In Western history, Xerxes is best known for hisinvasion of Greece in 480 BC, which ended in Persian defeat. Xerxes was designated successor by Darius over his elder brother Artobazan and inherited a large, multi-ethnic empire upon his father's death. He consolidated his power by crushing revolts inEgypt andBabylon, and renewed his father's campaign to subjugateGreece and punishAthens and its allies for their interference in theIonian Revolt. In 480 BC, Xerxes personally led a large army and crossed theHellespont into Europe. He achieved victories atThermopylae andArtemisium beforecapturing and razing Athens. His forces gained control of mainland Greece north of theIsthmus of Corinth until their defeat at theBattle of Salamis. Fearing that the Greeks might trap him in Europe, Xerxes retreated with the greater part of his army back to Asia, leaving behindMardonius to continue his campaign. Mardonius was defeated atPlataea the following year, effectively ending the Persian invasion.
After returning to Persia, Xerxes dedicated himself to large-scale construction projects, many of which had been left unfinished by his father. He oversaw the completion of theGate of All Nations, theApadana and theTachara atPersepolis, and continued the construction of thePalace of Darius atSusa. He also maintained theRoyal Road built by his father. In 465 BC, Xerxes and his heirDarius were assassinated byArtabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard. He was succeeded by his third son, who took the throne asArtaxerxes I.
Xérxēs (Ξέρξης) is theGreek andLatin (Xerxes,Xerses) transliteration of theOld IranianXšaya-ṛšā ("ruling over heroes"), which can be seen by the first partxšaya, meaning "ruling", and the secondṛšā, meaning "hero, man".[5] The name of Xerxes was known inAkkadian asḪi-ši-ʾ-ar-šá and inAramaic asḥšyʾrš.[6] Xerxes would become a popular name among the rulers of the Achaemenid Empire.[5]
Xerxes' father wasDarius the Great (r. 522–486 BC), the incumbent monarch of the Achaemenid Empire, albeit himself not a member of the family ofCyrus the Great, the founder of the empire.[7][8] Xerxes' mother wasAtossa, a daughter of Cyrus.[9] Darius and Atossa married in 522 BC,[10] and Xerxes was born around 518 BC.[11]
According to the Greek dialogueFirst Alcibiades, which describes typical upbringing and education of Persian princes, they were raised byeunuchs. Starting at the age of seven, they learned how to ride and hunt; after reaching the age of fourteen, they were each taught by four teachers from aristocratic backgrounds, who taught them how to be "wise, just, prudent, and brave."[13] Persian princes also learned the basics of theZoroastrian religion, and were taught to be truthful, to be courageous, and to have self-restraint.[13] The dialogue further added that "fear, for a Persian, is the equivalent of slavery."[13] At the age of 16 or 17, they began their mandatory 10 years of national service, which included practicing archery and javelin, competing for prizes, and hunting.[14] Afterwards, they served in the military for around 25 years, after which they were elevated to the status of elders and advisers to the king. Families[14] in this time, including Xerxes', would intermarry.
This account of education among the Persian elite is supported byXenophon's description of the 5th-century BC Achaemenid princeCyrus the Younger, with whom he was well-acquainted.[14] Stoneman suggests that this was the type of upbringing and education that Xerxes experienced.[15] It is unknown if Xerxes ever learned to read or write, with the Persians favoring oral history over written literature.[15] Stoneman suggests that Xerxes' upbringing and education was possibly not much different from that of the later Iranian kings, such asAbbas the Great, king of theSafavid Empire in the 17th-century AD.[15] Starting from 498 BC, Xerxes resided in the royal palace ofBabylon.[16]
While Darius was preparing for another war against Greece, a revolt began in Egypt in 486 BC due to heavy taxes and the deportation of craftsmen to build the royal palaces at Susa and Persepolis. The king was required by Persian law to choose a successor before setting out on dangerous expeditions; when Darius decided to leave for Egypt (487–486 BC), he prepared his tomb atNaqsh-e Rustam (five kilometers from his royal palace at Persepolis) and appointed Xerxes, his eldest son byAtossa, as his successor. However, Darius could not lead the campaign due to his failing health; he died in October 486 BC at the age of 64.[17]
Artobazan claimed that he should take the crown as the eldest of all Darius' children, while Xerxes argued for his own claim on the grounds that he was the son of Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, and that Cyrus had won the Persians their freedom. Xerxes' claim was supported by a Spartan king in exile who was present in Persia at the time, theEurypontid kingDemaratus, who also argued that the eldest son did not universally have the best claim to the crown, citing Spartan law, which stated that the first son born while the father is king was the heir to the kingship.[18] Some modern scholars also view the unusual decision of Darius to give the throne to Xerxes as a result of his consideration of the particular prestige that Cyrus the Great and his daughter Atossa enjoyed.[19]Artobazan was born to "Darius the subject", while Xerxes was the eldest son "born in the purple" after Darius' rise to the throne. Furthermore, while Artobazan's mother was a commoner, Xerxes' mother was the daughter of the founder of the Achaemenid Empire.[20]
