Xerxes I Facts & Worksheets

Xerxes I facts and information plus worksheet packs and fact file. Includes 5 activities aimed at students 11-14 years old (KS3) & 5 activities aimed at students 14-16 years old (GCSE). Great for home study or to use within the classroom environment.

Xerxes I Worksheets

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Fact File

Xerxes I Resource 1
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Student Activities

Xerxes I Activity & Answer Guide 1
Xerxes I Activity & Answer Guide 2
Xerxes I Activity & Answer Guide 3
Xerxes I Activity & Answer Guide 4
Table of Contents
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    Summary

    • Early Life
    • Revolts in Babylon and Egypt
    • Greek Campaigns
    • Greek Resurgence
    • Assassination

    Key Facts And Information

    Let’s know more about Xerxes I!

    Xerxes I, often referred to as Xerxes the Great, was a Persian monarch who held the title of the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 BCE until his assassination in 465 BCE. Xerxes I is frequently portrayed as a despot. Notorious for his incursion into Greece and a reign plagued by insurrections, he initiated the decline of the Achaemenid Empire. Xerxes, infamous for his unsuccessful attempt to conquer Greece, is one of the most notorious rulers of the Achaemenid Persian dynasty. Xerxes I was known for severe penalties, promiscuity, and depleting the Persian Empire’s treasury. 

    Rock relief of Xerxes I
    Rock relief of Xerxes I

    EARLY LIFE OF XERXES I

    • Before he died in 486 BCE, Darius the Great designated his son Xerxes as his heir. Xerxes was not the eldest son of the family. His half-brother, Artabazenes, was born prior to Darius ascending to the throne. Artabazenes initially asserted his claim to the title of King. Xerxes’ mother, Atossa, was the daughter of Cyrus the Great, the Persian monarch who established the Achaemenid Empire. In contrast, Artabazenes’ mother was of common origin.
    • The Greek dialogue First Alcibiades indicates that eunuchs reared Persian princes as part of their customary training and education. Commencing at the age of seven, they acquired skills in riding and hunting. At the age of 14, they received instruction from four educators of noble lineage.
    • At the age of 16 or 17, they commenced their obligatory 10 years of national service, which encompassed archery and javelin practice, prize competitions and hunting. Subsequently, they served in the military for around 25 years, after which they were promoted to the roles of elders and counsellors to the monarch.
    • Xerxes’ literacy remains uncertain, as the Persians preferred oral tradition to written texts. Richard Stoneman, a scholar, posits that Xerxes’ upbringing and education may have been comparable to those of subsequent Iranian monarchs, including Abbas the Great, the 17th-century King of the Safavid Empire. Beginning in 498 BCE, Xerxes inhabited the royal palace of Babylon.
    • In 486 BCE, while Darius was gearing up for another conflict with Greece, a rebellion erupted in Egypt, prompted by exorbitant taxes and the conscription of artisans to construct the royal palaces at Susa and Persepolis. Pursuant to Persian law, the king was obligated to designate a successor prior to embarking on perilous campaigns. Consequently, when Darius resolved to depart for Egypt, he arranged for his tomb at Naqsh-e Rustam and appointed his eldest son by Atossa, Xerxes, as his successor. Darius was unable to command the campaign because of his deteriorating health and he passed away in October 486 BCE at the age of 64.
    • Xerxes, being the firstborn son of Darius and a descendant of Cyrus, was considered to possess a more formidable claim to the throne. Artabazenes neither contested nor disputed the verdict. King Xerxes ascended to power at approximately 35 years of age, having served as the satrap of Babylonia for over a decade.

    REVOLTS IN BABYLON AND EGYPT

    • Upon accession to the throne, one of Xerxes’ initial responsibilities was to address a rebellion in Egypt. The insurrection commenced during Darius’s reign, but he perished prior to its suppression. King Xerxes commanded the Persian army to quell the insurrection in about 484 BCE. Nevertheless, the turmoil persisted as another insurrection erupted in Babylon. Cyrus and Darius both esteemed Babylon as a significant component of the empire, designating themselves as ‘King of Babylon’.
    • Xerxes I, however, relinquished the title instead to designate himself as ‘King of the Persians and the Medes’. He partitioned the Babylonian satrapy into smaller districts and imposed substantial taxes. In addition to enhancing the city’s status, this seemed to provoke a series of revolts. Contemporary records state that it is improbable that Xerxes obliterated the temples, positing that the narrative of such destruction may stem from an anti-Persian bias among the Babylonians. The removal of the statue from Babylon is questionable, and some have posited that Xerxes did indeed remove a statue from the city. However, it is argued that this statue was a golden representation of a man rather than that of the deity Marduk.
    • Despite a significant reduction of references compared to previous eras, modern texts indicate that the Babylonian New Year’s Festival persisted in some capacity during the Achaemenid Empire. 
    • The transition of power from the Babylonians to the Persians, coupled with Xerxes’ replacement of the city’s leading families after its insurrection, likely resulted in significant alterations to the festival’s traditional rituals and ceremonies.

