Requiem for a Great King. The Death of Darius III

Abstract

Ancient sources do not reveal a clear picture of what happened in Darius III’s last days, his killing by Persain traitors, and how Alexander seized his corpse. The usual interpretation of these facts by scholarship tends to follow the account of the sources with not much criticism on the facts. However, a close look may drive us to guess if in this concrete case we are not facing a deep misunderstanding and an interpretation graeca of a local tradition and a Persian custom. Following previous works, mainly Briant’s brilliant approaches to Achaemenid rites on Royal Funerals, the aim of this paper is to challenge the usual perception of the facts around Darius III’s death, and how the sources’ account can be reviewed in order to get a deep perspective.