Xerxes King of Persia I

• Preferred Name: Xerxes King of Persia I^[1]
  
• Gender: M
  
• Burial: AUG 465 BC in Naqsh-e Rostam, Fårs, Persian Empire at LATI: N9 LONG: E3
  
• http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility: King of Kings, Great King, King of Persia, King of Babylon, Pharaoh of EgyptBET 486 BC AND 465 BC
  
• FSID: LVHR-73F
  
• Birth: 518 BC in Persepolis, Persian Empire at LATI: N9 LONG: E3
  
• Death: AUG 465 BC in Persepolis, Persian Empire at LATI: N9 LONG: E3
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Ahasuerus: (lion-king), the name of one Median & 2 Persian kings mentioned in the Old Testament.
  1. In Da 9:1 Ahasuerus is sd. to be the father Darius the Mede. [DARIUS] This 1st. Ahasuerus is Cyaxares, the conqueror of Nineveh. (Began to reign B.C. 634.)
  2. The Ahasuerus king of Persia, referred to in Ezr 4:6 must be Cambyses, thought to be Cyrus' successor, & perhaps his son. (B.C. 529.)
  3. The 3rd. is the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther. This Ahasuerus is probably Xerxes of history, Es 1:1 (B.C. 485), & this conclusion is fortified by the resemblance of character and by certain chronological indications, the account of his life & character agreeing with the book of Esther In the 3rd. yr. of Ahaseuerus was held a great feast & assembly in Shushan the palace, Es 1:3 following a council held to consider the invasion of Greece. He divorced his queen Vashti for refusing to appear in public at this banquet, & marr., 4 yrs. afterw.s, the Jewess Esther, cousin & ward of Mordecai. Five yrs. after this, Haman, one of his counsellors, having been slighted by Mordecai, prevailed upon the king to order the destruction of all the Jews in the empire. But bef. the day appointed for the massacre, Esther & Mordecai influenced the king to put Haman to death & to give the Jews the right of self-Defence.
  
  Xerxes is the most familiar from based on the Greek form and made most well known by the ancient Greek historian, Heroditus, who recorded much of what we know of the man and his times.
  - Serse is a Latinized form of Xerxes and is most familiar to lovers of good music based on Georg Frederic Handel's Opera "Serse" composed from 1737-1738.
  (This maj. opera goes by both "Xerxes" and "Serse" - & please note that Xerxes is sung by a soprano, an 18th cent. way of depicting young men).
  Xerxes was a colorful character known for his irrational behavior. Some examples:
  
  - when a bridge collapsed due to a raging storm, he ordered the builders executed & the river whipped for daring to destroy his bridge.
  - Aft. a father pleaded with him to leave one of his 5 sons at home with him rather than take all five into battle, Xerxes had the son in question killed. That was how he told the father his son could stay home with him.
  - In Handel's Opera, the lovely opening aria "Ombra ma fu" (also kn. as "Largo from Xerxes") is actually King Xerxes singing a love song to a plane tree.
  -on the eve of the great naval battle of Salamis, Xerxes consulted an oracle who predicted that a great navy would be defeated. Little did Xerxes know that the navy was his.
  -Xerxes was assassinated ca. 464 BC, & was succeeded by his son, Artaxerxes (the Justice of Xerxes), who is mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

1. Artaxerxes I Achaemenid, b. 496 BC in Persepolis, Fars, Persian Empire     d. 424 BC in Susa, Kingdom of Elam, Persian Empire

