC, a few months before his future opponent Alexander the Great in Macedonia , who was almost 25 years his junior, came to power . Within a short time he got rid of the overpowering Bagoas when the latter also wanted to poison him due to insufficient maneuverability. According to tradition, the eunuch had to drink the poison that he wanted to give the king himself. Soon after he came to power, Darius III. also to have quickly suppressed revolts in Egypt and Babylonia.

Fight against Alexander

No initial personal involvement

Dareios III. set new political accents by seeking a stronger alliance with the Greeks against their common enemy Macedonia. In this sense, Memnon was a Greek who was one of the most talented generals in Persian service, as well as many Greek mercenaries and refugees. On the other hand, numerous Greeks fought on the side of Alexander the Great, 335 BC. A rise in Thebes was precipitated in the spring of 334 BC. He resumed the campaign against the Persian Empire that his father Philip II had started and initially met no resistance when he landed in Asia Minor . According to tradition, Darius III. the defensive struggle against the satraps of Asia Minor, supported by Memnon, without intervening immediately. As has often been the practice, the satraps first allowed the enemy to invade, in order to then confront and push back on their own territory with superior armies. Furthermore, the Persian king, who could not foresee the danger of Alexander before the beginning of the first battles, ordered naval armor so that he could not be accused of complete inactivity against the Macedonian offensive.

The Persian defense of Asia Minor suffered from the fact that it was not under a single supreme command. In the Battle of Granicus (May 334 BC) Alexander was able to achieve a decisive victory. In the further conquest of Asia Minor he did not need to fear further strong resistance for the time being. Dareios III. then made contact with Alexandros the Lynkesten for the murder of the successful Macedonian king; however, this attack was foiled. Memnon sent his family hostage to Darius III. and received now the supreme command of the Persian fleet in the Aegean Sea . However, Alexander dissolved his fleet and occupied the coastal cities of southern Asia Minor in order to deprive the Persian fleet of their base of operations there. Memnon conquered Chios and Lesbos besides Mytilene ; He also tried to block the supply of the Macedonians over the Hellespont and one from the Spartan King Agis III. to promote the uprising against Alexander in Greece. After Memnon's death (summer 333 BC) his enterprise was not continued; Agis III. received insufficient support and eventually fell in late 331 or early 330 BC. In the Battle of Megalopolis, which ended with a defeat for Sparta .

Battle of Issus

" Battle of Alexander" (mosaic, Pompeii , approx. 150-100 BC)
Darius (excerpt from the Alexander mosaic )

While Alexander also in the winter of 334/333 BC Chr. Continued his campaign in Asia Minor, Darius III, who was now forced to take over the command against the Macedonian conqueror, raised a huge army. However, he failed to have the easily defensible Cilician Gate in the Taurus Mountains guarded by a strong troop, so that Alexander could pass this bottleneck with relative ease. From the Euphrates, the Persian king advanced towards his opponent in the Cilician-Syrian border area. A Macedonian vanguard under Parmenion moved along the coast on the eastern edge of the Gulf of Issus and, after passing the likewise barely guarded Cilician-Syrian gate, occupied the Bailan pass leading over the Amanos Mountains before the arrival of the Persian army. Darius III, east of these mountains in the plain near Sochoi . In a council of war, rejected the proposal of the Macedonian defector Amyntas to wait for Alexander here - where he could freely develop his superiority. Instead, he followed the opinion of his courtiers to march over the unoccupied Lion Pass, which also led over the Amanos Mountains, to Cilicia , where the Persians believed that the Macedonian king was still staying.

Alexander had meanwhile moved south along the east coast of the Gulf of Issus and united with Parmenion. In the meantime, Darius III met. over the Löwenpass to Issus and stood at Alexander's back. The warring kings were amazed to learn of each other's marching movements. Dareios III. now took up his position at Issus, where Alexander hurriedly returned with his army. In the battle of Issus that followed (November 333 BC), Dareios III, protected by a mounted guard, posted himself. traditionally with his chariot behind the center of the Persian front and tried on his right wing to strike the decisive blow through the attack of his strong cavalry, which was under the command of Nabarzanes . However, his superior cavalry could not develop their strength fully on the less favorable terrain than at Sochoi. Nevertheless, his cavalry succeeded in pushing back the left Macedonian wing, commanded by Parmenion, while the impetuous personal attacking Alexander prevailed on his right wing. The initially undecided course of the fight turned the Macedonian king in his favor by going with his horsemen to Dareios III. fought through. This was in mortal danger and was protected by his brother Oxyathres and other noble Persians, of whom Atizyes and Sabakes, among others , fell in close combat. Then the Persian king fled, probably less because of cowardice assumed by the Greek sources, than to be able to organize the further defensive struggle, which threatened to collapse in the event of his death for lack of an undisputed successor. Darius' flight sealed the Persian defeat; his family who traveled with him - his mother Sisygambis , his wife Stateira and his children Ochos, Stateira and Drypetis - were captured.

