Darius I
Organiser of the Achaemenid Empire who created satrapies, built the Royal Road, standardised coinage, founded Persepolis and launched the first Persian invasion of Greece.
| Lived | 550 BC – 486 BC |
| Known as | King of Persia |
| Birthplace or main place | Persepolis |
| Places on the map | Babylon |
PersepolisSee the world of Darius I in the interactive map
Darius I lived before the earliest border map (500 BC); the map above shows the oldest snapshot available.
Who ruled these places in his lifetime
| Place | At birth (map of 500 BC) | At death (map of 500 BC) |
|---|---|---|
| Persepolis | Achaemenid Empire | same |
| Babylon | Achaemenid Empire | same |
From the border maps nearest to each date; borders are approximate.
Events in his lifetime
| Year | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 539 BC | Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon | Babylon |
Further reading
Contemporaries
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| c. 563 BC – 483 BC | Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha | Founder of Buddhism |
| 551 BC – 479 BC | Confucius | Philosopher and teacher |
| c. 600 BC – 530 BC | Cyrus the Great | Founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire |
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.