 It is argued that by marrying the female offspring of Cyrus, the founder of the empire, the new king aimed to prevent his rule from being contested, since Darius himself was not of royal blood.Artystone and Darius had at least two sons, Arsames and Gobryas, and a daughter, Artazostre.According to the Greek historian Herodotus Artystone was Darius' favourite wife.