The king of Persia from 522-486 BC, one of the greatest rulers of the Achaemenid dynasty, who was known for his great building projects and his administrative abilities. Darius extended his kingdom to India and Thrace and attempted several times to conquer Greece; his fleet was destroyed by a storm in 492, and the Athenians defeated his army at Marathon in 490. The details of his accession, which extinguished the rule of the senior branch of his family, are clouded by the fact that we have only his side of the story, notably in his great rock inscription at Behistun. His change of the royal capital from Pasargadae to Persepolis was important in his accession. His tomb survives, carved in the cliff face at Naqsh-i-Rustam, near Persepolis.