Darius I c. 522–486 BC
The Persian king who ruled Egypt for 36 years and had himself shown on its temples as a pharaoh. The temple of Amun at Hibis in the Kharga Oasis was decorated in his reign and carries his cartouches, and he completed a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea, marked by stelae along its route. A statue of him made in Egypt, with his name in hieroglyphs, was found at Susa in Iran and is now in Tehran.
Throne name: Setutre
stwt-rꜥ: “Likeness of Ra”
Sign by sign
- Sun N5rꜥ The sun, the sun god Ra. Day.
- Folded cloth S29s The sound s.
- Bread loaf X1t The sound t. Also the feminine ending.
- Bread loaf X1t The sound t. Also the feminine ending.
- Quail chick G43w The sound w. Also a plural ending.
Birth name: Daryush
drywš
His name was spelled many ways in Egypt. This spelling is from a bronze plaque in Cairo (JE 38050). The last sign is the pool with lotus flowers (š), drawn there in a slightly different form.
Sign by sign
- Strip of land N17tꜣ Land, earth (a variant of N16).
- Recumbent lion E23rw The sounds rw. Spells L in names like Cleopatra and Ptolemy.
- Flowering reed M17i The sound i.
- Flowering reed M17i The sound i.
- Quail chick G43w The sound w. Also a plural ending.
- Pool with lotus flowers M8šꜣ Marshland. Beginning.
Where to see Darius I's name today
Read more about Darius I
- Darius I in hieroglyphs: the Persian king who ruled Egypt as Setutre Darius I in hieroglyphics: his throne name Setutre and birth name drywš read sign by sign, and the Hibis temple and Susa statue that carry them.
- Pharaohs of Egypt in order: the best-known kings, dynasty by dynasty Pharaohs of Egypt in order: the best-known kings from Narmer to Cleopatra VII, period by period, with dates and what each one is remembered for.
Names of gods (Ra, Amun, Ptah) are written first out of respect, even when they are read later. Dates are approximate; we follow Ian Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000).