Biblical Profile: Xerxes I

Xerxes I

Xerxes I, who reigned over the Persian Empire from 486 to 465 BC, was the son and successor of Darius I (Hystaspes). He inherited a vast empire from his father and his maternal grandfather (Cyrus II), but he was unable to govern Persia effectively due to his cruelty and instability.

Early in Xerxes’ reign, Egypt and Babylon revolted against Persian rule. Xerxes crushed the revolts and kept the tax revenues flowing, but his brutal treatment of his subjects began cementing his reputation for despotism.

In the third year of his reign, Xerxes convened an assembly of his leaders to plan an invasion of Greece. (The book of Esther begins with a banquet that probably reflects that situation.) In 480 BC the legendary but ill-fated campaign to conquer Greece began. Xerxes’ tyrannical cruelty is exemplified by two accounts that Herodotus records from this campaign. When he and his armies reached the Hellespont (the waterway connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean), his engineers built a bridge so his armies could cross, but a storm destroyed the bridge. Xerxes responded by beheading the engineers and whipping the water before building a stronger bridge. Later in the campaign, after he had burned Athens, his fleet was defeated at Salamis. Xerxes responded by executing the admiral of the Phoenician fleet, and the Phoenicians and Egyptians deserted him. Only the Persian fleet remained, and it was defeated by the Greeks in 479 BC. Xerxes was forced to retreat. Afterward, Xerxes turned his attention to matters at home, such as massive building projects at Susa and Persepolis, and the events recorded in Esther.