Darius III.

Darius III. (Codomannus), the last king of the Persians, son of the Achæmenid Arsanes by Sisigambis, daughter of Artaxerxes II. (q.v.). He is briefly designated as 'Darius the Persian' in Nehemiah, xii. 22, and in the 1st Book of Maccabees is called 'King of the Persians and Medes.' Artaxerxes III. had been poisoned by Bagoas in 338, and the speedy death of his son and successor, Arses, prepared the way for Darius III., who began to reign in the same year as his conqueror Alexander the Great (336). Defeated at the Granicus (334), at Issus (333), and at Arbela (331), the handsome and gentle king was betrayed and slain during his flight by one of his satraps (330). See ALEXANDER THE GREAT.