As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate disclosure.
Historical person
381 BCE–331 BCE
Darius III was the last king of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, ruling from 336 to 330 BC. He inherited a vast but politically strained state just as Alexander the Great invaded Asia. Darius was defeated at Issus and Gaugamela, although he repeatedly attempted to regroup and negotiate.
While retreating east after the final collapse of organised resistance, he was seized and killed by the satrap Bessus, allowing Alexander to present himself as his avenger and legitimate successor. Darius III was born in Persis and died in Bactria.
In Quintus Curtius Rufus’ The History of Alexander, Curtius follows Alexander’s war against Darius III through Issus, Tyre, Gaugamela, Babylon and Persepolis, then across Central Asia and into India before the army’s punishing return through Gedrosia. Military operations are interwoven with speeches, court intrigue and an increasingly critical study of kingship. Arrian’s The Campaigns of Alexander covers the Granicus, Issus, the siege of Tyre, Gaugamela, the pursuit of Darius III, campaigns in Bactria and Sogdiana, and the Indian campaign including the Hydaspes. Further fictional perspectives on Darius III can be found in Steven Pressfield’s Alexander, Paul Doherty’s The House of Death, Mary Renault’s The Persian Boy, and Valerio Massimo Manfredi’s The Sands of Ammon. For broader historical treatment of Darius III, see Diodorus Siculus’ The Library, Books 16-20.
Periods
Series
The Alexander the Great duology is a mythic heroic-fantasy sequence centred on Parmenion, a brilliant outsider whose military gifts draw him into the rise of Macedon. Gemmell uses recognisable names and settings as the framework for a supernatural struggle involving prophecy, reincarnation and forces that seek to shape…
All books in this series
The Alexander trilogy follows Alexander from childhood at the Macedonian court through the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire and into the violent struggle that followed his death. Fire from Heaven concentrates on his formation under Philip II, Olympias and Aristotle; The Persian Boy narrates the later campaigns through…
All books in this series
The Alexander the Great Mysteries follow Telamon, a physician and boyhood companion of Alexander, during the opening campaign against the Achaemenid Persian Empire in 334 BCE. Alexander’s army has crossed from Macedonia into Asia, but assassinations, infiltrators and rivalries within the command threaten the expedition before and between…
All books in this series
The Alexander Trilogy follows Alexander of Macedon from his childhood at Philip II's court to the creation of an empire stretching from Greece and Egypt to Central Asia and India. The first volume traces the family, education and political violence that form the young prince; the later books…
All books in this series
Standalone books
Non Fiction
Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.
