Xerxes
Persian:خشایارشاه
Other Forms:Ahasverus, Khashayarshah
Xerxes I (519-465 BC)
King of
Persia (486 - 465 B.C.) The son of
Dariush I, he had been governor of
Babylon before his succession. He ferociously suppressed rebellions in
Egypt (484) and
Babylonia (482). To avenge
Dariush's defeat by the Greeks at the
Battle of
Marathon, he spent three years raising a massive army and navy. When a storm destroyed the bridges he had built to cross the Hellespont, he had them rebuilt and for seven days oversaw the crossing of his army, numbering 360,000 troops by modern estimates, supported by more than 700 ships. The Persians broke through at the Battle of
Thermopylae and pillaged
Athens, but then lost their navy at the Battle of
Salamis (480). Xerxes returned to
Asia, leaving the army behind; it withdrew after its defeat at the Battle of
Plataea (479). In Persia he began an extensive building campaign at Persepolis. Drawn unwittingly into palace intrigues, he killed his brother's family at the queen's demand. He was murdered by members of his court. His setback in
Greece was regarded as the beginning of the decline of the
Achaemenid dynasty.
