Xerxes I /ˈzɜːrkˌsiːz/ ZURK-seez (c. 518 – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 486 BC until his … See more

At the time of Xerxes' accession, trouble was brewing in some of his domains. A revolt occurred in Egypt, which seems dangerous enough for Xerxes to personally lead the … See more

Invasion of the Greek mainland
Darius died while in the process of preparing a second army to invade the Greek mainland, … See more

In August 465 BC, Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard and the most powerful official in the Persian court, assassinated Xerxes with the help of a eunuch, Aspamitres. Although the Hyrcanian Artabanus bore the same name as the See more

Xérxēs (Ξέρξης) is the Greek and Latin (Xerxes, Xerses) transliteration of the Old Iranian Xšaya-ṛšā ("ruling over heroes"), which can be seen … See more

After his military blunders in Greece, Xerxes returned to Persia and oversaw the completion of the many construction projects left … See more

While there is no general consensus in scholarship as to whether Xerxes and his predecessors had been influenced by Zoroastrianism, it is well established that Xerxes was a firm believer in Ahura Mazda, whom he saw as the supreme deity. However, … See more