Xerxes was crowned and succeeded his father in October–December 486 BC[21] when he was about 32 years old.[22] The transition of power to Xerxes was smooth, due again in part to the great authority of Atossa[23][24] and his accession to royal power was not challenged by any person at court or in the Achaemenian family, or by any subject nation.[25]
At the time of Xerxes' accession, trouble was brewing in some of his domains. A revolt occurred inEgypt, which seemed dangerous enough for Xerxes to personally lead the army to restore order (which also gave him the opportunity to begin his reign with a military campaign).[26] Xerxes suppressed the revolt in January 484 BC and appointed his full-brotherAchaemenes assatrap of Egypt, replacing the previous satrapPherendates, who was reportedly killed during the revolt.[27][16] The suppression of the Egyptian revolt expended the army, which had been mobilized by Darius over the previous three years.[26] Xerxes, therefore, had to raise another army for his expedition into Greece, which took another four years.[26] There was also unrest in Babylon, which revolted at least twice against Xerxes during his reign. The first revolt broke out in June or July of 484 BC and was led by a rebel of the nameBel-shimanni. Bel-shimmani's revolt was short-lived; Babylonian documents written during his reign only account for a period of two weeks.[28]
Two years later, Babylon produced another rebel leader,Shamash-eriba. Beginning in the summer of 482 BC, Shamash-eriba seized Babylon itself and other nearby cities, such asBorsippa andDilbat, and was only defeated in March 481 BC after a lengthy siege of Babylon.[28] The precise cause of the unrest in Babylon is uncertain.[26] It may have been due to tax increases.[29] Prior to these revolts, Babylon had occupied a special position within theAchaemenid Empire; the Achaemenid kings had held the titles of "King of Babylon" and "King of the Lands," implying that they perceivedBabylonia as a somewhat separate entity within their empire, united with their own kingdom in apersonal union. After the revolts, however, Xerxes dropped "King of Babylon" from his titulature and divided the previously large Babylonian satrapy (accounting for most of theNeo-Babylonian Empire's territory) into smaller sub-units.[30]
Based on texts written by classical authors, it is often assumed that Xerxes enacted a brutal vengeance on Babylon following the two revolts. According to ancient writers, Xerxes destroyed Babylon's fortifications and damaged the temples in the city.[28] TheEsagila was allegedly subject to great damage, and Xerxes allegedly carried thestatue of Marduk away from the city,[31] possibly bringing it to Iran and melting it down (classical authors hold that the statue was made entirely of gold, which would have made melting it down possible).[28] Modern historianAmélie Kuhrt considers it unlikely that Xerxes destroyed the temples, but believes that the story of him doing so may derive from ananti-Persian sentiment among the Babylonians.[32] It is doubtful if the statue was removed from Babylon at all[28] and some have even suggested that Xerxes did remove a statue from the city, but that this was the golden statue of a man rather than the statue of the godMarduk.[33][34] Though mentions of it are lacking considerably compared to earlier periods, contemporary documents suggest that the BabylonianNew Year's Festival continued in some form during the Achaemenid period.[35] Because the change in rulership from the Babylonians themselves to the Persians and due to the replacement of the city's elite families by Xerxes following its revolt, it is possible that the festival's traditional rituals and events had changed considerably.[36]
According to the Greek historianHerodotus, Xerxes's first attempt to bridge the Hellespont ended in failure when a storm destroyed theflax andpapyrus cables of the bridges. In retaliation, Xerxes ordered the Hellespont (the strait itself) whipped three hundred times, and hadfetters thrown into the water. Xerxes's second attempt to bridge the Hellespont was successful.[41] TheCarthaginianinvasion of Sicily deprived Greece of the support of the powerful monarchs ofSyracuse andAgrigentum; ancient sources assume Xerxes was responsible, modern scholarship is skeptical.[42] Many smaller Greek states, moreover, took the side of the Persians, especiallyThessaly,Thebes andArgos. Xerxes was victorious during the initial battles.
Xerxes set out in the spring of 480 BC fromSardis with a fleet and army whichHerodotus estimated was roughly one million strong along with 10,000 elite warriors named theImmortals. More recent estimates place the Persian force at around 60,000 combatants.[43]
At theBattle of Thermopylae, a small force of Greek warriors led by KingLeonidas ofSparta resisted the much larger Persian forces, but were ultimately defeated. According to Herodotus, the Persians broke the Spartanphalanx after a Greek man calledEphialtes betrayed his country by telling the Persians of another pass around the mountains. AtArtemisium, large storms had destroyed ships from the Greek side and so the battle stopped prematurely as the Greeks received news of the defeat at Thermopylae and retreated.
