Iran during the reign of Xerxes
Introduction
History often portrays Xerxes as a weak and ineffective ruler. His reign is considered to be the beginning of the downfall of the Achaemenid Empire. On the other hand, his large scale development plans and his lack of interest in military campaigns can be viewed as the characteristics of a ruler more interested in internal development than foreign expansion. This chapter will provide a summary of Xerxes’ reign and will also discuss the names of Achaemenid kings.
Iran at the dawn of Xerxes’ Accession
Based on Babylonian economic tablets, Darius passed away in December of 485 BC. Immediately, the tablets were dated by the regal year of Xerxes, who previously occupied the role of the viceroy of Babylon. The same economic tablets portray a picture of a prosperous country with the lowest interest rates during the one and a half centuries that had passed from the golden days of Nebuchadnezzar I.
The transfer of power from Darius to Xerxes was largely peaceful and calm. We know that although Darius died in Persepolis, the official accession ceremonies of Xerxes were conducted at the Apadana palace of Susa, and that city became the de facto capital of the Achaemenid Empire during the reign of Xerxes. Other than a small rebellion in the Satrapi of Bactria, led by Xerxes’ older brother Ariamenes, we have no report of any further uprisings against the new emperor. The Bactrian rebellion was peacefully suppressed when Xerxes bought loyalty of his brother by offering the governance of Bactria and Sogdiana, as well as the supreme command of the royal navy.
Achaemenid Relief from Susa
The rise of Susa as an important political centre also marked the increasing importance of the former Elamite and Persian provinces as the trade centres of the empire. Our information about the economic situation of Bactria, Sogdiana, and other Central Asian provinces are minimal due to lack of any firsthand evidence. Still, based on their Middle Iranian parallels, we can imagine that these provinces were already gaining importance as trade stations between China and West Asia. This is further evident by Xerxes’ early campaigns in that region and establishment of two new Satrapis called Dahae and “Mountain Satrapi”, located to the east and northeast of Sogdiana and Bactria. These two Satrapies formed the new frontier of the Persian Empire against the nomadic tribes of Steppes and created a buffer zone between the nomads and the settled population of the empire.
We also have no information about the economic situation in the Median and Parthia, but we can imagine that their economy was based on settled agriculture and cattle herding. Parthia in particular played an important role in breeding horses for the use of the famed Persian cavalry.
Almost immediately after Xerxes’ accession, a rebellion in Egypt, which soon expanded to Palestine, consumed the westernmost satrapis of the empire. Xerxes himself led the small army that was sent to pacify this uprising. Egyptian papyri show the re-establishment of Persian power over the Lower and Upper Egypt as early as 484 BC. Xerxes appointed his brother, Acheamenes, as the new ruler of Ehypt, but refused to be crowned in the Egyptian style. This action resulted in a dissatisfaction of the Egyptian clergy with Persian rule for the first time since Cambyses invasion of the kingdom.
The rule of Xerxes
Xerxes’ policies generally followed that of his father Darius and his reforms. With the establishment of new satrapies, Xerxes would follow the same pattern of appointing a mixed government of local and Persian rulers and to grant local independence to the rulers. However, in his religious policies, Xerxes greatly differed from Darius. As mentioned before, Darius was a strict follower of Zoroastrianism and constantly reminds us of the will and favour of Ahuramazda and Arta (“rightness”, see chapter on Zoroastrianism) behind his every action. However, we have no evidence that Darius ever tried to force his beliefs on the people of his empire, and he is generally considered a generous ruler in the matters of religious freedom.
On the other hand, Xerxes, in one of his inscriptions, tells us “… and in one of these countries, there places where false gods were worshipped. Afterward, with the favour of Ahuramazda, I destroyed the sanctuaries of the demons and I declared that demons should not be worshipped. Where before demons were worshipped, I worshipped Ahuramazda...” (Kent, XPh). This is the first time an Achaemenid Emperor tells us about forcing his beliefs on part of his population. In this case, the people in question were probably the “Kafir” people of the newly conquered “Mountain Satrapi” (ancestors of Nouristanis in present day Afghanistan who kept their “demon worship” religion until the late 19th century AD!).
