King Darius

King Darius of Persia was one of the wealthiest men in the world during the age of Alexander, and he was also one of the most over confident men in history. He fully expected to defeat Alexander easily as he had amassed the largest military in then known history, and believed that the young "boy king" who he insulted outrageously would be an easy pushover. He taunted Alexander, apparently truly believing that the Persian army with his many Greek mercenaries and great generals would easily dispose of Alexander with little trouble.

So when he traveled, he carried with him gold, family, and tents and furnishings so that he could enjoy the rout that he intended to inflict on Alexander.

I described how my first return to relive the life of Alexander was at the Battle of Issus. The end result is that Alexander decisively defeated King Darius's troops and the king fled.

I did relive this moment vividly, and it taught me a valuable lesson about wars and records. First of all, I remember well being in the thick of battle, (as Alexander) and I am concentrating solely on the immediate situation which is all around me. I cannot see anything beyond my horse, and the soldiers and horses that surround me, and I am fighting all the while, noting only dust flying, helmets coming and going, horses bumping into one another, and as I am proceeding, I see ahead of me King Darius about to take flight. This is one of the most impressive memories I had as I looked Darius directly in the face and I can see the look of amazement upon him as he stares at me, recognizing me immediately, and acting as though in awe and wonder. Shock and awe! This is what Darius faced, and as he looked at me, I measured the distance between him and me, and noted all the horses and dead men lying on the ground, and that alone prevented me from taking him then and there. But his look hit me so hard that I just looked at him as seriously as he looked at me in wonderment, and I had to jump over dead bodies, dead horses, or dying, and I pursued him as he leaped onto a horse for safety and raced ahead of me...

HIs face is one that I can never forget, and I realize that I actually let him get away, and did not attempt to kill him as I had wanted to do. His face touched me so much in its look of surprise and wonder that I had a strange empathy for him.

I can never forget that scene.