Darius the Great wasn’t just a king—he was the architect of the Persian Empire. In the 510s BC, he faced two major challenges: conquering the Scythians, and organizing the largest empire the world had ever seen. But what happens when you try to conquer an enemy that never stands still?In this episode, we break down his Scythian campaign against these nomadic warriors , and then we turn to how Darius revolutionized taxation, governance, and infrastructure, ensuring his empire would last for centuries. Was Darius the ultimate empire builder or just another king who bit off more than he could chew? Let’s find out!This is a podcast by Dan Hörning and Bernie Maopolski.If you like what we do you can support the Fan of History project on https://www.patreon.com/fanofhistoryContact information:E-mail: zimwaupodcast@gmail.comhttp://facebook.com/fanofhistoryhttps://twitter.com/danhorninghttps://www.instagram.com/dan_horning/Music: “Tudor Theme” by urmymuse.Used here under a commercial Creative Commons license. Find out more at http://ccmixter.org/files/urmymuse/40020 Support the show and listen ad-free to all of the episodes, including episode 1-87. Click here: https://plus.acast.com/s/history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.