Darius III
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![Darius III portrayed (in the middle) in battle against Alexander in a Greek depiction; Possible illustration of either Battle of Issus or Battle of Gaugamela](/Images/godic/202501/05/Napoli_BW_2013-05-16_16-25-06_1_DxO0040.jpg")
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![Murder of Darius and Alexander at the side of the dying king depicted in a 15th-century manuscript](/Images/godic/202501/05/Murder_of_Darius_and_Alexander_at_the_side_of_the_dying_king0040.jpg")
Darius III (c. 380 – July 330 BC), originally named Artashata and called Codomannus by the Greeks, was the last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia from 336 BC to 330 BC. Artashata adopted Darius as a dynastic name.
His empire was unstable, with large portions governed by jealous and unreliable satraps and inhabited by disaffected and rebellious subjects.