Xerxes king of persia biography

The records say that he removed a statue from a temple and melted it down but some records say this statue was not of a deity. As the years went by and Xerxes himself grew older, his desire to be king of all dwindled, and he settled into comfort in his three capital cities - Susa , Ecbatana , and Persepolis.

Xerxes king of persia biography

Troubles across the world had taken a toll on the Achaemenid Empire, as well as the repeated military losses and changes in the way the world around Persia functioned. But as Xerxes let himself enjoy life to the fullest, his empire suffered. Xerxes I also had to deal with people attempting to usurp his throne. His brother, Masistes, may have been involved with one of these attempts.

The records agree that Xerxes I executed Masistes and his family. Yet, they disagree about why this event occurred. This was a method of usurping power for her family and angered the queen. In the spring of Xerxes set out from Sardis. At first Xerxes was victorious everywhere. The Greek fleet was beaten at Artemisium, Thermopylae stormed, Athens conquered, the Greeks driven back to their last line of defence at the Isthmus of Corinth and in the Bay of Salamis.

But Xerxes was induced by the astute message of Themistocles against the advice of Artemisia of Halicarnassus 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 September 28, decided the war. 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 beaten at Plataea.

The defeat of the Persians at Mycale roused the Greek cities of Asia. Of the later years of Xerxes little is known. Furthermore, while Artobazan's mother was a commoner, Xerxes' mother was the daughter of the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Xerxes was crowned and succeeded his father in October—December BC [ 21 ] when he was about 32 years old.

At the time of Xerxes' accession, trouble was brewing in some of his domains. A revolt occurred in Egypt , 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. The first revolt broke out in June or July of BC and was led by a rebel of the name Bel-shimanni.

Bel-shimmani's revolt was short-lived; Babylonian documents written during his reign only account for a period of two weeks. Two years later, Babylon produced another rebel leader, Shamash-eriba. Beginning in the summer of BC, Shamash-eriba seized Babylon itself and other nearby cities, such as Borsippa and Dilbat , and was only defeated in March BC after a lengthy siege of Babylon.

After the revolts, however, Xerxes dropped "King of Babylon" from his titulature and divided the previously large Babylonian satrapy accounting for most of the Neo-Babylonian Empire 's territory into smaller sub-units. 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. Darius died while in the process of preparing a second army to invade the Greek mainland, leaving to his son the task of punishing the Athenians , Naxians , and Eretrians for their interference in the Ionian Revolt , the burning of Sardis , and their victory over the Persians at Marathon.

From BC, Xerxes prepared his expedition: The Xerxes Canal was dug through the isthmus of the peninsula of Mount Athos , provisions were stored in the stations on the road through Thrace , and two pontoon bridges later known as Xerxes' Pontoon Bridges were built across the Hellespont. Soldiers of many nationalities served in the armies of Xerxes from all over his multi-ethnic massive Eurasian-sized empire and beyond, including the Assyrians , Phoenicians , Babylonians , Egyptians , Jews , [ 40 ] Macedonians , European Thracians , Paeonians , Achaean Greeks , Ionians , Aegean islanders , Aeolians , Greeks from Pontus , Colchians , Sindhis and many more.

According to the Greek historian Herodotus , Xerxes's first attempt to bridge the Hellespont ended in failure when a storm destroyed the flax and papyrus cables of the bridges. In retaliation, Xerxes ordered the Hellespont the strait itself whipped three hundred times, and had fetters thrown into the water. Xerxes's second attempt to bridge the Hellespont was successful.

Xerxes was victorious during the initial battles. Xerxes set out in the spring of BC from Sardis with a fleet and army which Herodotus estimated was roughly one million strong along with 10, elite warriors named the Immortals. More recent estimates place the Persian force at around 60, combatants. At the Battle of Thermopylae , a small force of Greek warriors led by King Leonidas of Sparta resisted the much larger Persian forces, but were ultimately defeated.

According to Herodotus, the Persians broke the Spartan phalanx after a Greek man called Ephialtes betrayed his country by telling the Persians of another pass around the mountains. At Artemisium , 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 of Salamis before Xerxes arrived. A small group attempted to defend the Athenian Acropolis , but they were defeated. Xerxes ordered the Destruction of Athens and burnt the city, leaving an archaeologically attested destruction layer , known as the Perserschutt.

