Plan
Introduction
1 Beginning of the reign. Conquest of the rebel peoples
1.1 Revolt in Egypt
1.2 Babylonian revolts
2 Trek to Greece
2.1 Preparing for the trip
2.2 The Greeks are preparing to fight back
2.3 Crossing the Hellespont
2.4 Battle of Thermopylae
2.5 Fleet actions
2.6 Sack of Attica
2.7 Sea battle off the island of Salamis
2.8 The Greeks prepare for the decisive battle
2.9 Battle of Plataea
3 Continuation of military operations on Persian territory
3.1 Battle of Mycale
3.2 Siege of Sesta
3.3 Greeks form the Delian Maritime League
3.4 Battle of Eurymedon
4 The situation in the State
5 Murder of Xerxes as a result of conspiracy
6 Wives and children
Bibliography
Introduction
Xerxes I (Old Persian) Khshayarshan, which means "King of Heroes" or "A Hero Among Kings") - Persian king, reigned in 486 - 465 BC. e., from the Achaemenid dynasty.
The son of Darius I and Atossa ascended the throne in November 486 BC. e. aged about 36 years. He was lethargic, narrow-minded, spineless, easily subject to the influence of others, but was distinguished by self-confidence and vanity.
1. Beginning of the reign. Conquest of the rebel peoples
1.1. Revolt in Egypt
In January 484 BC. e. Xerxes managed to suppress the uprising in Egypt, which began during his father’s lifetime. Egypt was subjected to merciless reprisals, the property of many temples was confiscated. In place of Ferendat, who apparently died during the uprising, Xerxes appointed his brother Achaemen as satrap of Egypt. According to Herodotus, Egypt was subjected to an even greater yoke than before. From now on, the participation of indigenous people in the government of the country is even more limited - they are allowed only to lower positions; and Xerxes and subsequent Persian kings do not deign to pay attention to the Egyptian gods. True, in the Hammamat quarries the name of Xerxes is inscribed in hieroglyphs, but this king mined the material not for Egyptian temples, but for his buildings in Persia, delivering it by sea. Unlike his predecessors, Xerxes and the kings who followed him did not consider it necessary to accept pharaonic titles - only their Persian names written in hieroglyphs in cartouches have reached us.
1.2. Babylonian revolts
Then it was necessary to pacify Babylon, which again decided to revolt. Ctesias reports that this rebellion broke out early in the reign and was caused by the blasphemous discovery of the tomb of a certain Belitanus, and then pacified by Megabyzus, the son-in-law of Xerxes and the father of Zopyrus. Strabo, Arrian, and Diodorus also speak about the sacrileges of Xerxes in the Babylonian temples, and Arrian dates them to the time after Xerxes’ return from Greece.
In all likelihood there were several uprisings. The Babylonians initially rebelled under the leadership of Belshimanni. It is possible that this uprising began under Darius, under the influence of the Persian defeat at Marathon. The rebels captured, in addition to Babylon, the cities of Borsippa and Dilbat. In two cuneiform documents found in Borsippa, dated "the beginning of the reign of Bel-shimanni, king of Babylon and the Lands." The witnesses who signed this contract are the same as those found on documents from the second half of the reign of Darius and the first year of Xerxes. Obviously, Belshimanni rebelled against Darius and took the daring title of “King of the Countries,” which the False Buchadnezzars had not yet encroached upon. But two weeks later in July 484 BC. e. this uprising was suppressed.
In August 482 BC. e. The Babylonians rebelled again. Now the rebellion was led by Shamash-eriba. This uprising is evidenced by one Babylonian document - a contract of the Egibi merchant bank, dated 22 Tashrit (October 26), the year of the accession to the reign of Shamash-erib, “King of Babylon and the Countries”, and the witnesses to the transaction are the same as those mentioned in documents from the time of Darius; the son of one of them is mentioned already under the 1st year of Xerxes. In any case, the uprising did not last long - this is clear from the presence of one document from the “beginning of the reign.” The rebels achieved major successes, capturing Babylon, Borsippa, Dilbat and other cities, since most of the military garrisons stationed in Babylon were transported to Asia Minor to participate in the upcoming campaign against Greece. The suppression of the uprising was entrusted to Xerxes' son-in-law Megabyzus. The siege of Babylon lasted several months and apparently ended in March 481 BC. e. severe punishment. City and other fortifications were razed. Even the course of the river was diverted and the Euphrates, at least for a time, separated the residential part of the city from its sanctuaries. Some of the priests were executed, the main temple of Esagila and the ziggurat of Etemenanki were also badly damaged.
