Darius the Great The Life and Times of the Great King of Persia in his Own Words 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁

Egypt, 522 BC. This may seem to be a strange place to start our story about one of ancient Iran's most powerful rulers. But it was here that the Achaemenid Persian Empire's then-king, Cambyses II, received some very troubling news. A messenger had arrived to inform him that a usurper now sat on his throne. For most of his reign, Cambyses had spent much of his time and energy securing Egypt for Persia's expanding empire. According to the Greek traveler and historian, Herodotus, he took four years to prepare for his invasion, which ended up being successful. After conquering the country, Cambyses stayed another three years in Egypt itself, both consolidating his hold on the country and launching new campaigns into Libya and Nubia. Conquering Egypt for the relatively new Empire of the Achaemenids had been the goal of Cambyses's illustrious father, Cyrus II, better known to us today as Cyrus the Great. Cyrus had conquered more territory in a mere two decades than perhaps any single ruler before him. By his death in 530 BC, the Persian Empire extended from eastern Iran and Afghanistan to the islands of the Aegean Sea and encompassed the once great kingdoms and empires of Media, Elam, Babylon, Lydia, and much of the territory once belonging to Assyria and Urartu. The only great kingdom that remained outside of his domain was Egypt, which his son Cambyses ultimately acquired. But his focus on taking far away Egypt had distracted Cambyses from matters in the very heart of the empire in southwestern Iran, for it was there that his younger brother, Bardia, claimed the throne of Persia for himself. This though was impossible. Cambyses knew that Bardia was already dead. Therefore, the only explanation was that someone pretending to be Bardia was now in control. This is at least what Herodotus claims in his monumental work, Histories. He also writes that Cambyses confessed to ordering the execution of his younger brother just before his own death from a stab wound. Many scholars today though find it hard to believe that a usurper disguised as the king's long dead brother could have seized the throne, let alone convinced all of those around him that he was the real Bardia. They make the argument that such a story was concocted a bit later by Cambyses' eventual successor to help legitimize his own usurpation of the Persian throne. That man became Darius I, better known today as Darius the Great of Persia, king of kings of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and perhaps its most powerful and capable ruler. Little is known about Darius' early life before he became king, other than that he was the son of the Persian satrap, or governor, of Bactria, which is today part of western Afghanistan. His father's name was Vistaspa, though in Greek writings he appears as Histaspis. In its original, old Persian form, Darius' name is Darya Baush. Like Histaspis, Darius is the Greek, and later Latinized version of the name that's used today in most European languages. Herodotus wrote that Persian education itself was quite simple, and that young boys were taught to ride a horse, to shoot a bow, and to speak the truth. Being the son of the satrap of Bactria, one of the most important parts of the empire, meant that Darius would have been taught these things and more, including military strategy and how to lead men. As he got older, it's believed that he may have also been an influential member of Cambyses' royal guard. In one of his later inscriptions, Darius tells us about his combat skills. He says, As a horseman, I am a good horseman. As a bowman, I am a good bowman, both on foot and on horseback. As a spearman, I am a good spearman, both on foot and on horseback. There are two main sources that tell us how Darius became king. The writings of Herodotus, and the official, royal version inscribed on the side of a cliff that we today call the Behistun inscription. It's located just outside of the modern city of Kermanshah, Iran. In ancient times, even before the Achaemenids, there was a major highway that passed in front of the cliff. At its current height, which is about 100 meters from the ground, travelers on the road wouldn't have been able to have read the trilingual inscription with the naked eye. It's almost as if the inscription was meant to have been viewed only by the gods themselves. Both the Behistun inscription and Herodotus' version are pretty consistent with regard to the major events of what has become known as the Crisis of 522 BC. A summary of these events goes as follows. In 522 BC, while in Egypt, Cambyses received word that his brother, Bardia, had usurped the throne and was being recognized by the people as the new King of Kings. However, the man was an imposter because Cambyses, who feared that Bardia might have seized power while he was away, had already ordered his brother's assassination beforehand. According to Darius, the usurper's name was Gamata. In his writings, Herodotus calls Bardia Smerdis, and so he refers to the usurper as the False Smerdis. Seeking to reclaim his throne, Cambyses