Encyclopedia
Xerxes I , was a
Persian Emperor of the
Achaemenid dynasty. "Xerxes" is the Greek transliteration of the Persian throne name
Khashayarsha or
Khashayar-shah, meaning "King of heroes". In the Book of Ezra and in
Book of Esther, the Persian king
Axašweroš probably corresponds to Xerxes I.
Political career
Xerxes, son of
Darius the Great and Atossa, the daughter of
Cyrus the Great, was appointed King of Persia by his father in preference to his elder half-brothers, who were born before Darius had become king. After his accession in October 485 BC he suppressed the revolts in
Egypt and
Babylon which had broken out in 486 BC, appointed his brother Achaemenes as governor or satrap over Egypt bringing Egypt under a very strict rule. His predecessors, especially Darius, had not been successful in their attempts to conciliate the ancient civilizations. This probably was the reason why Xerxes in 484 BC took away from
Babylon the golden statue of Bel , the hands of which the legitimate king of Babylon had to seize on the first day of each year, and killed the priest who tried to hinder him. Therefore Xerxes does not bear the title of King in the Babylonian documents dated from his reign, but King of Persia and
Media or simply King of countries . This proceeding led to two rebellions, probably in 484 BC and 479 BC.
Invasion of the Greek mainland
Darius had left to his son the task of punishing the Athenians, Naxoans and Erectrians for their interference in the
Ionian revolt and the victory of
Marathon. From 483 Xerxes prepared his expedition with great care: a channel was dug through the
isthmus of the peninsula of
Mount Athos; provisions were stored in the stations on the road through
Thrace; two bridges were thrown across the Hellespont. Xerxes concluded an alliance with
Carthage, and thus deprived
Greece of the support of the powerful monarchs of
Syracuse and
Agrigentum. Many smaller Greek states, moreover, took the side of the Persians, especially Thessaly,
Thebes and
Argos. A large fleet and a numerous army . In the spring of 480 Xerxes set out from
Sardis. At first Xerxes was victorious everywhere. The Greeks were beaten at Thermopylae ,
Athens conquered, the Athenians with Sparta driven back to their last line of defence at the
Isthmus of Corinth and in the Saronic Gulf. At Artemisuem the battle was indecisive as large storms destroyed ships from both sides. The Battle was also stopped prematurely as the Greeks caught news of the defeat at Thermopylae and retreated. But Xerxes was induced by the astute message of Themistocles to attack the Greek fleet under unfavourable conditions, instead of sending a part of his ships to the
Peloponnesus and awaiting the dissolution of the Greek armament. The
Battle of Salamis was won by the Athenians. Having lost his communication by sea with
Asia, Xerxes was forced to retire to Sardis; the army which he left in Greece under Mardonius was in 479 beaten at
Plataea. The defeat of the Persians at Mycale roused the Greek cities of Asia.
Missing later years
Of the later years of Xerxes little is known. He sent out Satapes to attempt the circumnavigation of
Africa, but the victory of the Greeks threw the empire into a state of slow apathy, from which it could not rise again. The king himself became involved in intrigues of the harem and was much dependent upon courtiers and
eunuchs. He left inscriptions at
Persepolis, where he added a new palace to that of Darius, at Van in
Armenia, and on Mount Elvend near
Ecbatana. In these texts he merely copies the words of his father. In 465 he was murdered by his vizier Artabanus who raised
Artaxerxes I to the throne.
In the Bible
In the biblical Book of Ezra, Xerxes I is mentioned by the
Hebrew name of A?ashverosh . During his reign and that of his predecessor and successor , many Samaritans petitioned the Persian king with accusations against the Jews.
Xerxes is also understood to be Ahasuerus the King in the biblical
Book of Esther. In this book, Ahasuerus dismisses his
Queen consort Vashti because she refused to obey his command of appearing as 'queen of his empire' at a feast he was having for his princes and then after sending forth a decree to gather the fair young virgins from throughout his empire, chooses the Jewish
Esther as his queen. The king's minister Haman, an Agagite , feeling insulted by Esther's uncle
Mordecai because he would not bow down to Haman, convinces Ahasuerus to decree the destruction of all the Jews in the Persian Empire, but Mordecai and Esther manage to reverse their fate through their influence with the King.
The works of
Josephus suggest that Vashti and Esther existed. However, the works of
Herodotus, suggest that Xerxes had a Queen consort named Amestris, daughter to Otanes.
See also
External links
Further reading
- A.T. Olmstead, 1948. History of the Persian Empire pp 214ff.