The fact that Dareius' tactical leadership was weaker than that of his opponent and that he had obviously been much more inactive than Alexander during the battle had contributed to the Persian failure. The Persian king, who escaped to the Euphrates with 4,000 men, sent his opponent a letter in which he offered him a friendship treaty and asked for his family to be released. Alexander, who had renounced the immediate pursuit of Darius and instead set out to conquer Phoenician coastal cities, refused this request. While he was in 332 BC Took military action against Tire - which he could only take after seven months of siege - made Darius III. Further concessions in writing to him: cession of all areas west of the Euphrates, recognition of Alexander as equal great king, establishment of family connections and payment of 10,000 talents for the release of the Persian royal family. Contrary to Parmenion's advice - whose historicity is contested by Beloch , for example - Alexander also rejected this offer; he wanted to subjugate Darius' entire empire and succeed it.

Battle of Gaugamela

Dareios III. So felt compelled to continue the war. During Alexander's long stay in Egypt at the beginning of 331 BC he undertook No advance into Syria in the back of his opponent, probably because he had not had enough time to raise a powerful army since the rejection of his peace proposals. Apparently he was expecting Alexander in Mesopotamia , but in the meantime he was busy preparing and gathering his huge armed forces, consisting of various ethnic groups from his eastern part of the empire, near Babylon . The satrap of Mesopotamia, Mazaios , defended the east bank of the Euphrates at Thapsakos with only insufficient troops and retreated to the east when the Macedonian king marched. BC was able to cross this river unhindered. Alexander was now traveling on a north-eastern route through northern Mesopotamia and was also able to pass the torrent Tigris in a ford , which was not at all guarded by the Persians . Meanwhile, Darius III. marched with his army from Babylon north via Arbela to the plain of Gaugamela east of the Tigris , where now Alexander, turning southeast after crossing the Tigris, also advanced.

The terrain intended for battle had Darius III. carefully selected, since the vast plains of Gaugamela offered his numerically superior troops, especially the cavalry, full development opportunities. This time he also planned the use of sickle wagons and therefore had the battlefield particularly leveled. He also led 15 Indian war elephants into battle and improved the equipment of his troops based on the Greek model. One disadvantage, however, was that his army was composed very heterogeneously, had little experience of the war and was poorly trained. Dareios' decision to leave his army under arms all night before the decisive military conflict for fear of an enemy attack was also unfavorable. So the next morning (October 1, 331 BC) his men went tired into battle , while Alexander's army went to battle well rested. As with Issus, the Persian king, guarded by Persian spearmen and Greek mercenaries, positioned himself with his chariot behind the front line of the center; he had entrusted command of his left wing to the Bactrian satrap Bessos and that of his right wing to Mazaios.

Alexander again led the Macedonian offensive personally with the riders on his right wing. As he was initially facing the center with the sickle chariot of the elongated Persian front due to his numerically inferior strength, he slowly swiveled to the right to the edge of the combat area. Dareios III. sent cavalrymen on his left side to ward off a feared outflanking, but Alexander used a gap that had arisen in the opposing line to ride through it, like at Issus, to launch a direct attack on the Persian king. While the sickle chariot offensive did not show the desired success, but Mazaios prevailed against the left wing of the Macedonians led by Parmenion and even plundered their camps, Darius III seized. if the battle was not yet lost, he fled again because of his personal threat from Alexander's attack. He escaped because Alexander had to abandon his pursuit after Parmenion asked for help. The Macedonians were now able to destroy the previous successes of Mazaios and thus celebrate another clear victory. The prestige of the Persian king suffered irreparable damage.

