Darius I, the Great

Darius I, the Great (about 558-486 BC), Emperor of Persia.

Darius extended and organised the Persian Empire so that it stretched from India in the east to the borders of Greece in the west.

He built roads between all the important cities. This allowed his messengers to carry letters from place to place quickly.

One of Darius's roads, from Susa (Persia) to Sardis (Asia Minor), was 1553 miles long (2500 km).

He built a new capital city named Persepolis and people called it the 'Glory of the East'.

In 490 BC Darius invaded Greece. He landed on the Plain of Marathon, 25 miles (40km) from Athens, with an army of 100,000 men, but the Athenians, with only 10,000 men, defeated him.

This was one of the most important battles in the history of the world. If the Persians had won it, the ideas and beliefs of the East would have spread into Europe.