marched back to Persia, but on the way there, he died, probably in what's today Syria. Because of slight differences between Darius' and Herodotus' versions of events, the exact cause of death remains a mystery. In the Behistun inscription, Darius recalls the series of events leading up to Cambyses' death as follows. Darius the King proclaims, This is what was done by me after I became king. The son of Cyrus, by name Cambyses, of our family, he was king here. This Cambyses had a brother, by name Bardia. He had the same mother, the same father as Cambyses. Then Cambyses killed that Bardia. When Cambyses killed Bardia, the people did not know that Bardia had been killed. Then Cambyses went to Egypt. When Cambyses had gone to Egypt, then the people became disloyal, and the lie grew among the people, both in Persia and Media, and among the other peoples. Then there was a man, a Magian, Gamata by name. He lied thus to the people. I am Bardia, son of Cyrus, brother of Cambyses. Then all the people became rebellious against Cambyses. They went over to him, both Persia and Media, as well as other peoples. He seized the kingship. Nine days of the month Garmapada had gone. Then he seized the kingship. After that, Cambyses died his own death. This last line has been interpreted by some to mean that Cambyses took his own life, but Herodotus seems to imply that the king died from an accidental, self-inflicted stab wound. He also states that the false Smerdys, i.e. Gamata the Magian, had become popular amongst the people due to exempting them from military service and cancelling their taxes for three years. Darius tells us in the Behistun inscription that he had to act for the sake of his country and family honour. And so, with the help of Ahura Mazda, his patron deity who is the same as the supreme being in the Zoroastrian tradition, he along with six other loyal officers and their men cornered and killed Gamata at a fortress in Media. Each of these men, along with their families and descendants, would go on to become amongst the most influential members of the Achaemenid court in the years to come. But back to the Behistun inscription, where the story continues as follows. This kingship which Gamata the Magian took away from Cambyses, this kingship had belonged for a long time to our family. After that, Gamata the Magian took it away from Cambyses. He took to himself Persia, Media, as well as the other countries. He made them his own. He became king. There was no man, neither a Persian nor a Mede, nor anyone of our family, who could take the kingship away from that Gamata the Magian. The people were very much afraid of him, thinking he would kill many people who had known Bardia previously. Here is the reason that he might have killed people, lest they know that I am not Bardia, son of Cyrus. No one dared to say anything about Gamata the Magian until I came. Then I invoked Ahura Mazda. Ahura Mazda brought me help. Ten days of the month Bagayadi were passed. Then I, with a few men, killed that Gamata the Magian and his foremost followers. A fortress by name, Sikayahu Vati. A district by name, Niseya. In Media. That is where I killed him. I took the kingship away from him. With the help of Ahura Mazda, I became king. Ahura Mazda granted me the kingship. There are many scholars of Achaemenid Iran who question Darius' version of events. For example, the famous A.T. Olmsted from the University of Chicago once asked as to why Cambyses, in the absence of having any sons of his own, would kill off his only heir and thus end his family's line. Also, how is it possible that for three years while Cambyses was in Egypt, no one at court, not even members of his own family, such as his three sisters, would have noticed that Bardia was dead? One theory is that perhaps the real Bardia was indeed still alive when Cambyses left for Egypt. Herodotus gives several examples of Cambyses' reputation for cruelty. On the other hand, Bardia seems to have been liked by the population at large. Due to Cambyses' unpopularity and the fact that he had been in Egypt for seemingly far too long, Bardia may have taken the opportunity to assume the position of king of kings for himself. When Cambyses died on his way back to Persia to reclaim his throne, Darius and his companions had to decide whether to join the new regime of Bardia or to challenge it. Their justification for opposing Bardia, who in this case was himself a usurper, may have been their loyalty to Cambyses. But Bardia was still a son of Cyrus and the brother of the now dead king, and so perhaps Darius concocted the story about Gamata, the Bardia pretender, to both legitimize his own claim to the throne as well as save himself from the controversy that would have arisen had it become known that he was responsible for dethroning and killing a member of the as well as the last legitimate heir to Cyrus' throne. If this theory is indeed true, then Darius' tale would be one of the greatest conspiracies and cover-ups in ancient history. However, defenders of Darius point out that Bardia could indeed have been killed without many knowing about it, as members of the royal family made few public appearances, and with their