Darius II
Darius II came to power after a succession crisis. Some dates and details vary; Babylonian evidence and Greek narratives are important.
Reign: about 423–404 BCE
These cultural and symbolic images do not depict Dorehami members or events.
Image and licence
File:Persepolis stairs of the Apadana relief.jpg — Phillip Maiwald (Nikopol) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / crop
File:Persepolis stairs of the Apadana relief02.JPG — Taranis-iuppiter — CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / crop
Object images show the period’s heritage and are not necessarily authenticated portraits of this person.
Context and a reading path
Study Darius II through the succession crisis and continued imperial government. Political narratives can be compared with Babylonian economic documents, which illuminate other aspects of power and society.
How to read the evidence
Do not assess court figures solely through moral tales or derogatory labels. Separate evidence about property, land and administrative relationships from an author’s judgment. This also helps avoid reducing court women to stereotypes.
A question to discuss
What can a record about land or a loan add to political history?
The answer need not be settled beforehand. First note what the source actually tells us, then separate questions from guesses. Children can draw an object or building from the period; an imagined picture should not be presented as historical evidence.
Sources and further reading
Content reviewed: 19 October 2026
Back to the Achaemenids
Cyrus II: Cyrus the Great
About 559–530 BCE
Cambyses II
530–522 BCE
Bardiya and the Gaumata question
522 BCE
Darius I: Darius the Great
522–486 BCE
Xerxes I
486–465 BCE
Artaxerxes I
465/464–424/423 BCE
Xerxes II
424/423 BCE
Sogdianus
424/423 BCE
Artaxerxes II
about 404–359/358 BCE
Artaxerxes III
359/358–338/337 BCE
Arses: Artaxerxes IV
338–336 BCE
Darius III
336–330 BCE
Bessus: a claimant after Darius III
330–329 BCE