    GREEK CAMPAIGNS

    • Xerxes I holds a notorious position in Greek history owing to his extensive invasion in 480 BCE. Xerxes pursued retribution for his father’s defeat at Marathon 10 years prior. Following a naval triumph at Artemisium, the Persians obliterated the troops of Spartan King Leonidas at Thermopylae. Xerxes’ forces thereafter wreaked havoc in Greece, resulting in the sacking of Athens.
    • Subsequently, while Xerxes seemed to be achieving a favourable result in his campaign, the Greeks achieved an unexpected victory at the naval battle of Salamis, which altered the course of the struggle. 
    • From the summit of a hill overlooking the conflict, Xerxes saw his fleet succumb to a strategic ruse orchestrated by the Athenian general Themistocles. His fleet was incapacitated. Following the battle, Xerxes withdrew the majority of his remaining troops to Persia. 
    • Xerxes considered the incineration of Athens a sufficient triumph and entrusted his general and brother-in-law Mardonius with the ongoing conquest of Greece.
    Scene of the Battle of Plataea
    Scene of the Battle of Plataea
    • Mardonius was slain, and the Persians were vanquished in Plataea in 479 BCE. Approximately concurrently, a third confrontation at Mycale decimated a significant portion of the remaining Persian forces. Xerxes’ imperial aspirations in Greece were obstructed, and few of his soldiers completed the arduous return to Persia. 
    • To initiate his invasion of Greece, Xerxes intended to traverse the Hellespont. Referred to in contemporary terminology as the Dardanelles Strait, this crucial channel delineates the separation between mainland Asia and the Gallipoli Peninsula. Xerxes ordered the construction of flax and papyrus pontoons across the Hellespont to facilitate the crossing of his vast army. Nevertheless, the river demonstrated its capricious nature, and a tempest obliterated the pontoons. Xerxes, believing the water had plotted against him, ordered the punishment of the Hellespont for its defiance. Herodotus states that Xerxes subsequently ordered the beheading of the initial engineering crew. The subsequent squad achieved tremendous success, and the Persian army ultimately traversed the Hellespont. Herodotus asserted that Xerxes transported five million men across the bridges over seven days.
    • Nevertheless, contemporary historians contend that this was significantly overstated for dramatic effect. Current estimates indicate that Xerxes traversed the Hellespont with approximately 360,000 soldiers. 
    • The army thereafter advanced through Thrace, located in the present-day Balkans, and invaded Greece after traversing Macedonia, a tributary state of Persia. 

    GREEK RESURGENCE

    • Following the defeats at Plataea and Mycale, Persian dominance in the Aegean was severely weakened. The Greeks, under the leadership of Pausanias of Sparta, commenced a counteroffensive to liberate Greek colonies in Asia Minor. Athens and its allied city-states, which constituted the Delian League, were significant donors. The Greeks initially expelled Persian garrisons from Thrace.
    • Subsequently, in 478 BCE, Pausanias subdued Byzantium. Pausanias, who had commanded the Greeks in their triumph at Plataea, now committed the unprecedented act of negotiating peace with King Xerxes. 
    • Notwithstanding the setback in Greece, Persia continued to be a formidable powerhouse and persisted as a significant threat. In 475 BCE, the Athenian general Cimon vanquished Pausanias and secured Byzantium for the Delian League.
    • Xerxes commenced the mobilisation of a new contingent to confront the Greek intruders. In 466 BCE, Cimon triumphed against the Persians twice in a single day at the Battle of Eurymedon, located on the southern coast of Asia Minor. 
    • Initially, he obliterated a Persian fleet dispatched to confront him. Subsequently, he vanquished a Persian ground force on the shore despite numerical inferiority. Occurrences in mainland Greece hindered Cimon’s subsequent operations. However, the defeat at Eurymedon guaranteed that Persia would refrain from invading Greece again. 

    ASSASSINATION OF XERXES I

    • Following the depletion of Persia’s finances due to his unsuccessful military endeavours and extravagant construction initiatives, it is conceivable that King Xerxes was an unpopular sovereign. In 465 BCE, Xerxes and his son Darius were allegedly slain by Artabanus, a prominent individual in the Persian court. The origins of Artabanus are ambiguous: he was either one of Xerxes’ principal officers or possibly a member of the royal bodyguard. 
    • Artabanus may have received the backing of Megabyzus, the Babylonian satrap wed to one of Xerxes’ daughters. However, upon Xerxes’ assassination, Megabyzus betrayed Artabanus. In retaliation, Xerxes’ surviving son, Artaxerxes I, executed Artabanus and his progeny, subsequently reclaiming the throne. 
    • Subsequent uprisings emerged in regions such as Egypt and Bactria, resulting in additional confrontations with Greece. 
    • Ironically, Artaxerxes’ reign commenced in precisely the same manner as that of his father. Xerxes continued to be a reviled figure in Greece posthumously. During Alexander the Great’s invasion of Persia more than a century later, he aimed to exact vengeance on Xerxes by assaulting his palace at Persepolis in retaliation for the destruction of Athens. 

    Frequently Asked Questions About Xerxes I

    • Who was Xerxes I?

      Xerxes I (reigned 486–465 BCE) was the fourth king of the Achaemenid Empire in Persia.

    • What was Xerxes I known for?

      Xerxes I is most famous for leading the second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BCE), including the battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea.

    • What happened at the Battle of Thermopylae?

      In 480 BCE, Xerxes’ forces defeated a small Greek army led by King Leonidas of Sparta at Thermopylae. Despite their victory, the Greeks' heroic stand became a symbol of resistance.