After Thermopylae,Athens was captured. Most of the Athenians had abandoned the city and fled to the island ofSalamis before Xerxes arrived. A small group attempted to defend theAthenian Acropolis, but they were defeated. Xerxes ordered theDestruction of Athens and burnt the city, leaving an archaeologically attesteddestruction layer, known as thePerserschutt.[44] The Persians thus gained control of all of mainland Greece to the north of theIsthmus of Corinth.[4]
Xerxes was induced, by the message ofThemistocles (against the advice ofArtemisia ofHalicarnassus), to attack the Greek fleet under unfavourable conditions, rather than sending a part of his ships to thePeloponnesus and awaiting the dissolution of the Greek armies. TheBattle of Salamis (September, 480 BC) was won by the Greek fleet, after which Xerxes set up a winter camp inThessaly.
According to Herodotus, fearing that the Greeks might attack the bridges across theHellespont and trap his army in Europe, Xerxes decided to retreat back to Asia, taking the greater part of the army with him.[45] Another cause of the retreat might have been that the continued unrest inBabylon, a key province of theempire, required the king's personal attention.[46]He left behind a contingent in Greece to finish the campaign underMardonius, who according to Herodotus had suggested the retreat in the first place. This force was defeated the following year atPlataea by the combined forces of the Greek city states, ending the Persian offensive on Greece for good.
After his military blunders in Greece, Xerxes returned to Persia and oversaw the completion of the many construction projects left unfinished by his father atSusa andPersepolis. He oversaw the building of theGate of All Nations and the Hall of a Hundred Columns at Persepolis, which are the largest and most imposing structures of the palace. He oversaw the completion of theApadana, theTachara (Palace of Darius) and the Treasury, all started by Darius, as well as having his own palace built which was twice the size of his father's. His taste in architecture was similar to that of Darius, though on an even more gigantic scale.[47] He had colorful enameled brick laid on the exterior face of theApadana.[48] He also maintained theRoyal Road built by his father and completed the Susa Gate and built apalace in Susa.[49]
This cuneiform text mentions the murder of Xerxes I by his son. From Babylon, Iraq. British Museum
In August 465 BC,Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard and the most powerful official in the Persian court, assassinated Xerxes with the help of aeunuch, Aspamitres. Although theHyrcanian Artabanus bore the same name as thefamed uncle of Xerxes, his rise to prominence was due to his popularity in religious quarters of the court and harem intrigues. He put his seven sons in key positions and had a plan to dethrone theAchaemenids.[50]
Greek historians give differing accounts of events. According toCtesias (in Persica 20), Artabanus then accused the Crown Prince Darius, Xerxes's eldest son, of the murder and persuaded another of Xerxes's sons,Artaxerxes, to avenge the patricide by killing Darius. But according toAristotle (in Politics 5.1311b), Artabanus killed Darius first and then killed Xerxes. After Artaxerxes discovered the murder, he killed Artabanus and his sons.[51] Participating in these intrigues was the generalMegabyzus, whose decision to switch sides probably saved the Achaemenids from losing their control of the Persian throne.[52]
While there is no general consensus in scholarship as to whether Xerxes and his predecessors had been influenced byZoroastrianism,[53] it is well established that Xerxes was a firm believer inAhura Mazda, whom he saw as the supreme deity.[53] However, Ahura Mazda was also worshipped by adherents of the(Indo-)Iranian religious tradition.[53][54] On his treatment of other religions, Xerxes followed the same policy as his predecessors: he appealed to local religious scholars, made sacrifices to local deities, and destroyed temples in cities and countries that caused disorder.[55]
Xerxes' presentation in Greek and Roman sources is largely negative and this set the tone for most subsequent depictions of him within the western tradition. Xerxes is a central character ofAeschylus' playThe Persians, first performed in Athens in 472 BC, only seven years after his invasion of Greece. The play presents him as an effeminate figure and his hubristic effort to bring both Asia and Europe under his control leads to the ruin of both himself and his kingdom.[58]
Herodotus'sHistories, written later in the fifth century BC, centre on the Persian Wars, with Xerxes as a major figure. Some of Herodotus' information is spurious.[59][60] Pierre Briant has accused him of presenting a stereotyped and biased portrayal of the Persians.[61] Richard Stoneman regards his portrayal of Xerxes as nuanced and tragic, compared to the vilification that he suffered at the hands of theMacedonian kingAlexander the Great (r. 336–323 BC).[62]