Xerxes was induced, by the message of Themistocles against the advice of Artemisia of Halicarnassus , to attack the Greek fleet under unfavourable conditions, rather than sending a part of his ships to the Peloponnesus and awaiting the dissolution of the Greek armies. According to Herodotus, fearing that the Greeks might attack the bridges across the Hellespont and trap his army in Europe, Xerxes decided to retreat back to Asia, taking the greater part of the army with him.

This force was defeated the following year at Plataea 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 at Susa and Persepolis. He oversaw the building of the Gate 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 the Apadana , the Tachara 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. In August BC, Artabanus , the commander of the royal bodyguard and the most powerful official in the Persian court, assassinated Xerxes with the help of a eunuch , Aspamitres.

Although the Hyrcanian Artabanus bore the same name as the famed 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 the Achaemenids. Greek historians give differing accounts of events. According to Ctesias 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 to Aristotle in Politics 5. After Artaxerxes discovered the murder, he killed Artabanus and his sons. While there is no general consensus in scholarship as to whether Xerxes and his predecessors had been influenced by Zoroastrianism , [ 53 ] it is well established that Xerxes was a firm believer in Ahura Mazda , whom he saw as the supreme deity.

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 of Aeschylus ' play The Persians , first performed in Athens in 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.

Herodotus 's Histories , written later in the fifth century BC, centre on the Persian Wars, with Xerxes as a major figure. Some of Herodotus' information is spurious. Fox , consider to be historical romance. It was first performed in the King's Theatre London on 15 April The murder of Xerxes by Artabanus Artabano , execution of crown prince Darius Dario , revolt by Megabyzus Megabise , and subsequent succession of Artaxerxes I is romanticised by the Italian poet Metastasio in his opera libretto Artaserse , which was first set to music by Leonardo Vinci , and subsequently by other composers such as Johann Adolf Hasse and Johann Christian Bach.

The historical novel Xerxes of de Hoogmoed by Dutch writer Louis 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. Martens appeared in Later generations' fascination with ancient Sparta, particularly the Battle of Thermopylae , has led to Xerxes' portrayal in works of popular culture.

He was played by David Farrar in the film The Spartans , where he is portrayed as a cruel, power-crazed despot and an inept commander. He also features prominently in the graphic novels and Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander by Frank Miller , as well as the film adaptation and its sequel Rise of an Empire , as portrayed by Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro , in which he is represented as a giant man with androgynous qualities, who claims to be a god-king.

This portrayal attracted controversy, especially in Iran. Similarly, a highly satirized depiction of Xerxes based on his portrayal in appears in the South Park episode " D-Yikes! Gore Vidal , in his historical fiction novel Creation , 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 prophet Zoroaster. 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.

In at least one of these films, the events of the Book of Esther are depicted as taking place upon Xerxes' return from Greece. Xerxes plays an important background role never making an appearance in two short works of alternate history taking place generations after his complete victory over Greece. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk.

Herodotus claimed that Xerxes transferred five million men across the bridges, a task spanning seven days. However, modern historians believe this was wildly exaggerated for theatrics. The modern estimate is that Xerxes crossed the Hellespont with around , troops. To build his army for the Greek invasion, King Xerxes enforced conscription throughout his empire.

Among those conscripted were the five sons of Pythias, a Lydian governor. Pythias requested that his eldest son be allowed to remain as his heir. Xerxes took offense, believing that Pythias doubted the success of the invasion. Xerxes I was also reported to be a womanizer. He pursued the wife of his brother, Masistes, but failed to woo her.

Xerxes wore a beautiful robe that his wife, Amestris, had woven for him. Artaynte asked for it, but Xerxes knew it would mean his wife would discover the affair. After failing to offer other gifts, he reluctantly agreed. Amestris was furious. Again, Xerxes tried to persuade her otherwise, but Amestris was insistent. Once in her clutches, Amestris had the mother mutilated and disfigured by her royal guards.

Masistes rebelled, but Xerxes killed him and his conspirators. After his unsuccessful and expensive Greek campaign, King Xerxes turned his attention to a series of lavish building projects. He added to the royal city of Persepolis that had been begun under his father, Darius. Xerxes I then began construction on a palace of his own. The cost of these projects placed the coffers of the Achaemenid Empire under even greater strain.

After the huge expense of his invasion of Greece, Xerxes heavily taxed his satrapies and subjects to fund his extravagant projects.