Herodotus does not know anything about him, but he reports, without suspecting it, interesting information that Xerxes took away from the temple of Bel (Esagila) a colossal, weighing 20 talents (approx. 600 kg), golden statue of the god, killing the guarding priest. Of course, the Greek historian believed that the reason was greed. In fact, as we know, it is deeper. The pacification of the riot entailed extreme measures: the destruction of the temple and the removal of many items from the treasury of this temple to Persepolis; The golden statue of the god Marduk was also sent there, where it was probably melted down. Thus, Xerxes not only actually, but also formally liquidated Babylonian kingdom, turning it into a regular satrapy. By depriving Babylon of the statue of Marduk, Xerxes made the appearance of kings in it impossible. After all royal power the applicant had to receive “from the hands” of God. Since then, the title of the king on Babylonian documents has also changed: on those dated “the year of accession” Xerxes is also called “King of Babylon, King of the Countries”; on originating from the first four years his reign - “king of Persia and Media, king of Babylon and Countries”; finally, from the 5th year (480 - 479) the designation “king of the Countries” begins, which remains with all the successors of Xerxes.
2. Trip to Greece
2.1. Preparing for the hike
By the end of the 80s, the situation in Persia had stabilized, and Xerxes began to energetically prepare for a new campaign against Greece. For several years, work was carried out to build a canal (12 stadia long, more than 2 km) across the isthmus of Chalkidiki in order to avoid bypassing Cape Athos, where Mardonius's fleet was lost. A bridge was also built across the Strymon River. Numerous workers from Asia and the adjacent coast were brought to the construction. Food warehouses were created along the coast of Thrace, and two pontoon bridges, 7 stadia long (about 1300 m) each, were thrown across the Hellespont. Diplomatic preparations for the campaign were also carried out; ambassadors and agents of Xerxes were sent to various states Balkan Greece and even to Carthage, which was supposed to distract the Greeks of Sicily from participating in the war with Persia through military action. Xerxes attracted prominent Greek fugitives who were at his palace to prepare the campaign. Argos and Thessaly submitted to Persia. In many greek cities, not excluding Athens, there were strong pro-Persian groups.
2.2. The Greeks are preparing to fight back
But a number of Greek states were preparing for the fight. In 481 BC. e. A pan-Hellenic union was created with a center in Corinth, headed by Sparta. It was decided to meet the Persians on the border of Northern and Central Greece, at Thermopylae. The mountains in this place come close to the seashore, and the narrow passage was easy to defend. At the same time as the actions of the ground army, a fleet operation was planned near the island of Euboea, so that the Persians could not break through the Euripus Strait and end up in the rear of the Greeks. Since the position at Thermopylae was defensive, the Greeks decided to send a small part of the united Greek army there, approximately 6.5 thousand people in total, led by the Spartan king Leonidas I.
2.3. Crossing the Hellespont
In the summer of 480 BC. e. The Persian army, numbering, according to the research of modern historians, from 80 to 200 thousand soldiers (Herodotus gives absolutely fantastic figures of 1 million 700 thousand people) began to cross the Hellespont. A storm that came at this time swept away the pontoon bridges, and a number of Persian soldiers drowned in the sea. The enraged Xerxes ordered the sea to be whipped and chains thrown into it to pacify the raging elements, and the overseers of the work to have their heads cut off. The crossing lasted continuously for seven days. The further advance of the Persian army to Thermopylae passed without difficulty and in August 480 BC. e. The Persians approached the Thermopylae Gorge. By sea, the Persian army was accompanied by a strong fleet. In addition to the Persians, all the peoples under his control took part in the campaign of Xerxes: the Medes, Kissians, Hyrcanians, Babylonians, Bactrians, Sagartians, Sakas, Indians, Aryans, Parthians, Chorasmians, Sogdians, Gandarii, Dadiks, Caspians, Sarangi, Pactians, Utii, Miki , Paricanians, Arabs, Ethiopians from Africa, Eastern Ethiopians (Gedrosians), Libyans, Paphlagonians, Lygians, Matienians, Mariandines, Cappadocians, Phrygians, Armenians, Lydians, Mysians, Bithynians, Pisidians, Kabalians, Milians, Moschians, Tibarenians, Macronians, Mossinians , Marys, Colchians, tribes from the Persian Gulf Islands. The following served in the fleet: Phoenicians, Syrians, Egyptians, Cypriots, Cilicians, Pamphylians, Lycians, Asian Dorians, Carians, Ionians, Aeolians, and inhabitants of the Hellespont.
