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An Image of an Ancient Painting of Xerxes I. Photo by Ernest Normand.

10 Amazing Facts About Xerxes 1

Xerxes I, commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC.

He ruled from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC at the hands of Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard.

He is a member of proud dynasty, his maternal grandfather, Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire.

1.Born to King, Darius I the Great

An Image of a Sculpture of King Darius. By Arashk.

He was born around c. 519 BCE, under the Persian name Kyshayarsa, Persepolis, Iran.

He was the son and successor of Darius the Great and his mother Atossa, a daughter of Cyrus the, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire.

His wife Amestris , and they had a son, King of Kings Artaxerxes I of Persia, who was his successor.  

2.He was Educated and Brought up by Eunuchs

He was educated like any other typical Persian prince who were raised by Eunachs, castrated men.

when he was 7 years old he was taught on how to ride and hunt.

He was taught on how to be “wise, just, prudent and brave, together with basics of the Zoroastrian religion, to be truthful, have self-restraint, and to be courageous.

 At the age of 17, he began his, national service, for 10 years, which included practicing archery and javelin, competing for prizes, and hunting.

3.Darius I Appointed Xerxes, as his Successor Before his Death

Xerxes was designated heir apparent by his father in preference to his elder brother Artabazanes.

His father died, in 486 BCE, when Xerxes was about 35 years old and had already governed Babylonia for a dozen years.

Upon his accession he first pacified Egypt, where a usurper had been governing for two years.

 But he was forced to use much stronger methods than his father, he ravaged the Delta and chastised the Egyptians.

Both Cyrus and Darius had honored Babylon as a special part of the empire, acknowledging themselves as King of Babylon.

However, Xerxes I abandoned the title, instead referring to himself as King of the Persians and the Medes.

 He divided the Babylonian satrap into smaller provinces and raised taxes heavily, thus incited series of revolts.

Xerxes then learned of the revolt of Babylon, where two nationalist pretenders had appeared in swift succession.

He took the revolt as a personal offense, and he destroyed the sacred statues of Marduk.

4.He Attempted to Finish Darius’ Greek Campaigns

He occupies an infamous place in the annals of Greek history due to his massive invasion in 480 BC, he was soughing revenge for his father’s defeat at Marathon a decade earlier.

 After a naval victory at Artemisium, the Persians annihilated the forces of the Spartan king Leonidas at Thermopylae. Xerxes’ army then ran amok in Greece, and Athens was sacked.

Then, as Xerxes appeared to be securing a successful outcome for his campaign, the Greeks won an improbable victory at the naval battle of Salamis, which turned the tide of the conflict.

He believed that burning Athens had been victory enough, and left his general and Brother-in-law Mardonius to continue the subjugation of Greece.

However, Mardonius was killed and the Persians were defeated at Plataea in 479 BC.

 Xerxes’ imperial ambitions in Greece were thwarted, and barely any of his men the long journey back to Persia.

5.He tried to Cross the Hellespont

In order to launch his invasion of Greece, he planned to cross the Hellespont, Dardanelles Strait, it guards the gap between mainland Asia and the Gallipoli Peninsula.

 Xerxes commissioned a series of flax and papyrus pontoons to be built across the

Hellespont, which would allow his vast army to cross.

However, water proved him otherwise, and a storm destroyed the pontoons.

Convinced that the water had conspired against him, Xerxes decreed that the Hellespont should be punished for its defiance.

He ordered the sea to receive three hundred lashes and also dropped a pair of shackles into the water. 

The next team had more success, and the Persian army finally crossed the Hellespont.

6.He was Infamous for Harsh Punishments and Womanizing

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, but Xerxes took offense, and he killed his son.

He had an affair with his brother’s daughter, Artaynte.

7.His Building Projects Nearly Bankrupted Persia

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.

He also constructed his own palace which was twice larger than his father’s, and the two palaces were connected vie a terrace.

The cost of these projects placed the coffers of the Achaemenid Empire under even greater strain.

Xerxes heavily taxed his satrapies and subjects to fund his extravagant projects

8.He Dealt with Greek Resurgence

After the defeats at Plataea and Mycale, Persian’s power in the Aegean was crippled.

The Greeks, initially led by Pausanias of Sparta, began a counter-attack aimed at liberating Greek colonies in Asia Minor.

Athens and its other city-state allies, which formed the Delian League, were also major contributors.

First, the Greeks cleared out Persian garrisons in Thrace, and Pausanias conquered in Byzantium in 478 BC.

Pausanias had led the Greeks during their victory at Plataea, but their king made peace with King Xerxes.

In 466 BC, Cimon defeated the Persians twice on the same day at the Battle of Eurymedon, on the southern coast of Asia Minor.

9.He had a Horrendous Reputation

King Xerxes suffers from an incredibly negative reputation from figures like Herodotus.

Many Greek scholars admired his predecessors Cyrus and Darius, and Xerxes I is portrayed as an effeminate tyrant.

10.He was Assassinated by his Own Advisor

After draining Persia’s treasury through his failed military campaigns and lavish building projects, he became unpopular ruler.

 In 465 BC, Xerxes and his son Darius were reportedly assassinated by a eunuc  and Artabanus, a powerful figure in the Persian court.

 Artabanus’ was one of Xerxes’ foremost officials and a commander of the royal bodyguard.

In revenge, Xerxes’ surviving son Artaxerxes I killed Artabanus and his sons, and reclaimed the throne.

Fresh revolts then sprang up in provinces such as Egypt and Bactria and led to further clashes with

Xerxes remained a vilified figure in Greece even after his death.

When Alexander the Great invaded Persia over a century later, he targeted Xerxes’ palace at Persepolis as revenge for the sacking of Athens