Introduction:
Who was Xerxes I?
Also known as Xerxes the Great, was the king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.
NAME: Xerxes I. His official tile was Shahanshah which, though usually translated as 'emperor', actually means 'king of kings'. He is identified as the Ahasuerus of Persia in the biblical Book of Esther. The name 'Xerxes' is the Greek version of the Persian 'Khshayarsa' (or Khashyar Shah), and so he is known in the west as 'Xerxes' but in the east as 'Khshayarsa'.
RULED: Ruled 486 - 465 BCE.
REFERENCES: Referenced at length in the works of Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, Quintus Curtius Rufus, and, to a lesser extent, Plutarch. Herodotus is the primary source for the story of his expedition to Greece.
FAMILY: His mother was Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire. He was, therefore, accepted as a great king before having to prove himself so in any ways. He was the son of Darius the Great (550 - 486 BCE) who, in an effort to punish Athens for their support of the Ionian colonies' revolt against Persian rule, had invaded Greece in 492 BCE. The Persians were defeated by the Greek forces at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, and Darius died in 486 BCE before he could mount another offensive. It therefore fell to his son to carry out his father's wishes and, in amassing an army of such size and strength, Xerxes felt confident of his success in achieving what the great Darius had been unable to realise.
LIFE LEGACY: Xerxes is celebrated for his many building projects throughout the empire but is best known, in both ancient and modern sources, for the massive expedition he mounted against Greece in 480 BCE which, according to Herodotus, assembled the largest and most well equipped fighting force ever put into the field up to that point.
NAME: Xerxes I. His official tile was Shahanshah which, though usually translated as 'emperor', actually means 'king of kings'. He is identified as the Ahasuerus of Persia in the biblical Book of Esther. The name 'Xerxes' is the Greek version of the Persian 'Khshayarsa' (or Khashyar Shah), and so he is known in the west as 'Xerxes' but in the east as 'Khshayarsa'.
RULED: Ruled 486 - 465 BCE.
REFERENCES: Referenced at length in the works of Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, Quintus Curtius Rufus, and, to a lesser extent, Plutarch. Herodotus is the primary source for the story of his expedition to Greece.
FAMILY: His mother was Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire. He was, therefore, accepted as a great king before having to prove himself so in any ways. He was the son of Darius the Great (550 - 486 BCE) who, in an effort to punish Athens for their support of the Ionian colonies' revolt against Persian rule, had invaded Greece in 492 BCE. The Persians were defeated by the Greek forces at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, and Darius died in 486 BCE before he could mount another offensive. It therefore fell to his son to carry out his father's wishes and, in amassing an army of such size and strength, Xerxes felt confident of his success in achieving what the great Darius had been unable to realise.
LIFE LEGACY: Xerxes is celebrated for his many building projects throughout the empire but is best known, in both ancient and modern sources, for the massive expedition he mounted against Greece in 480 BCE which, according to Herodotus, assembled the largest and most well equipped fighting force ever put into the field up to that point.
Timeline:
486 BCE - Xerxes succeeds to the throne of Persia after the death of Darius I
485 BCE - Babylon is destroyed by Xerxes, King of Persia
485 BCE - 465 BCE - Reign of Xerxes I (the Great) of Persia
July 480 BCE - Xerxes I makes extensive preparations to invade mainland Greece by building depots, canals and a boat bridge across the Hellespont
August 480 BCE - Battle of Thermopylae. 300 Spartans under King Leonidas and other Greek allies hold back the Persians led by Xerxes for three days but are defeated. The indecisive battle of Artemision between the Greek and Persian fleets of Xerxes I. The Greeks withdraw to Salamis
September 480 BCE - Xerxes' Persian forces are defeated by Greek forces at Plataea effectively ending Persia's imperial ambitions in Greece
478 BCE - Sparta withdraws from alliance against Persia. Xerxes I builds the Gate of All Nations, the Hall of 100 Columns and the grand Palace of Xerxes
485 BCE - Babylon is destroyed by Xerxes, King of Persia
485 BCE - 465 BCE - Reign of Xerxes I (the Great) of Persia
July 480 BCE - Xerxes I makes extensive preparations to invade mainland Greece by building depots, canals and a boat bridge across the Hellespont
August 480 BCE - Battle of Thermopylae. 300 Spartans under King Leonidas and other Greek allies hold back the Persians led by Xerxes for three days but are defeated. The indecisive battle of Artemision between the Greek and Persian fleets of Xerxes I. The Greeks withdraw to Salamis
September 480 BCE - Xerxes' Persian forces are defeated by Greek forces at Plataea effectively ending Persia's imperial ambitions in Greece
478 BCE - Sparta withdraws from alliance against Persia. Xerxes I builds the Gate of All Nations, the Hall of 100 Columns and the grand Palace of Xerxes
