The Rise of Xerxes

The Aftermath of Marathon:

• The battle of Marathon was the first real check to Persia's plans for western expansion
• Darius however was not deterred. He was more determined than ever on revenge against Athens
• Darius realised that far greater forces and more careful preparations would be necessary next time. These massive preparations were put into effect almost immediately
• However, any immediate designs on Greece would need to be halted: in 486 BC Darius died suddenly, and the throne passed to his son and heir: Xerxes

Darius' Preparations: Herodotus 7.1

"When the news of the battle of Marathon reached Darius, the son of Hystaspes and king of Persia, his anger against Athens, already great enough on account of the assault on Sardia, was even greater, and he was more than ever determined to make war on Greece. Without loss of time he dispatched couriers to the various states under his dominion with orders to raise an army much larger than befoe; and also warships, transports, horses and grain. So the royal command went round; and all Asia was in an uproar for three years, with the best men being enrolled in the army for the invasion of Greece, and with the preparations =. In the year after that, a rebellion in Egypt, which had been conquered by Cambyses, served only to harden Darius' resolve to go to war, not only against Greece but against Egypt too"

Xerxes I

• Xerxes was Darius' son by his wife Atossa, a descendant of Cyrus the Great
• Xerxes had some prior experience in administration: he had governed Babylon for his father in the 12 years before his accession
• However, Darius' untimely death meant that Xerxes had not yet been fully groomed for the roles and responsibilities of kingship

Xerxes' Inscription from Persepolis, from the Gate of All Nations in Persepolis

1. Ahura Mazda is a great god, who created this earth, who created that sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Xerxes king, one king of many, one lord of many
2. I am Xerxes, the Great king, king of kings, king of lands containing many men, king of this great earth far and wide, son of Darius the king, an Achaemenid
3. Xerxes the king says: 'By the favour of Ahura Mazda, I built this Gate of All Lands. Much other good (construction) was built within this (city of) Parsa, which I built and which my father built. Whatever good construction is seen, we built all that by the grace of Ahura Mazda'
4. Xerxes the king says: 'May Ahura Mazda protect me and my kingdom and what was built by me, and what was built by my father, that also may Ahura Mazda protect'

Early Reign: Problems

Upon assuming the throne, Xerxes' Commander-in-Chief, Mardonius, pressured him into renewing the campaign against Greece that his father was planning. However, a series of revolts throughout the Persian Empire delayed the preparations

Egypt 484 BC:

An insurrection before Darius' death had meant that Egypt had been governed by a usurper for two years. Xerxes crushed the revolt by ravaging the Nile Delta, a heavy handed approach likely due to the necessity to crush any chances of another insurrection when Xerxes finally invaded Greece

Babylon 484-3 BC:

Nationalist pretenders had led Babylon to revolt. Xerxes led a military campaign to recapture the satrapy, which fell a year later to Persian forces. Violent repression ensued: Babylon's fortresses were torn down, its temples pillaged and the statue of Marduk, patron god of the city, was destroyed