2.4. Battle of Thermopylae
The position at Thermopylae made it possible for the Greeks to delay the advancing enemy for a long time, but the trouble was that in addition to passing through the gorge, another mountain road led to the south, known to local residents and, possibly, Persian intelligence. Leonidas, just in case, sent a detachment of 1000 Phocians there. When several attempts by the Persians to break through the Thermopylae Gorge were repulsed, a selected detachment, including the Persian guard, moved around along the mountain road; a traitor from the local residents volunteered to be a guide. Taken by surprise, the Phocians, under a hail of arrows, climbed to the top of the mountain and took up defense; the Persians, not paying any more attention to them, continued their march and went behind the Greeks. When Leonidas found out about what had happened, he released most of his detachment, and he himself, with the Spartans, Thespians and some other Greeks, remained in place to cover their retreat. Leonidas and everyone who remained with him died, but by delaying the Persian advance, they made it possible to mobilize the Greek forces, pulling them to the Isthmus and evacuate Attica.
I. Even before his accession, the latter had three sons from the daughter of one of his associates (during the coup of 522 BC) Gaubaruva. Then, after Daryavakhush ascended the throne, Kurush II's daughter Atossa bore him four more sons. Reflecting on which of them would inherit royal power after him, Daryavakhush finally chose Khshayarsha.
When he became king in December 486 BC, he was faced with two difficult tasks: to suppress rebellions in the satrapies and to carry out the conquest of Greece (preparations for this war were carried out intensively all the time). last years reign of Daryavakhush). By 484 BC, Khshayarsha managed to put an end to the uprising in Egypt that had begun during his father’s lifetime. But immediately after this, in the summer of 484 BC, the Babylonians rebelled. The performance was led by a certain Belshimanni, who managed to capture Babylon, Borsippa and Dilbat. It was soon defeated, but in 482 BC the uprising was repeated under the leadership of Shamashriva. The royal commander Bagabukhsha managed to take the city only in March 481 BC. The Persians plundered the Babylonian temples and destroyed the still surviving fortifications. The golden statue of the god Marduk was taken to Persepolis and probably melted down. The Babylonian kingdom, which formally continued to exist until this time (all the Persian kings, including Khshayarsha himself, upon accession to the Persian throne, were crowned in the same way as the kings of Babylon), was abolished, and Babylonia was relegated to the position of an ordinary satrapy.
Only having accomplished all this, Khshayarsha was able to begin the long-prepared campaign against Hellas. In the spring of 480 BC, a huge Persian army set out from Cappadocia. In terms of its scale, this enterprise had no equal in the history of the Achaemenid state. All 46 peoples subject to the Persians took part in the campaign, fielding a large number of foot and horse soldiers, as well as many ships. (The total number of Persian troops, according to Herodotus, exceeded 5 million people. Modern historians consider this figure to be many times exaggerated and believe that the Persian land army could not have had more than 100 thousand people. The number of Persian ships participating in the campaign is also considered overestimated (according to Herodotus, about 1400). There were hardly more than 700 of them, and only 200 were fast.) Having crossed to Europe via a pontoon bridge built across the Hellespont, Khshayarsha passed Thrace and Macedonia without difficulty. The Thessalians - residents of Northern Greece - also submitted to the king. But when the Persian army approached the Thermopylae Pass (the route from Thessaly to Central Greece lay through it), it was blocked by a small Greek detachment (6,500 people) led by the Spartan king Leonidas I. Khshayarsha did not start the battle for four days, expecting that Leonidas would be afraid numerous Persian troops and he himself retreated from the pass. When this did not happen, he began to send his troops one after another into a frontal attack. On the first day, the Medes and Kissi fought with the Greeks. However, they were unable to drive the Greeks out of the narrowest point of Thermopylae and retreated with heavy losses. Then the king threw his Persian guard - a detachment of immortals - against Leonid. These were brave warriors, but it was very difficult for them to fight in the gorge. The Greek hoplites, despite the fact that they were much outnumbered, managed to repel all the desperate attacks of the enemy. On the third day of fighting, the Persians managed to learn about a secret path that, around the mountain, led to the rear of the Greek soldiers. Moving along it, the Persians surrounded the army of Leonidas (having released the allies, he remained to defend their retreat with only the Spartans and Thespians) and killed them all to the last man.
