Darius III

Darius was a distant branch of the Achaemenid line, an obscure figure who earned a satrapy in Armenia after showing bravery during Artaxerxes III's Cadusian expedition in the 350s BC. By 340 BC he'd risen to oversee the royal postal service. When the court eunuch Bagoas poisoned Artaxerxes III in 338 BC and installed the young Arses, then poisoned Arses too, Darius was placed on the throne in 336 BC — and immediately forced Bagoas to drink his own poison after learning of a third plot. Two years later Alexander crossed into Asia. Darius lost battle after battle, and in 330 BC Alexander torched…