Darius III

Darius Kodomanos (Codomannus); the last ruler of the Persian Empire; he ruled from 336 to 330 BCE.

Darius III was the son of Artaxerxes; when Alexander the Great set his designs on the Persian Empire, king Darius was far richer and his army was vastly more numerous than the Greek invaders but the Persians lacked the discipline and leadership that the Greeks had acquired through centuries of internal fighting.

The first confrontation with Alexander’s army was on the narrow plains of Issus in 333 BCE; Darius disgraced himself by deserting his army and running away from the fight; in 331 Darius again faced Alexander’s army near the city of Gaugamela and again Darius fled, leaving his army to certain defeat.

Alexander pursued Darius for the next year and, in 330 BCE, confronted the remnants of the Persian army in eastern Persia; the Persian generals finally killed Darius and left his dead body for Alexander thus ending all resistance to the Greek invasion of the Persian Empire.