At the same time, a battle broke out at sea. Here, as in the time of Daryavakhush, the Persians suffered a lot of trouble from bad weather. Off the coast of Magnesia, near Cape Artemisium, their fleet was caught in a severe storm. The storm raged for three days, and during this time several hundred Persian ships sank. Then, in August 480 BC, a large naval battle took place at Cape Artemisium. It lasted three days. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but were unable to achieve a decisive advantage. Finally, upon learning of the enemy's capture of Thermopylae, the Greeks retreated. Khshayarsha captured Doris, Phocis, Locris and other regions of Central Greece without a fight. The Boeotians themselves went over to his side, and the Athenians, unable to defend their city, left it without a fight and crossed with all their households and property to the island of Salamis. The Persians captured empty Athens and burned it to the ground.
The outcome of the war was decided in Salamiskoe naval battle, in which more than 800 ships participated on both sides. It happened on September 28, 480 BC in the Gulf of Salamis near Athens. From the very beginning, the Persians occupied a very uncomfortable position - their large and heavy ships were crowded into a narrow place and were deprived of freedom of maneuver. Therefore, despite great courage and numerical superiority, the battle ended in a heavy defeat for them. Most of the Persian fleet was destroyed. The dominance of the sea passed to the Greeks, however, having significant ground forces, Khshayarsha still hoped to win the war. He himself went to Asia, but left a significant part of his army (40-50 thousand soldiers) led by Mardonius in Greece. In 479 BC, a large land battle took place near Plataea. In it, the Persians were completely defeated, and Mardonius died. In the same year, the Greeks landed in Asia Minor and again defeated the Persians at Mycale in Ionia. This victory served as a signal for the Ionian uprising. All the islands of the Aegean Sea soon expelled the Persian garrisons and joined the anti-Persian maritime alliance led by the Athenians. The war continued in subsequent years. In 466 BC, the Greeks at Eurymedon (in the south of Asia Minor) won a double victory over a large Persian army - at sea and on land. After her, the Aegean Sea finally came under their control.
You can learn about the internal life of Persian society at this time from the works of Greek historians. Thus, Herodotus gives an interesting overview of the morals prevailing at the Persian court. In the ninth book of his work, he talks about how Khshayarsha was inflamed with passion for the wife of his brother Masist. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not persuade her to have a love affair. In order to somehow get closer to this woman, the king arranged the marriage of her daughter Artainta with his son Daryavakhush. But, having accepted this young girl into his home, the king suddenly lost interest in his wife Masista and fell in love with Artainta, who soon gave herself to him. Khshayarsha's wife Amestrid found out about this connection and became furious with jealousy. She, however, directed her anger not at her husband’s mistress, but at her mother, since she considered her to be the culprit of this relationship. On the king's birthday, when Khshayarsha, according to Persian custom, had to fulfill any wish of his wife, Amestrid asked him for his brother's wife as a gift. Khshayarsha had to fulfill this wish against his will. Having received the unfortunate woman, the queen ordered her bodyguards to cut off her breasts, as well as her nose, ears and lips, cut out her tongue and send her home in this form. The masist, seeing his wife so terribly mutilated, immediately fled. He hoped to get to Bactria (where he was satrap) and raise a rebellion there, but Khshayarsha sent a detachment of loyal people in pursuit of him. They overtook the king's brother on the way and killed him along with all his sons. Khshayarsha himself also did not die a natural death - he was killed by the conspirators - the chief of the guard Artaban, with the assistance of the eunuch Aspamiter, in August 465 BC right in his bedroom while sleeping.
