Achievements Of Xerxes

Assess the Achievements of Xerxes

In the time of Xerxes reign the Persian Empire covered much land and was very successful. However he was been accused of being a sadistic, mad ruler. So do these personality defects take away from Xerxes great achievements? The Greeks certainly thought so. Throughout plays and books written by ancient Greek historians such as Herodotus and Aeschylus, Xerxes’ achievements are criticised constantly. However it must be remembered that these sources are hellenocentric and therefore often hostile to Xerxes. Some of Xerxes achievements include adding to the Palace of Persepolis, leading a large army all the way from Persia to Greece and suppressing revolts. Despite these hostile sources it is easy to see that Xerxes achievements were something to remember and applaud.

Xerxes succeeded Darius in 486 at age 36. Xerxes was not the oldest son of Darius and therefore should not have become king after he died. However he was the first born son after Darius became king. He was also the son of Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, and therefore he felt this entitled him to be king. The eldest son Artabanzes was not happy with this but Xerxes was smart and gave him a high position and made him satrap of Babylon. This well thought out move provided peace throughout his family.

Almost immediately after he became king a revolt broke out in Egypt in June 486 B.C. It is not clear why the revolt happened but the Egyptian people may have believed they would of had a better chance in winning their freedom while a new king was just coming to throne. Modern historian JM Cook suggests that a piece of evidence from Babylon denotes that Darius had increased taxes to help cover the costs of invading Greece. Perhaps he had done the same in Egypt. Xerxes was certainly not a lazy ruler. He personally marched into Egypt with his army and had regained control within two years. He then appointed his brother Achaemenes as satrap. Herodotus said that he was harsh on...