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Darius III in a Pickle: Combat at
Issus, 333 BC
Museo
Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli
Darius III Codommanus ?-330 BC
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Image Above
Darius in his chariot in a scene from
the Battle at Issus, 333 BC.
Detail from the
 Alexander Mosaic. |
Darius III, also called Codommanus or Codomannus, was king of Persia from 336
to 330 BC and a family member of
the
Achaemenian Dynasty.
Darius had his hands full with a spunky
Alexander the Great.
The two met at the
Battle of Granicus in 334 BC, at the
Battle of Issus in 333 BC, and at the
Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC.
Map of the Battle of the Granicus 334 BC
Map of the Battle of Issus 333 BC - Movements to the Battlefield
Map of the Battle of Issus 333 BC - Initial Situation
Map of the Battle of Issus 333 BC - Decisive Action
Battle of Gaugamela (Battle of Arbela) 331 BC
Map of the Battle of Gaugamela 331 BC -
Initial Situation
Map of the Battle of Gaugamela 331 BC -
Decisive Action
The End of the Persian
Empire
Darius fled and sought refuge in
Bactria, where we was killed by Bessus,
the governor (satrap) of Bactria.
The date? Summer of 330 BC.
And thus the last chapter of the Achaemenian
Dynasty was closed. It was bad timing, too. Darius' tomb at
Persepolis was still under construction.
The man Bessus, by the way, changed his name to
Artaxerxes IV, called himself
the new king, and was killed about a year later.
And here is the map of Darius' systematic destruction
The Conquests of Alexander the Great 336-323 BC
More History
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