relatives being stationed in distant parts of the empire, interactions with each other may have been limited. His sisters may have also been in seclusion in the royal harem, which was common for noble women in those days, and thus may have not had much, if any, real face time with their brother. Ultimately, both arguments regarding the events of the crisis of 522 BC cannot be definitively proven. Until another historical account challenging Darius' version of events surfaces, his and Herodotus' words are all that we have to go by. As if already knowing that he would have had his fair share of doubters and critics in the future, Darius tells us in the Behistun inscription, This that I have done by the favour of Ahura Mazda, in one and the same year I did. You who shall read this inscription hereafter, let what has been done by me convince you. Do not think it a lie. I will take Ahura Mazda's anger upon myself that I did this truly, not falsely, in one and the same year. By the favour of Ahura Mazda, much else has been done by me that has not been written in this inscription. It has not been written down for this reason. For fear that, whoever should read this inscription hereafter, it should seem too much to him, and so it should not convince him, but he think it false. According to Darius, it's because of his own righteous conduct that Ahura Mazda made him king. He goes on to proclaim, For this reason Ahura Mazda helped me, because I was not disloyal. I was not a follower of the lie. I was not an evildoer, neither I nor my family. I acted according to righteousness. Neither to the powerless nor to the powerful did I do wrong. You who shall be king hereafter, the man who shall be a follower of the lie or an evildoer, to those be not friendly. Punish them well. Along with Darius' version of the story regarding the secret killing of Bardia and his pretender, many scholars today are also sceptical about his close relation to the royal family of Cyrus the Great and Cambyses. Darius claims that they all shared a common ancestor named Hacimanisch, who in Greek is called Achaemenes. This is where Achaemenid, the name of the dynasty, comes from. In the Behistun inscription, Darius outlines his lineage. I am Darius, the great king, king of kings, king of Persia, king of countries, son of Hystaspes, grandson of Arsames, in Achaemenid. My father is Hystaspes, Hystaspes' father is Arsames. Arsames' father is Ariaramnes, Ariaramnes' father is Thespis, Thespis' father is Achaemenes. For this reason, we are called Achaemenids. From long ago, we are noble. From long ago, we are royal. While the famous Cyrus Cylinder found amongst the ruins of Babylon does list Thespis as an ancestor, it makes no mention of Achaemenes. Some think that Darius may have made him up so that he could claim at least some blood relation to the family of Cyrus the Great. This would also have made Cambyses and Darius distant cousins. In order to further shore up his legitimacy, Darius married Cyrus' daughter, Atosa. The two would have a son, Xerxes, who would become Darius' heir and successor. Regardless of Darius' words or the stories told by Herodotus, scholars agree that in 522 BC, the Persian Empire was rocked by violent conflicts that shook it to its very core. Getting rid of Gautama was not enough to bring order back to the realm, and there were several other rebellions throughout 522 BC that Darius and his allies had to put down. Some battles Darius fought in personally, while for others he sent his most trusted men to put down the rebellions on his behalf. The Behistun inscription seems to indicate that the new rebellions started in Elam and Babylonia. Darius explains. He lied to the people thus. I am Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nebunidus. Then all the Babylonian people went over to that Nadim-Tabira. Babylonia became rebellious. He seized the kingship in Babylon. Though Darius was able to deal with and defeat the Babylonian rebels and their leader, insurrections in other parts of the empire were just getting started. The Behistun inscription continues. Darius the king proclaims. While I was in Babylon, these are the countries which became rebellious against me. Persia, Elam, Media, Assyria, Egypt, Parthia, Bargyana, Satagadia, Scythia. The rest of the inscription goes on to recount how Darius and his allies put down all of these rebellions. The rebel leaders had their noses, ears, and an eye gouged out before being executed. Many of their loyal followers were hanged. The empire had been saved, at least for now. Cyrus and Cambyses II had built it up so rapidly through a series of relatively quick conquests in less than 3 decades that they never really had much time to build a sustainable administrative apparatus that would support the new empire's foundations well into the future. Witnessing first hand just how quickly it could all fall apart, Darius focused much of his efforts as king on strengthening the state from within. Herodotus writes that he organized the empire into 20 governing districts called satrapies, though the Behistun inscription lists 23, and by his death there were at least 27. Led by the satrap, which was usually a member of