Darius
Gender Masculine
Script داریوش (Persian) דָּרְיָוֶשׁ (Hebrew) Δαρεῖος (Greek)
Script داریوش (Persian) דָּרְיָוֶשׁ (Hebrew) Δαρεῖος (Greek)
Roman form of Δαρεῖος (Dareios), which was the Greek form of the Persian name Dārayavahush meaning “possessing goodness”, composed of the elements dâraya “to possess” and vahu “good”. Three ancient kings of Persia bore this name, including Darius the Great who expanded the Achaemenid Empire to its greatest extent. His forces invaded Greece but were defeated in the Battle of Marathon.
Darius is mentioned in the biblical books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra–Nehemiah.
In the religious sphere he continued in his predecessors policy of tolerance, favored the permanence of local cults protecting the temples and priests. He allowed the Jews to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem and in Egypt his name appears in the temples that he built in Memphis and Edfu. Also in Egypt he allowed the reopening of the House of Life of Sais.