Dárá

Family: Irán · Role: son of Dáráb · First appears: Dáráb and Dárá

When Dárá was twenty, his father, Dáráb, died. He continued governing the empire in his father’s spirit, demanding the customary tribute from its lesser rulers. After Sikander came to the throne of Rúm, Dárá demanded tribute from him; Sikander refused and threatened to invade Persia. Their armies met on Persia’s confines, and after several defeats Dárá fled with three hundred men into the desert. Sikander captured Dárá’s family but restored them, then invited him to return and promised to restore his throne; Dárá refused and wrote to Faúr for assistance.

In the Story of Sikander, Dárá’s ministers Jamúsipár and Mahiyár wounded him with daggers as he travelled. Before he died, he told Sikander, “thou and I are sons of the same father,” and asked him to marry his daughter Roshung. Sikander promised to fulfil his wishes, and Dárá died shortly afterwards. After his burial, Sikander attended his body to the grave in sorrow.