Darius the Great: A Neighing Horse, Nine Lying Kings and the Gold Daric

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In 522 BCE seven Persian nobles who had just killed a king agreed that whoever's horse neighed first at sunrise would rule. In the story, Darius's groom Oebares rubbed his hand on a favored mare and let the stallion smell it, and a thunderclap from a clear sky sealed the choice. Born around 550 BCE, son of the provincial governor Hystaspes, Darius had served Cambyses II as a lance bearer in Egypt, and Cyrus the Great reportedly dreamt of him with wings shadowing Europe and Asia. Darius claimed the man he killed in September 522 BCE was Gaumata, a Magian lookalike of the murdered prince Bardiya, a story most modern historians treat as propaganda covering the killing of the real heir.

Revolts erupted in Elam, Babylonia, Media, Egypt and Persis, and Darius boasted of defeating nine lying kings in a single year. When co-conspirator Intaphernes mutilated two palace guards, Darius executed him and seized his family, then spared the wife's brother and eldest son after she reasoned she could never have another brother. He carved the Behistun inscription 300 feet up a cliff in Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian, later the key to deciphering cuneiform. He organized 20 satrapies with fixed tribute, separate commanders and treasurers, and royal inspectors, issued the gold daric, and built the Royal Road, qanats in Egypt and a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea. His Scythian campaign ended in retreat, Marathon was lost in 490 BCE, and he died in 486 BCE.

• The Scythian king told Darius to find the graves of his ancestors if he wanted a fight.
• A servant reminded Darius every day before dinner: "Master, remember the Athenians."
• The Murashu firm in Babylon offered agricultural loans and land leases backed by standardized money.
• Royal Road relay stations kept fresh horses roughly every 15 miles.
• He died after a 30-day illness at about 64 and was entombed at Naqsh-e Rostam.