Skudra

Darius I (Old Persian: 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavaʰuš; c. 550 – 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 Asia, parts of the Balkans (Thrace–Macedonia and Paeonia) and the Caucasus, most of the Black Sea's coastal regions, Central Asia, the Indus Valley in the far east, and portions of North Africa and Northeast Africa including Egypt (Mudrâya), eastern Libya, and coastal Sudan.

Darius ascended the throne after overthrowing the Achaemenid monarch Bardiya (or Smerdis), who he claimed was in fact an imposter named Gaumata. The new king met with rebellions throughout the empire but quelled each of them; a major event of Darius's career described in Greek historiography was his punitive expedition against Athens and Eretria for their participation in the Ionian Revolt.

Boges was a Persian official and military commander, who functioned as governor (hyparchos) of Eion in Thrace (Achaemenid satrapy of Skudra) under the King of Kings Xerxes I (r. 486–465 BC). According to Herodotus, following the Persian defeats at Plataea and Mycale, Boges refused to abandon Eion when it was besieged by the Athenians and Cimon (son of Miltiades) in 476/5. When he perhaps could have surrendered the town and marched out safely, Boges decided to endure till the end, as he wished not to suffer the ignominy of falling into the enemy’s hands. When the provisions of Eion had finally run out during the protracted siege, Boges built a large fire, killed his wife, children, concubines and servants, and threw them into the fire. He then reportedly collected all pieces of silver and gold that were stored in Eion and threw them into the river Strymon. He then threw himself onto the fire. Boges was highly honored by Xerxes I for his valiance and loyalty, and Herodotus not only reports the king’s high regard but also voices his own approval, praising the manner of Boges' death. When Herodotus wrote his Histories in the second half of the fifth century BC, Boges was still praised by the Persians for his deeds. The children of Boges who survived within the Achaemenid Empire were also greatly honoured by Xerxes I.