Persian king Xerxes I (born around 519 BC - death in 465 BC) King of the Achaemenid state (486 BC). He led the Persian campaign in Greece (480–479 BC), which ended in defeat and marked the end of the first stage.
After the death of Darius I Hystaspes, his son, Xerxes I, ascended the Achaemenid throne. The new king of kings immediately faced military problems. The huge state was restless. Some of the provinces went out of control. 484 BC e. The Persian king Xerxes was forced to go to pacify rebellious Egypt. Then news came of the uprising in Babylon. The Persian army invaded Mesopotamia, destroyed fortifications, plundered temples and destroyed the main shrine of the Babylonians - the statue of the god Marduk.
The successful pacification of the rebellious may have turned Xerxes's head, and he began to think about seizing new territories. Xerxes fully inherited his father's hatred of the Greeks. But, remembering Darius’s failures and being very cautious, he did not rush. The King of Kings thought for a long time, and his entourage was perplexed: they were convinced that small Hellas, on whose territory there were many city-states, would not be able to withstand the power of the huge Persian army.
In the end, the king called those close to him for advice. He outlined to them his plans for the construction of a huge pontoon bridge across the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles). The Persian king Xerxes intended not only to fulfill his father’s behest and conquer Greece. He intended to turn all states into one, that is, to achieve world domination. The military leaders could not help but support Xerxes’ idea. In the eastern despotism, which was the Achaemenid state, it was not customary to contradict the ruler. Those who had their own opinion could easily say goodbye not only to their position, but also to their heads.
Preparations for the campaign continued for four years. Finally, the titanic work of constructing the bridge was completed. Persian troops were already ready to cross into Europe. However, a terrible storm destroyed the gigantic structure. Then the king ordered to cut off the heads of the builders, among whom the overwhelming majority were Phoenicians and Egyptians subject to the Persians. In addition, by order of the formidable ruler, the strait was cut out with a whip, and shackles were thrown into the sea. At that distant time, people still animated natural objects, and the king sincerely believed that the rebellious strait, after punishment, would feel the full force of the wrath of the great Xerxes.
The bridge was rebuilt. In addition to the fact that ships could now safely bypass the dangerous place in the strait, a canal was dug. To do this, they dug up a whole mountain. The Persian king Xerxes had plenty of human resources: 20 satrapies-provinces regularly supplied labor.
480 BC e., August - the troops safely crossed to Europe. For 7 days and nights, the troops marched across the bridge without stopping. Persians, Assyrians, Parthians, Khorezmians, Sogdians, Bactrians, Indians, Arabs, Ethiopians, Egyptians, Thracians, Libyans, Phrygians, Cappadocians, inhabitants of the Caucasus - this is an incomplete list of peoples who were part of Xerxes' army.
According to Herodotus, in the army of Xerxes there were 1 million 700 thousand infantry, 80 thousand horsemen and 20 thousand camels, auxiliary troops. The total number of warriors, in his opinion, reached more than five million people. In reality, according to scientists, the number of troops did not exceed 100 thousand, but even this figure at that time could be considered huge. In addition, the ground forces were supported by a fleet of 700–800 ships.
Xerxes had no doubt about victory. Well, what could the Greeks oppose him? military power? Smiling smugly, he declared: “In my army, everyone is under the control of one person. The whip will drive them into battle, the fear of me will make them brave. If I command, everyone will do the impossible. Are the Greeks, who talk about freedom, capable of this? However, it was precisely this desire for freedom that helped the Hellenes survive the brutal struggle with the most powerful empire of that time.
Having entered the land of Hellas, the king first of all tried to ensure that news of his progress reached the Greek cities as quickly as possible. For this purpose, the first Greek spies who were caught were not executed, but were released, showing the army and fleet. Ambassadors were sent to the policies demanding “land and water.” But the Persian king did not send anyone to the hated Athens and Sparta, making it clear to their inhabitants that there would be no mercy for them. But Xerxes’ expectations were not justified: only Thessaly and Boeotia agreed to recognize his power. The rest began to prepare to fight back.