the royal family or a Persian noble, each satrapy contained a highly efficient bureaucracy staffed by scribes, accountants, tax collectors, builders, and army personnel. In more established kingdoms and cities, such as Babylon or Sardis, the Persians allowed the local government to function much as it had before they arrived, with the only real change being a satrap and a few Persians at the top to supervise. Every so often, Darius would pay the satrapy a visit to make sure that everything was running smoothly and that the satrap was following his orders. Compared to his predecessors, Herodotus writes, Darius tended to conduct all his affairs like a shopkeeper. Cambyses was harsh and scornful, but Cyrus was gentle and saw to it that all good things would be theirs. Darius also greatly improved the Persian empire's communication and road networks. The most famous highway within the realm was dubbed the Royal Road, and it stretched about 2,400 kilometers, or roughly 1,500 miles, from the city of Susa in southwestern Iran northwest to the city of Sardis in what's today western Turkey. While used for the king's messengers and troops, common travelers and merchants could also use the road, which created a free trade zone within the empire that linked the economies of the Near East with those of the Aegean and beyond. Herodotus, who himself may have traveled on the road, wrote the following about it. As regards this road, the truth is as follows. Everywhere there are royal stages and excellent resting places, and the whole road runs through the country, which is inhabited and safe. Through Lydia and Phrygia there extend twenty stages, amounting to ninety-four and a half leagues. And after Phrygia succeeds the river Hales, at which there is a gate which one must pass through in order to cross the river, and a strong guard post is established there. To better facilitate trade in the west, Darius built, or at least expanded a canal that connected the Red Sea with the Mediterranean. An inscription discovered near the modern Suez Canal reads, Seth Darius the King, I am a Persian. From Persia I seized Egypt. I gave order to dig this canal from a river by name Nile, which flows in Egypt to the sea, which goes from Persia. Afterward, this canal was dug as I had ordered, and ships went from Egypt through this canal to Persia, thus as was my desire. The Old Persian script was also developed early on during Darius' reign. Up until then, the Persians didn't have a written language of their own. As far as we know, the Old Persian script was used primarily for monuments and official documents, not for administrative purposes. In the case of the latter, the most common languages that scribes recorded information in was Elamite, Aramaic, and Akkadian. By the time that Darius had fully restored order to the Achaemenid Empire, the Persians controlled several of the ancient world's most glorious and storied cities. There was Memphis in Egypt, Sardis in Lydia, Babylon in Mesopotamia, Susa in Elam, and Ecbatana in Media. While Cyrus and Cambyses II may have made minor improvements to them after they'd been taken, these were already ancient cities that in most cases had been established centuries, if not millennia, earlier. At Susa, several of Darius' inscriptions state that he renovated old buildings and ordered the construction of new ones. One of these was a fortress, of which he informs us, The greatest building in Susa, though, was his royal palace, which archaeologists estimate may have covered over 250 acres. In several inscriptions, Darius tells us about the people who built the palace, where they came from, and the materials that they used. One inscription found there reads, On this rubble, the palace was set. And that the earth was dug downwards, and the rubble packed, and the bricks molded, the Babylonian people did it. The cedar wood was brought from a mountain called Lebanon. The Assyrian people brought it as far as Babylon. From Babylon, the Carians and Ionians brought it as far as Susa. The yucca wood was brought from Gandara and Carmania. The gold which was worked here was brought from Lydia and Bactria. The lapis lazuli and the carnelian which was worked here was brought from Sogdiana. The turquoise which was worked here was brought from Chorasmia. The silver and ebony were brought from Egypt. The decoration with which the walls were ornamented was brought from Ionia. The ivory which was worked here was brought from Nubia, India, and Aracosia. The stone columns which were worked here were brought from a village called Abiradu in Elam. The masons who crafted the stone were Ionians and Sardians. The goldsmiths who worked the gold were Medes and Egyptians. The men who worked the wood were Sardians and Egyptians. The men who crafted the bricks were the Babylonians. The men who decorated the wall were Medes and Egyptians. At Susa, much that was excellent was commanded to be done. Much that was excellent was done. Unfortunately, little of these structures remain today, other than some of their colorful, glazed brick walls, a few broken columns, and their bull-shaped capitals. Such inscriptions, though, shed light on the cosmopolitan nature of the empire, as