Unless otherwise specified, dates on this page are all assumed to be BC.
Great Achaemenid Kings
* Cyrus II (-559(-550?)/-529(-530?))
* Cambyses II (-529/-522)
* Bardiya (-522/-522)
* Darius I (-522(-521?)/-486)
* Xerxes I (-486(485?) /-465)
* Artaxerxes I (-465/-424)
* Xerxes II (-424/-424)
* Sogdianos (-424/-424(-423?))
* Darius II (-424(-423?)/-404(-405?))
* Artaxerxes II (-404/-359)
* Artaxerxes III (-359(-358?)/-338)
* Arses (- 338/-336)
* Darius III (-336/-330)
Darius III or Codoman (380-330), king of Persia from 336 to his death in July 330.
He is a member of a collateral branch of the Achaemenid family, son of Arsame, grandson of Ostanes himself son of Darius II and brother of Artaxerxes II. He acceded to the throne following the crimes of the eunuch Bagoas who assassinated Artaxerxes III in 338 then his son, Arses in 336. He quickly envisaged an identical fate for Darius III, no doubt less docile than expected, but the latter anticipates his poisoning by making Bagoas drink the fatal cup that the latter intended for him.
Darius imposed Persian domination and integrated Phenicia into the fifth satrapy but his reign was essentially marked by the fight against Alexander the Great who invaded Persia in 334. Darius was beaten at Granicus in 334 then at Issos in 333 finally at Arbeles in 331 He flees towards the mountains of Media but he is assassinated by the satrap Bessus and by Nabarzane. Bessus proclaimed himself king in his place in July 330.
He is buried with immense honors by Alexander, in the royal necropolis of Pasargadae - the latter considers himself his legitimate successor and marries his daughter Statira.