Athenian strategist Themistocles, elected in 482 BC. e., in a short time was able to create a powerful fleet. He, as Plutarch wrote, “put an end to the internecine wars in Hellas and reconciled the individual states among themselves, convincing them to put aside hostility in view of the war with Persia.”
According to the Allied plan, they decided to give battle to the enemy on land and at sea. 300 triremes were sent to Cape Artemisia on the coast of Euboea, and the army led by them moved to Thessaly. Here, in the Thermopylae gorge, the Greeks expected a formidable enemy.
Xerxes waited 4 days for news of the naval battle. When it became known that half of his fleet was scattered by a storm, and the rest suffered heavy losses and could not break through to the coast, the king sent scouts to find out what the Greeks were doing. He hoped that they, seeing the superiority of the enemy, would retreat. However, the Greeks stubbornly remained in place. Then Xerxes moved his army. Sitting in a chair, he watched the progress from the top of the mountain. The Greeks continued to stand. The “immortals” were thrown into battle, but they too could not achieve success.
It became clear that the position of the Greeks was extremely advantageous, and their courage had no limits. Perhaps the Persian king Xerxes would have had to look for another way, but among the local residents there was a traitor who, for a reward, showed the Persians a bypass path. The defenders of the gorge noticed that they were surrounded. The Greek commander, King Leonidas, released the allies. 300 Spartans, 400 Thebans and 700 Thespians remained with him. After a fierce battle, they all died. The enraged Xerxes ordered the body of Leonidas to be found. He was beheaded and his head was impaled on a spear.
The Persian army advanced to Athens. Themistocles convinced his fellow citizens to leave the city. He was sure that the Athenians would take revenge not on land, but on the sea. But not all allies agreed with the opinion of their commander. Endless bickering began. Then the strategist sent his slave to Xerxes, who again waited, hoping for disagreements in the enemy camp. The slave told Xerxes that the Hellenes were going to retreat at night, and Themistocles wanted to go over to the side of the Persians and advised them to launch an offensive right away at night.
Xerxes showed unforgivable gullibility. Apparently, he was so confident in his own strength that he did not even think about a possible trap. The Persian king ordered the fleet to close all exits from the Strait of Salamis so that not a single enemy ship could escape from it. Themistocles wanted to achieve this: now the ships of the Spartans and Corinthians could not leave the Athenians. It was decided to give battle.
(480 BC) 1000 Persian ships and 180 Greek ships took part. On the shore, under a gilded canopy, the Persian king Xerxes sat on a throne, watching the progress of the battle. There were courtiers and scribes nearby who were supposed to describe great victory Persians But the clumsy Persian ships, forced to act in narrow strait, were much inferior to the high-speed Greek triremes. The latter went to ram and easily dodged the enemy.
As a result, most of Xerxes' fleet was sunk. The bulk of the Persians who could not swim drowned. Those who reached the shore were destroyed by Greek infantry. Eventually the Persians fled. The surviving ships were destroyed by the inhabitants of Aegina, who ambushed them.
The remnants of the Persian army moved to the bridge over the Hellespont. Themistocles wanted to destroy it, but heeded the advice of the former strategist of Athens, Aristides. He believed that the trapped Persian soldiers would fight desperately and many Greeks would die.
They say that the king of kings returned home on a ship that was extremely crowded. During a strong storm, the helmsman turned to him: “Sir! We need to lighten the ship!” - and the king gave the order to his subjects to leave the ship. They themselves began to throw themselves overboard, where inevitable death awaited them, not knowing how to swim. Having safely reached the shore, Xerxes presented the helmsman with a gold ring for saving his life and immediately... ordered the savior’s head to be cut off for having killed so many Persians.
But not the entire Persian army left Hellas. By order of Xerxes, troops were left in Thessaly to spend the winter and continue the war in the spring. 479 BC e. - A major battle took place near the city of Plataea in Boeotia. The famous Persian commander Mardonius fell there, with whose death the Persians were finally broken and left the Peloponnesian Peninsula. The first stage of the Greco-Persian wars was finally completed.
