Dara I or Darab I was the penultimate king of the mythological

Kayanian dynasty The Kayanians (; also Kays, Kayanids, Kaianids, Kiyani, Kayani, or Kiani) are a legendary dynasty of Persian/Iranian tradition and folklore which supposedly ruled after the Pishdadians, each of whom held the title Kay (such as Kay Khosrow), me ...

, ruling for 12 years. He was the son of Kay Bahman. Most accounts agree that Dara's mother was Humay Chehrzad, who had married her father, Kay Bahman. After Kay Bahman's death, Humay, who was pregnant with Dara, became the regent of the realm. Humay later hid the news of Dara's birth, and abandoned him on casket filled with expensive jewels on a river. The river has reported to have been the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

, the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

, the

Kor river Kor River (also Kur River; ) is located in the Fars province of Iran. The sources of the river are mostly in the Zagros Mountains near Mount Dena. It flows into the Bakhtegan Lake, which is a salt lake. The increased salinity level of the lake ...

in Fars, the Polvar river in Fars, or the

Balkh river The Balkh River (; ) or Balkhab, also known in its upper reaches as the Band-e Amir River, is a river in northern Afghanistan. The river rises in the Band-e Amir lakes in Bamyan Province in the Hindu Kush. The river flows west, then north, and te ...

. When Dara became older he eventually found his way back to Humay, who abdicated in his favor. Dara I was later succeeded by his son

Dara II Dara II or Darab II was the last king of the mythological Kayanian dynasty, ruling between 14 and 16 years. He is generally identified with Darius III (), the last king of the Achaemenid Empire. In Middle Persian literature and Islamic chronicles ...

. Dara I has been credited with the establishment of the Persian postal system, which is a reflection of the introduction or restructuring of the postal system by the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

King of Kings King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...

Darius I the Great Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

(). The last Kayanian kings were usually connected with western Iran, as demonstrated by reports of Dara I using

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

as his residence. Most sources credit Dara I with the foundation of the city of

Darab Darab () is a city in the Central District (Darab County), Central District of Darab County, Fars province, Fars province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. History Darab is one of the oldest cities in Iran, and ...

gerd in Fars, while a few consider Dara II to have been its founder. According to later sources, Dara I had a son named Firuzshah, whose achievements are mentioned in the ''Firuz-nameh'' by Haji Muhammad Bigami.

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