1. Title: Wikiwand - Xerxes I, King of Persia
   Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Xerxes_I;
   Note: Xerxes I (Old Persian: 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 Xšayār̥šā; Greek: Ξέρξης Xérxēs; c. 518 – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius the Great (r. 522–486 BC) and his mother was Atossa, a daughter of Cyrus the Great (r. 550–530 BC), the founder of the Achaemenid empire. Like his father, he ruled the empire at its territorial peak. He ruled from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC at the hands of Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard. Xerxes I 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 King of Kings Great King King of Persia King of Babylon Pharaoh of Egypt King of Countries Rock relief of an Achaemenid king, most likely Xerxes I, located in the National Museum of Iran King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire Reign October 486 – August 465 BC Predecessor Darius the Great Successor Artaxerxes I Pharaoh of Egypt Reign October 486 – August 465 BC Predecessor Darius the Great Successor Artaxerxes I Born c. 518 BC Died August 465 BC (aged approximately 53) Burial Naqsh-e Rostam Spouse Amestris Issue Darius Hystaspes Artaxerxes I Arsames Amytis Dynasty Achaemenid Father Darius the Great Mother Atossa Religion Indo-Iranian religion Xerxes (Xašayaruša/Ḫašayaruša) Egyptian hieroglyphs Xerxes I is notable in Western history for his invasion of Greece in 480 BC. His forces temporarily overran mainland Greece north of the Isthmus of Corinth until losses at Salamis and Plataea a year later reversed these gains and ended the second invasion decisively. However, Xerxes successfully crushed revolts in Egypt and Babylon. Xerxes also oversaw the completion of various construction projects at Susa and Persepolis. Xerxes is identified with the king Ahasuerus in the biblical Book of Esther, which some scholars, including Eduard Schwartz, William Rainey Harper, and Michael V. Fox, consider to be historical romance. There is nothing close to a consensus, however, as to what historical event provided the basis for the story. Etymology Xérxēs (Ξέρξης) is the Greek and Latin (Xerxes, Xerses) transliteration of the Old Iranian Xšaya-ṛšā ("ruling over heroes"), which can be seen by the first part xšaya, meaning "ruling", and the second ṛšā, meaning "hero, man". The name of Xerxes was known in Akkadian as Ḫi-ši-ʾ-ar-šá and in Aramaic as ḥšyʾrš. Xerxes would become a popular name among the rulers of the Achaemenid Empire. Historiography Much of Xerxes' bad reputation is due to propaganda by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great (r. 336–323 BC), who had him vilified. The modern historian Richard Stoneman regards the portrayal of Xerxes as more nuanced and tragic in the work of the contemporary Greek historian Herodotus. However, many modern historians agree that Herodotus recorded spurious information. Pierre Briant has accused him of presenting a stereotyped and biased portrayal of the Persians. Many Achaemenid-era clay tablets and other reports written in Elamite, Akkadian, Egyptian, and Aramaic are frequently contradictory to the reports of classical authors, i.e. Ctesias, Plutarch, and Justin. Early life Parentage and birth Xerxes' father was Darius the Great (r. 522–486 BC), the incumbent monarch of the Achaemenid Empire, albeit himself not a member of the family of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the empire. Xerxes' mother was Atossa, a daughter of Cyrus. Darius and Atossa had married in 522 BC, with Xerxes being born around 518 BC. Upbringing and education The "Caylus vase", a quadrilingual alabaster jar with cuneiform and hieroglyphic inscriptions in the name of "Xerxes, the Great King". Cabinet des Médailles, Paris According to the Greek dialogue First Alcibiades, which describes typical upbringing and education of Persian princes; they were raised by eunuchs. When reaching the age of 7, they learned how to ride and hunt; at age 14, they were taught by four teachers of aristocratic stock, who taught them how to be "wise, just, prudent and brave". Persian princes were also taught the basics of the Zoroastrian religion, to be truthful, have self-restraint, and to be courageous. The dialogue further added that "Fear, for a Persian, is the equivalent of slavery." At the age of 16 or 17, they began their "national service" for 10 years, which included practicing archery and javelin, competing for prizes, and hunting. Afterwards they served in the military for around 25 years, and were then elevated to the status of elders and advisers of the king. Families in this time, including Xerxes', would intermarry. This account of education among the Persian elite is supported by Xenophon's description of the 5th-century BC Achaemenid prince Cyrus the Younger, with whom he was well-acquainted. Stoneman suggests that this was the type of upbringing and education that Xerxes experienced. It is unknown if Xerxes ever learned to read or write, with the Persians favoring oral history over written literature. Stoneman suggests that Xerxes' upbringing and education was possibly not much different from that of the later Iranian kings, such as Abbas the Great, king of the Safavid Empire in the 17th-century AD. Starting from 498 BC, Xerxes resided in the royal palace of Babylon. Accession to the throne While Darius was preparing for another war against Greece, a revolt was spurred in Egypt in 486 BC due to heavy taxes and the deportation of craftsmen to build the royal palaces at Susa and Persepolis. The king was required by Persian law to choose a successor before setting out on dangerous expeditions. When Darius decided to leave (487–486 BC), he (Darius) prepared his tomb at Naqsh-e Rustam (five kilometers from his royal palace at Persepolis) and appointed Xerxes, his eldest son by Atossa, as his successor. However, Darius could not lead the campaign due to his failing health; he died in October 486 BC at the age of 64. Artobazan claimed the crown as the eldest of all Darius' children; while Xerxes, on the other hand, argued that he was the son of Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, and that Cyrus had won the Persians their freedom. Xerxes was also helped by a Spartan king in exile who was present in Persia at the time, the Eurypontid king Demaratus, who also argued that the eldest son did not universally have the best claim to the crown, as Spartan law stated that the first son born while the father is king is the heir to the kingship. Some modern scholars also view the unusual decision of Darius to give the throne to Xerxes as a result of his consideration of the particular prestige that Cyrus the Great and his daughter Atossa enjoyed. Artobazan was born to "Darius the subject", while Xerxes was the eldest son "born in the purple" after Darius' rise to the throne; and Artobazan's mother was a commoner while Xerxes' mother was the daughter of the founder of the Achaemenid empire. Xerxes was crowned and succeeded his father in October–December 486 BC when about 32 years old. The transition of power to Xerxes was smooth - due again in part to the great authority of Atossa and his accession to royal power was not challenged by any person at court or in the Achaemenian family, or by any subject nation. Consolidation of power Engraving of Babylon by H. Fletcher, 1690 At Xerxes' accession, trouble was brewing in some of his domains. A revolt occurred in Egypt, which seems to have been 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). Xerxes suppressed the revolt in January 484 BC, and appointed his full-brother Achaemenes as satrap of the country, replacing the previous satrap Pherendates, who was reportedly killed during the revolt. The suppression of the Egyptian revolt expended the army, which had been mobilized by Darius over the previous three years. Xerxes thus had to raise another army for his expedition into Greece, which took four years. There was also unrest in Babylon, which revolted at least twice against Xerxes. The first revolt broke out in June or July of 484 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 482 BC, Shamash-eriba seized Babylon itself and other nearby cities, such as Borsippa and Dilbat, and was only defeated in March 481 BC after a lengthy siege of Babylon. The precise cause of the unrest in Babylon is uncertain. It may have been due to tax increase. Prior to these revolts, Babylon had occupied a special position within the Achaemenid Empire, the Achaemenid kings had been titled as "King of Babylon" and "King of the Lands", perceiving Babylonia as a somewhat separate entity within their empire, united with their own kingdom in a personal union. 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. Using 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. The Esagila was allegedly exposed to great damage and Xerxes allegedly carried the statue of Marduk away from the city, possibly bringing it to Iran and melting it down (classical authors held that the statue was entirely made of gold, which would have made melting it down possible). Modern historian Amélie Kuhrt considers it unlikely that Xerxes destroyed the temples, but believes that the story of him doing so may derive from an anti-Persian sentiment among the Babylonians. It is doubtful if the statue was removed from