well as the wealth and resources that its rulers commanded from many different parts of the world. The Persians did have two other cities that also once served as capitals of their growing empire. The old Elamite political and cultural center of Anshan, whose recorded history goes back at least to the 4th millennium BC, and Pasagarde, the city built by Cyrus the Great. Anshan's link to the Achaemenids comes primarily from Babylonian documents, where Cyrus is referred to as the King of Anshan, though little, if any, material evidence linking the site to the Achaemenids has been discovered. Pasagarde was founded by Cyrus the Great around the time of the empire's birth, but it didn't reflect what the empire had become by the time of Darius's reign. Perhaps to reflect the newfound strength and greatness of the Achaemenid empire, Darius around 518 BC started work on a new city he called Parsa. It's better known to us today by its Greek name, Persepolis, meaning City of the Persians. Located about 50 kilometers southwest of Pasagarde, and about 57 kilometers northwest of the modern city of Shiraz, Iran, Persepolis was built atop a large artificial terrace-type platform that covered an area of about 1.3 million square feet, or 125,000 square meters. Lined by fortifications and guard towers, the platform contained residential palaces, a royal treasury, and several ceremonial halls, including the Apadana and the Great Hall of 100 Columns built by Darius's successor, Xerxes, and continued by his grandson, Artaxerxes I. Several of Darius's inscriptions have been found at Persepolis. One of the earliest ones comes from the wall of the southern terrace, and reads, Thus says Darius the King, On this terrace, on which the palace has been built, on a place where no palace had been built before, by the grace of Ahura Mazda, I built a palace. And Ahura Mazda wanted that this palace be built. And I built it. Therefore it was made strong and excellent, and exactly as I had ordered it to be. May Ahura Mazda protect me, this palace, and what has been built on this terrace. The most impressive building at Persepolis that was started during Darius's reign was the large, hypostyle hall known as the Apadana, which at full capacity could have It's here that Darius received dignitaries, entertained guests, received tribute, and may have even inspected army units such as the famed Immortals. The roof of this massive structure was held up by 72 columns that were each 24 meters in height. The other major building at Persepolis, hailing from Darius's time, was a private palace next to the Apadana, known as the Tachara. Though still in its infancy during Darius's reign, ancient Greek historians wrote that during the Empire's heyday, Persepolis was the wealthiest and most magnificent city in the known world. Along with those at Behistun, the inscriptions of Darius at Persepolis and Susa helped to further shed light on the man, his achievements, and his trust in the god Ahura Mazda. One passage inscribed on a wall at Persepolis reads, Thus says Darius the king, A great god is Ahura Mazda, who is the greatest among all the gods, who created heaven and earth, created mankind, who gave all well-being to mankind who dwelled therein, who made Darius king, and who bestowed on Darius the kingship over this wide earth, in which there are many lands, Persia, Media, and the other lands of other tongues, of mountains and plains, from this side of the sea to that side of the sea, from this side of the desert to that side of the desert. As stability returned to the empire, Darius led new military campaigns to extend its borders, which included further north into Central Asia, as well as at least to the foothills of the Caucasus mountains. Darius pushed the eastern borders of the empire to the Indus river in modern day Pakistan, a region that Herodotus claims supplied the royal treasury with enormous amounts of gold. The two most famous and best documented were those around the Black and Aegean seas. Sometime during the 510s BC, Darius launched a war against a group of Scythians in Southeastern Europe, specifically around the Danube and Black Sea region. Herodotus is the main source for this campaign, and he tells us that ultimately, Darius and his men were unable to make any major headway against the Scythians, and so he withdrew the bulk of his forces, but left behind a contingent of some 80,000 men under his cousin and trusted general Meghabazus to subjugate Thrace, which the Persians called Skudra. Modern scholars revise Herodotus' numbers to around 20,000 men, including local mercenaries. Along with Thrace, the kingdom of Macedon became a vassal of Darius. The Persians also appointed several kings and tyrants in the Aegean who were favorable towards them. By now, many of the Greek city-states on the mainland must have been concerned with their own independence as the Persians advanced further westward. This may have been the reason why, at least according to Herodotus, that in 499 BC, the Athenians and Eretrians supported revolts in Greek-speaking western Asia Minor and on Cyprus. We refer to this conflict today as the Ionian Revolt. Most of our information about the Ionian