The murder of Xerxes by Artabanus (Artabano), execution of crown prince Darius (Dario), revolt by Megabyzus (Megabise), and subsequent succession ofArtaxerxes I is romanticised by the Italian poetMetastasio in his opera librettoArtaserse (1730), which was first set to music byLeonardo Vinci, and subsequently by other composers such asJohann Adolf Hasse andJohann Christian Bach.[70][71][72]
The historical novelXerxes of de Hoogmoed (1919) by Dutch writerLouis Couperus describes the Persian wars from the perspective of Xerxes. Though the account is fictionalised, Couperus nevertheless based himself on an extensive study of Herodotus. The English translationArrogance: The Conquests of Xerxes by Frederick H. Martens appeared in 1930.[73][74]
The Persian king in the BiblicalBook of Esther is commonly thought to be Xerxes
Gore Vidal, in his historical fiction novelCreation (1981), describes at length the rise of the Achaemenids, especially Darius I, and presents the life and death circumstances of Xerxes. Vidal's version of the Persian Wars, which diverges from the orthodoxy of the Greek histories, is told through the invented character of Cyrus Spitama, a half-Greek, half-Persian, and grandson of the prophetZoroaster. Thanks to his family connection, Cyrus is brought up in the Persian court after the murder of Zoroaster, becoming the boyhood friend of Xerxes, and later a diplomat who is sent to India, and later to Greece, and who is thereby able to gain privileged access to many leading historical figures of the period.[76]
Xerxes plays an important background role (never making an appearance) in two short works ofalternate history taking place generations after his complete victory over Greece. These are: "Counting Potsherds" byHarry Turtledove in his anthologyDepartures and "The Craft of War" byLois Tilton inAlternate Generals volume 1 (edited by Turtledove).[citation needed]
^Sancisi-Weerdenburg, Heleen (2013). "Exit Atossa: Images of women in Greek historiography on Persia". In Vignolo Munson, Rosaria (ed.).Herodotus. Oxford Readings in Classical Studies. Vol. 2: Herodotus and the World (reprint ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 139.ISBN9780199587582. Retrieved17 December 2022.According to Herodotus (7.2-3) Atossa played a prominent role in the selection of Xerxes as heir to the throne.
^The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations in Akra in Northwest Pakistan Peter Magee, Cameron Petrie, Robert Knox, Farid Khan, Ken Thomasp. 713
^Fergusson, James.A History of Architecture in All Countries, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day: 1. Ancient architecture. 2. Christian architecture. xxxi, 634 p. front., illus. p. 211.
^McCullough, W. S. (28 July 2011) [15 December 1984]."Ahasureus".Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved3 April 2020.There may be some factual nucleus behind the Esther narrative, but the book in its present form displays such inaccuracies and inconsistencies that it must be described as a piece of historical fiction.
^Meyers, Carol (2007). Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.).The Oxford Bible Commentary.Oxford University Press. p. 325.ISBN9780199277186.Like the Joseph story in Genesis and the book of Daniel, it is a fictional piece of prose writing involving the interaction between foreigners and Hebrews/Jews.
^Hirsch, Emil G.; Dyneley Prince, John; Schechter, Solomon (1906). Singer, Isidor; Adler, Cyrus (eds.)."Esther".Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved25 April 2020.The vast majority of modern expositors have reached the conclusion that the book is a piece of pure fiction, although some writers qualify their criticism by an attempt to treat it as a historical romance.
Hall, Edith (1993). "Asia Unmanned: Images of Victory in Classical Athens". In Rich, John; Shipley, Graham (eds.).War and Society in the Greek World. Routledge. pp. 108–133.
Klinkott, Hilmar (2023).Xerxes. Der Großkönig in Griechenland. Kohlhammer.ISBN978-3-17-040114-3.
Macgregor Morris, Ian (2022). "Xerxes: Ideology and Practice". In Konecny, Andreas; Sekunda, Nicholas (eds.).The Battle of Plataiai 479 BC. Phoibos Verlag. pp. 13–69.ISBN9783851612714.
Schmeja, H. (1975). "Dareios, Xerxes, Artaxerxes. Drei persische Königsnamen in griechischer Deutung (Zu Herodot 6,98,3)".Die Sprache.21:184–188.
Radner, Karen (2013). "Assyria and the Medes". In Potts, Daniel T. (ed.).The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0199733309.
van Rookhuijzen, Jan Zacharias (2017). "How not to Appease Athena: A Reconsideration of Xerxes' Purported Visit to the Troad (Hdt. 7.42–43)".Klio.99 (2):464–484.doi:10.1515/klio-2017-0033.S2CID199060163.
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