Escape, capture and death

The weapons and the chariot of Darius III. fell into the hands of the Macedonians as after the battle of Issus. The defeated Persian king escaped via Arbela and the Kurdish mountains east to Medien , where he stopped in Ekbatana . His guards, Greek mercenaries and the cavalry of Bessos came with him. While he was staying in Ekbatana and perhaps trying to gather a new army, Alexander moved to Babylon in December 331 BC after a month's stay in Babylon. BC east to Susa , where he captured the huge Persian royal treasure, then granted his army in Persepolis , whose royal palaces he had burned, a four-month rest period and meanwhile subjugated the rest of Persis . The ruins of Persepolis are now a World Heritage Site of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

What actions Darius III. while Alexander's stay in the Persis continued is not recorded. According to Arrian, if Alexander did not pull against him, he had intended to remain in the media, but otherwise to avoid a fight to Parthia , Hyrcania and, if necessary, to Bactria and to make the pursuit of his opponent more difficult by devastating the areas in between. When Alexander in May 330 BC He marched quickly northwest from Persepolis towards Ekbatana, but learned that the Persian ruler was ready for another battle against him. However, Darius' army was now numerically inferior to the opposing team and a promised contingent of Scythians and Kadusians did not materialize. Evidently there were differences of opinion in Darius' entourage during Alexander's rapid advance to Ekbatana. While Artabazos and the Greek mercenary leader Patron advised the Persian king to stand up for battle, the influential nobles Nabarzanes and Bessos were in favor of withdrawing to the east. They were probably already planning to organize the further resistance in the East on their own, regardless of their unsuccessful overlord. Dareios III. When Bessus and Nabarzanes left with the Bactrian contingents, he had to follow them with the remaining small force a few days before Alexander arrived in Ekbatana. According to Arrian, the Persian king and his entourage had 9,000 soldiers at their disposal on their further flight, while Curtius Rufus and Diodor said 30,000 men.

Alexander hurriedly took up the pursuit with a core group of horsemen. He needed eleven days for the 300 km route from Ekbatana to Rhagai , where he then rested with his people for five days. On the way to the east, the quarrels in the entourage of Darius III intensified. The latter did not accept Patron's suggestion to protect him with his Greek mercenaries in view of his Persian companions. Since the men of Patrons and those of the loyal Artabazos were in the minority, they finally left Darius. Bessus and Nabarzanes imprisoned the king and led him tied up in a chariot, as Alexander learned from Persian defectors after passing the Caspian gates . Initially, the conspirators wanted to hand their prisoners over to the Macedonian king because they believed they would be rewarded for it, but later doubts about this.

Corpse of Darius

At the news of Darius's capture, Alexander hastily followed the fugitive with only a few men and rode through day and night. In July 330 BC BC, six days after his departure from Rhagai, he came across a Persian motorcade about 350 km east of this city, most of whose escort fled when the Macedonians were blown up; Bessus and Nabarzanes also escaped. Dareios III. had been stabbed; Alexander found his body in a carriage and spread his cloak over him as a sign of respect. This death scene was embellished by ancient writers. According to Plutarch and other authors, a Macedonian named Polystratos found the Persian monarch alive and offered him a glass of water; and Diodorus mentions a version known to him, according to which Alexander himself saw the dying Darius and promised him to avenge his death on Bessus. In any case, the latter now proclaimed himself king.