Xerxes had to give up his dreams of world domination forever. His destiny was to exalt the capital of Persepolis. The construction of the palace, begun under Darius, was completed, and a new one was built, and the construction of the throne room of one hundred columns began.
Meanwhile, at court there was a tireless struggle for influence. The courtiers and even members of Xerxes' family never ceased to weave intrigues. Xerxes became increasingly suspicious. One day, when the queen reported that his brother was preparing an assassination attempt, the king ordered his entire family to be destroyed.
The courtiers especially could not count on the king’s pity. Apparently, because in the summer of 465 BC. e. Xerxes and his eldest son were killed by conspirators led by the minister Artabanus. Another son of the king, Artaxerxes I, ascended the throne, but the golden age of the Achaemenid dynasty passed into the past along with the warlike Persian king Xerxes I.
Ruled from 486 to 465. BC.
Xerxes retained the traditional title of the Achaemenid rulers - “king of countries, king of kings.” From the very beginning of his reign, he was engaged in suppressing uprisings. In Egypt, the revolt lasted two years, from 486 to 484. BC. After its suppression, Xerxes changed the manner of dealing with conquered peoples characteristic of his predecessors, and began to treat Egypt as a conquered territory. He ordered the confiscation of property from many churches. Many years after these events, the Egyptian priests called Xerxes nothing more than “that villain.”
In 484 BC. and again in 482 BC. The Babylonians rebelled. The siege of Babylon lasted several months and ended with severe reprisals. The city walls and other fortifications were torn down, the main temple was destroyed, some of the priests were executed, and a golden statue of Marduk weighing 20 kg was taken to Persepolis. Xerxes liquidated the Babylonian kingdom and turned it into an ordinary satrapy, and Babylon ceased to exist as a holy city.
In 483 BC. Xerxes began preparing for a campaign against Greece and entered into an agreement with Carthage, agreeing on a simultaneous attack. After careful preparation, the king in the spring of 480 BC. resumed the war with the Greeks and set out on a campaign at the head of a huge army. All satrapies sent their contingents. 29 senior Persian military leaders took part in the campaign, including 8 brothers of Xerxes himself. Herodotus, Ctesias and other ancient authors give absurd figures for the size of Xerxes' army (for Herodotus - more than 2 million). Modern historians talk about 50-75 thousand. The first military clash took place at Thermopylae. Here, defending the passage, 300 Spartans, led by King Leonidas, died. Xerxes lost two of his brothers and many noble Persians in this battle.
Having penetrated central Greece, the Persians, having captured Attica, plundered and burned Athens, abandoned by its inhabitants. On September 28, 480, a naval battle took place in the Gulf of Salamis. 400 Greek ships and 650 Persian ships took part in it. This was the first major defeat for the Persian fleet. Xerxes accompanied the army and saw from the throne built on the mainland the defeat of his fleet at Salamis, after which he hastily began to withdraw the army to northern Greece and Thrace, from where he crossed to Asia and returned to Susa. He executed Phoenician captains, accusing them of cowardice during the Battle of Salamis. In 479 BC. the Persians were defeated at Plataea and Mycale. Mardonius, the general of Xerxes, died.
Xerxes, busy suppressing uprisings within the country, made no further attempts to conquer Greece. Under Xerxes, satrap rebellions begin. His own brother Macista around 478 BC. from Susa he fled to his satrapy Bactria to raise an uprising, but was killed on the way. By the end of his reign, unrest occurred throughout the country, famine reigned in Persia, and bread prices rose sharply. Xerxes resorted to the usual means of calming the masses: he removed about 100 high-ranking officials from their posts.
In 465 BC. he was killed at night in his bedroom by conspirators led by Artabanus, the chief of his bodyguards. Most likely, he participated in the conspiracy younger son Artaxerxes, future king of Persia. In Babylon, the murder of Xerxes was considered a punishment of the god Marduk for the destruction of his temple, and in Egypt - divine punishment for the confiscation of temple lands. Xerxes was engaged in intensive construction in his capitals, Persepolis and Susa. He carried out a religious reform that boiled down to the destruction of the cults of local deities. Ancient tradition portrays him as a cruel and extravagant ruler, capable of ordering to “carve out the sea,” but in Persian documents, on the contrary, he appears wise statesman and an experienced warrior.
