Darius Dara News Today

Even in Firdawsi’s ‘Shahnamah’, he is described by Ardshir, founder of the Sasanian dynasty, as ‘the evil-minded tyrant’.

In his epic the Shahnamah (Book of Kings), the poet Firdawsi (940–1019 or 1025) vividly describes how Alexander (Iskandar/Sikandar) came upon the Persian emperor Darius (Dara) as he fled north after the battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. Cradling the mortally wounded Dara on his knees, Iskandar promised “Your word...