Revolt comes from books 5 and 6 of Herodotus' histories. According to him, the conflict started after the Persians' failed attempt to take the island of Naxos. This probably encouraged several of the predominantly Greek city-states of Ionia to revolt. The area had been under Persian control since the reign of Cyrus the Great, who absorbed them into the empire after defeating their former ruler, Croesus of Lydia. Herodotus tells us that Aristagoras, the tyrant of Melitos, was the one who instigated the rebellion. Not only was it initially a success by forcing the Persian forces in Ionia to retreat, but it also enabled a group of rebels to break into the nearby provincial capital of Sardis and burn much of it. Their successes though were short-lived. By 493 BC, Darius' forces had not only taken back the empire's Ionian possessions, but had also set fire to and all but destroyed the city of Melitos, where the rebellion had first started. Aristagoras was later captured and impaled for treason. But the conflict didn't end there. Darius sought to also punish those who had assisted the Ionian rebels, including Athens and Eritrea. Led by Darius' nephew, Artafernes, and Datis, a high-ranking mead, a Persian fleet set out in 490 from the island of Samos and sailed through the Cyclades, taking the island of Naxos and the city of Charistos on Evia. Both areas were treated harshly. Then, the Persian forces came to Eritrea, one of the leading supporters of the Ionian revolt. It was also conquered and set to the torch as punishment for the Ionians' destruction of Sardis a few years before. Shortly afterward, the Persian fleet arrived along the shores of Attica on the Greek mainland, specifically the plain of Marathon, just 26 miles or 42 kilometers from Athens. The plain was chosen so that the Persian cavalry could be used to their maximum advantage against the mostly Athenian infantry. According to Herodotus, the Athenian infantry held a strong defensive position in the hills above the plain, which took away their enemy's cavalry advantage. And so, the Persians waited. After eight days, the Greeks charged forward, possibly because the Persian cavalry had already been loaded back onto their ships. In the fighting that followed, the remaining Persian infantry began to suffer heavy losses, and so they too retreated and boarded their ships. The Persian fleet then disembarked for Athens, but knowing their own territory better than anyone, the Greek forces were able to arrive there before them. Realizing that they couldn't take the city without suffering heavy losses, the Persian fleet sailed for home. Whether or not Darius planned to personally return to Greece and punish Athens or even annex the region isn't known, for he died in 486 BC, roughly four years after the Battle of Marathon. Darius had ruled as emperor of the Achaemenid Empire for 36 years and left behind the greatest, most diverse and wealthiest state that up until then the world had ever seen. The body of the great king of kings was laid to rest at a site today known as Naxi Rustum, just six kilometers or less than four miles from Persepolis. Given his stature as the world's most powerful man at the time, Darius' tomb was relatively modest and carved into the side of a cliff. The tomb's facade is in the shape of a cross, with the burial chamber at its center, above which is a depiction of Darius praying in front of a fire altar and with what at least some scholars believe is a representation of Ahura Mazda hovering above. There are also several lines of inscriptions where Darius tells the reader a bit about his life and what he believed in while alive. One section of it reads as follows. A great god is Ahura Mazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, one king of many, one lord of many. I am Darius, a great king, king of kings, king of countries containing all kinds of men, king in this great earth far and wide, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid, a Persian, son of a Persian. Ahura Mazda, when he saw this earth in commotion, thereafter bestowed it upon me, made me king. I am king. By the favor of Ahura Mazda, I put it down in its place. What I said to them, that they did, as was my desire. If now thou shalt think, how many are the countries which king Darius held? Look at the sculptures of those who bear the throne. Then shalt thou know. Shall it become known to thee? The spear of a Persian man has gone forth far. Then shall it become known to thee? A Persian man has delivered battle, far indeed, from Persia. This which has been done, all that by the will of Ahura Mazda, I did. Ahura Mazda bore me aid until I did the work. May Ahura Mazda protect me from harm, my royal house, and this land. This I pray of Ahura Mazda. This may Ahura Mazda give to me. Darius was succeeded by his son, Xerxes, who would take the Persian empire to its farthest lengths, but also under whom it would suffer its most consequential defeat until 150 years later when the Achaemenid dynasty would fall to the armies of Alexander III of Macedon, whom history remembers as Alexander the Great. But those are stories for another time. 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