Dareios III. had reached the age of about 50 years. Alexander had him buried in the royal tombs of Persepolis. The grave has not yet been discovered. Darius' brother Oxyathres was warmly received by Alexander, who succeeded the Achaemenids.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Diodor , Bibliothéke historiké 17, 5, 5; Plutarch, Artaxerxes 1, 1; 5, 8; 22, 6.
  2. ^ Ernst Badian, Encyclopædia Iranica , Vol. 7, p. 52.
  3. ^ Iustinus , Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV 10, 3, 3.
  4. ↑ See family tree of the Achaemenids in Alexander Demandt , Alexander the Great. Leben und Legende , CH Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-59085-6 , p. 591.
  5. ^ Plutarch, Moralia 326F.
  6. ↑ Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 6, 1; Iustinus, Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV 10, 3, 3ff.
  7. ↑ Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 5, 3f .; Claudius Aelianus , Varia historia 6, 8.
  8. ↑ Strabon , Geographika 15, 736; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 5, 5; Arrian, Anabasis 2, 14, 5; Curtius Rufus , Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 6, 3, 12.
  9. ↑ Alexander Demandt, Alexander the Great. Life and Legend , p. 137.
  10. ↑ Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 5, 6; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 6, 4, 10; John of Antioch , fragment 38f.
  11. ^ Ernst Badian, Encyclopædia Iranica , Vol. 7, p. 52.
  12. ^ Siegfried Lauffer : Alexander the Great. 3. Edition. Dtv, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-423-04298-2 , pp. 51 and 60.
  13. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 1, 14, 5-16, 6; slightly different Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 19-21.
  14. ^ Arrian, Anabasis 1, 25.
  15. ↑ Ernst Badian, Encyclopædia Iranica , Vol. 7, p. 53; Siegfried Lauffer: Alexander the Great. P. 66; 71; 80; 100f.
  16. ↑ Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 31, 1f .; Iustinus, Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV 11, 8, 1.
  17. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 2, 4, 3f .; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 3, 4, 1-13.
  18. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 2, 5, 1; 2, 6, 1-7; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 3, 7, 6f .; 3, 8, 2-12; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 32, 2f .; Plutarch, Alexander 20, 1ff .; on this Siegfried Lauffer: Alexander the Great. P. 74f.
  19. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 2, 6, 2; 2, 7, 1f .; 2, 8, 1; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 3, 7, 5ff .; 3, 8, 13ff; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 32, 3f .; Plutarch, Alexander 20, 4f.
  20. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 2, 8-12; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 3, 9-12; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 33-38; Plutarch, Alexander 20f .; on this Siegfried Lauffer: Alexander the Great. Pp. 75-79.
  21. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 2, 13, 1; 2, 14, 1-9; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 4, 1, 1-3; 4, 1, 7-14; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 39, 1.
  22. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 2, 25, 1ff .; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 4, 5, 1-9; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 54, 1-6; Plutarch, Alexander 29, 7ff .; among others
  23. ^ Siegfried Lauffer: Alexander the Great. P. 86.
  24. ^ Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 4, 9, 1-6; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 53, 1ff.
  25. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 7, 1f .; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 4, 9, 7f .; 4, 9, 12; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 55, 1.
  26. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 7, 3ff .; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 4, 9, 13-25; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 55, 3ff.
  27. ^ Siegfried Lauffer: Alexander the Great. P. 94ff.
  28. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 14, 1-15, 6; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 4, 15, 1 - 16, 7; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 58, 1 - 61, 3; Plutarch, Alexander 33, 2-11; on this Siegfried Lauffer: Alexander the Great. P. 96f.
  29. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 15, 5; 3, 16, 1f .; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 4, 16, 8f .; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 64, 1.
  30. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 19, 1ff.
  31. ^ Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 5, 8, 6 - 9, 17.
  32. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 19, 4f .; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 5, 8, 3; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 73, 2.
  33. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 20, 1ff .; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 5, 13, 1f; Plutarch, Alexander 42, 5-10.
  34. ^ Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 5, 9, 15; 5, 11, 1-12; 5, 12, 4; 5, 12, 7ff.
  35. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 21, 1; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 5, 13, 2f .; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 73, 2; Plutarch, Alexander 42, 5; Iustinus, Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV 11, 15, 1.
  36. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 21, 2-9; Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 5, 13, 4-13; Plutarch, Alexander 43, 1ff; Iustinus, Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV 11, 15, 3ff.
  37. ↑ Plutarch, Alexander 43.
  38. ↑ Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 73, 4.
  39. ↑ Arrian, Anabasis 3, 22, 1f .; 3, 22, 6; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 73, 3; Plutarch, Alexander 43, 6; Iustinus, Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV 11, 15, 15; Pliny , Naturalis historia 36, 132.
  40. ^ Curtius Rufus, Historiae Alexandri Magni Macedonis 6, 2, 9; Diodor, Bibliothéke historiké 17, 77, 4.
predecessor Office successor
Arses Persian king
336-330 BC Chr. 		Bessos
predecessor Office successor
Arses Pharaoh of Egypt
31st Dynasty 		Greco-Roman time
personal data
SURNAME Dareios III.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dareios III. Kodomannos
BRIEF DESCRIPTION last ruler of the Persian Empire from the Achaemenid dynasty
DATE OF BIRTH around 380 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH July 330 BC Chr.