Historical sources:
Aeschylus. Persians;
Herodotus. Story. VII-IX;
Diodorus. Historical library. XI.
Illustrations:
1. Bas-relief depicting Xerxes I from the royal palace in Persepolis. V century BC.;
2. The alleged tomb of Xerxes I in the rocks of Naqshe-Rustam;
3. Cuneiform inscription of Xerxes on the southern slope of the Van rock. Now the territory of eastern Turkey;
4. Darius I and his son and heir Xerxes. Relief detail of a treasury from Persepolis. V century BC. Archaeological Museum. Tehran.
The Persian king Xerxes I is one of the most famous characters ancient history humanity. Actually, it was this ruler who led his troops to Greece in the first half of the 5th century. It was he who fought with the Athenian hoplites in the Battle of Marathon and with the Spartans in the very one that is widely promoted today in popular literature and cinema
Beginning of the Greco-Persian Wars
Persia at the very beginning of the 5th century was a young, but aggressive and already powerful empire that managed to conquer a number of eastern peoples. In addition to other territories, the Persian king Darius also took possession of some Greek colony-policies in (the territory of modern Turkey). During the years of Persian rule, among the Greek population of the Persian satrapies - the so-called administrative territorial units The Persian state often rebelled, protesting against the new orders of the eastern conquerors. It was Athens' assistance to these colonies in one of these uprisings that led to the beginning of the Greco-Persian conflict.
Marathon Battle
The first general battle of the Persian landing and Greek troops (Athenians and Plataeans) took place in 490 BC. Thanks to the talent of the Greek commander Miltiades, who wisely used the hoplite formation, their long spears, as well as the sloping terrain (the Greeks pushed the Persians down the slope), the Athenians were victorious, stopping the first Persian invasion of their country. Interestingly, the modern sports discipline “marathon running”, which covers a distance of 42 km, is associated with this battle. This is exactly how far the ancient messenger ran from the battlefield to Athens to report the victory of his compatriots and then fall dead. Preparations for a more massive invasion were prevented by the death of Darius. The new Persian king Xerxes I ascended the throne, continuing his father’s work.
Battle of Thermopylae and three hundred Spartans
The second invasion began in 480 BC. King Xerxes led a large army of 200 thousand people (according to modern historians). Macedonia and Thrace were quickly conquered, after which an invasion began from the north into Boeotia, Attica and the Peloponnese. Even the coalition forces of the Greek city-states could not withstand such numerous forces gathered from the many peoples of the Persian Empire. The weak hope of the Greeks was the opportunity to take battle in a narrow place through which the Persian army passed on its way to the south - the Thermopylae Gorge. The enemy's numerical advantage here would not be so noticeable, which would leave no hope of victory. The legend that the Persian king Xerxes was almost beaten here by three hundred Spartan warriors is a bit of an exaggeration. In fact, from 5 to 7 thousand Greek soldiers from different policies, not only Spartan ones, took part in this battle. And given the width of the gorge, this amount was more than enough to successfully hold off the enemy for two days. The disciplined Greek phalanx held the line evenly, truly stopping the hordes of Persians. No one knows how the battle would have ended, but the Greeks were betrayed by one of the residents of the local village - Ephialtes. The man who showed the Persians a way around. When King Leonidas learned of the betrayal, he sent troops to the policies to regroup forces, remaining to defend and delay the Persians with a small detachment. Now there were really very few of them left - about 500 souls. However, no miracle happened; almost all the defenders were killed on the same day.
What happened next
The Battle of Thermopylae never accomplished the task that the Greek men had assigned to it, but it became an inspired example of heroism for other defenders of the country. The Persian king Xerxes I still managed to win here, but later suffered crushing defeats: at sea - a month later at Salamis, and on land - at the Battle of Plataea. The Greco-Persian War continued for the next thirty years as protracted, low-intensity conflicts, in which the odds increasingly favored the poleis.
