View source for Darius the Great

==Primary sources==
{{see also|Behistun Inscription|DNa inscription|Herodotus}}
{{multiple image
|align         = right
|caption_align = center
|header        = Apadana foundation tablets of Darius the Great
|total_width   = 400
|image1        = Corner of the Apadana Darius the Great inscription.jpg
|caption1      = Gold foundation tablets of Darius I for the [[Apadana Palace]], in their original stone box. The [[Apadana hoard|Apadana coin hoard]] had been deposited underneath ({{C.|510 BCE)}}.
|image2        = Deposition plate of Darius I in Persepolis.jpg
|caption2      = One of the two gold deposition plates. Two more were in silver. They all had the same trilingual inscription (DPh inscription).
}}
At some time between his [[coronation]] and his death, Darius left a tri-lingual monumental [[relief]] on [[Mount Behistun]], which was written in [[Elamite language|Elamite]], [[Old Persian]] and [[Akkadian language|Babylonian]]. The inscription begins with a brief autobiography including his [[ancestry]] and [[Lineage (anthropology)|lineage]]. To aid the presentation of his ancestry, Darius wrote down the sequence of events that occurred after the death of [[Cyrus the Great]].{{sfn|Duncker|1882|p=192}}{{sfn|Egerton|1994|p=6}}

Darius mentions several times that he is the rightful king by the grace of the supreme deity [[Ahura Mazda]]. Further texts and monuments from [[Persepolis]] have been found, as well as a clay tablet containing an [[Old Persian cuneiform]] of Darius from [[Gherla]], [[Romania]] (Harmatta) and a letter from Darius to Gadates, preserved in a [[Greek language|Greek]] text of the [[Roman period]].{{sfn|Shahbazi|1994|pp=41–50}}{{sfn|Kuhrt|2013|page=197}}{{sfn|Frye|1984|page=103}}{{sfn|Schmitt|1994|page=53}} In the foundation tablets of [[Apadana Palace]], Darius described in [[Old Persian cuneiform]] the extent of his Empire in broad geographical terms:<ref name="ACH">{{cite journal |last1=Zournatzi |first1=Antigoni |title=The Apadana Coin Hoards, Darius I, and the West |journal=American Journal of Numismatics |volume=15 |year=2003 |pages=1–28 |jstor=43580364 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Persepolis : discovery and afterlife of a world wonder |date=2012 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/persepolis_discovery_and_afterlife_of_a_world_wonder/page/n195 171]–181 |url=https://archive.org/details/persepolis_discovery_and_afterlife_of_a_world_wonder |language=en}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|''Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid. King Darius says: This is the kingdom which I hold, from the [[Saka|Sacae]] who are beyond [[Sogdia]] to [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]], and from [[Sind]] ([[Old Persian]]: [[Wikt:𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁|𐏃𐎡𐎭𐎢𐎺]], "Hidauv", [[locative]] of "[[Hindush|Hiduš]]", i.e. "[[Indus valley]]") to [[Lydia]] ([[Old Persian]]: "Spardâ") – [this is] what [[Ahura Mazda|Ahuramazda]], the greatest of gods, bestowed upon me. May Ahuramazda protect me and my royal house!''|DPh inscription of Darius I in the foundations of the Apadana Palace}}

[[Herodotus]], a Greek historian and author of ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories]]'', provided an account of many [[Persian people#Ancient history and origin|Persian]] kings and the [[Greco-Persian Wars]]. He wrote extensively on Darius, spanning half of Book 3 along with Books 4, 5 and 6. It begins with the removal of the alleged [[usurper]] [[Gaumata]] and continues to the end of Darius's reign.{{sfn|Shahbazi|1994|pp=41–50}}