The ‘King of Nations’: Darius I

The ‘King of Nations’: Darius I

The Persian Empire grew into a truly great power in the middle of the 6th century BC, during the reign of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. The territory ruled by the Achaemenid Dynasty was the largest ancient empire in the era preceding the time of Christ, extending over parts of Africa, Europe and Asia, as well. It reached its peak in the 6th century BC, during the reign of Darius I. One inscription refers
to him as ‘King of Persia’, and ‘The King of Nations’.

Achaemenid Empire

The Achaemenid Empire, also known as the First Persian Empire, was established in parallel with
the fall of the Median Empire in the 6th century BC. This empire, ruled by the Achaemenid dynasty,
had an enormous territorial extent and, as a result, consisted of various states and ethnic groups.
The empire, which had an efficient public administ­ration system, was finally defeated by Alexander the Great in the second half of the 4th century BC.

Persians considered
their monarchs holy persons. They believed that the king could communicate directly with the gods through his dreams.
The power of ancient Persian monarchs is well demonstrated by the fact that their feet could not touch the ground outside
the palace. Anyone entering
the palace with­out permission was executed.

gold sceptre

Facial hair

Persian men preferred spectacularly curled, long facial hair. The nobles also sprinkled
gold dust on their hair.