An Achaemenid Coin
Xerxes’ strong religious beliefs also caused the alienation of the Egyptian clergy when he refused to be crowned with the Egyptian traditions and with the blessing of the god “Amon-Ra”. Although the immediate outcome, the refusal of the clergy to inscribe Xerxes’ name on the coffin of Ra’s bull, were minimal, this event can be credited for the re-emergence of Egyptian opposition that eventually separated Egypt from the rest of the empire.
The most serious episode of Xerxes’ prejudice occurred in the case of the rebellion in Babylon. From August 10-29th of 482 BC, a local Babylonian nobleman called Bel-Shimanni, declared himself the king of Babylon and killed Satrap Zopyrus. In the same year, economic documents of Bar-sippa and Dilbat were dated by his reign. On September 22, Shamash-eriba deposed and replaced Bel-Shimanni in Bar-sippa and Babylon itself. Megabyzus, Xerxes’ brother-in-law and general, immediately descended upon Babylon with a huge force and crushed the rebellion. As punishment, Xerxes started a campaign to destroy Babylon’s independence and central role in the empire’s financial system. After destroying the magnificent fortification of Babylon, and confiscating the property of the local nobility, he separated Syria from Babylon and make it into a separate Satrapi. He also joined Babylon with the Satrapi of Assyria, and the province was renamed Chaldea. But the most severe punishment was the removal of the golden statue of the god Marduk from the Esagila temple which ended Babylon’s role as the centre of power in Mesopotamia.
Xerxes’ Greek Campaign
For many historians, Xerxes’ campaigns in Greece and the consequent defeats that he faced formed the most important episode of the Emperor’s reign. However, the exaggerated significance of these campaigns can be attributed to their importance for the Greeks, who also wrote the narrative history of the Greco-Persian wars. Basically, from the Persian point of view, the Greco-Persian wars constituted a local confrontation in the north-western corner of their empire. On the other hand, for Greeks, the struggle against the Persian Empire and their eventual victory meant saving their independence, as well as guaranteeing their power in the Aegean.
As we mentioned before, Xerxes was greatly uninterested in foreign campaigns and other than suppressing local uprisings, seldom attempted the continuation of his predecessors’ conquests. History tells us that the motivation behind the Greek campaign was provided by the former Athenian exiles in the court of the Great King who found an ally in the person of Mardonius, Xerxes’ friend and commander. The concern was that with the formation of the Delian League, the Ionian colonies in Asia Minor might also be tempted to join the European Greeks and a general rebellion against the Persian rule could develop.
The activities of the Delian agents in Ionia initiated the first wave of Persian offence, led by Megabyzus, another of Xerxes’ commanders and close relatives, in 479 BC. The Persian army soon advanced to the European Greece and was stopped by a collected Spartan-Corinthian force at the Thermopylae Pass. The Greek accounts tell us that Xerxes himself was commanding the armies at this point, having led the troops over a boat-bridge made over the Hellespont Strait. However, there is no reason to believe that the Great King himself would have felt the need to command his armies in such a small scale campaign. The fact that in the later stages of the campaign we only hear of Mardonius and Xerxes’ brother can lead us to believe that the presence of Xerxes himself might have been added by the Greeks to increase the dramatic narrative of events.
After a stand-off in Thermopylae and the defeat of the Greeks, the Persian army advanced on Athens, the leader of the Delian League. The high point of the campaign came when Mardonius ordered the burning of Acropolis of Athens, a move that might not have bothered the Persians much, but certainly remained in the Greek minds until Alexander took revenge by setting Persepolis on fire. At this point, the Greeks gathered a navy with the help of all members of the Delian League and challenged the Persians in a sea battle in the Bay of Salamis. The Persian navy, mainly consisted of Phoenician and Cypriot ships, was caught in the bay and badly defeated.
This event carried significant results for the Greeks, since it guaranteed their dominance in the Aegean and central Mediterranean. In the concept of world history, the rise of the Greek naval power probably brought the fall of Phoenician influence in the Western Mediterranean and the independence of Carthage which claimed the title of the new power in that region. On the other hand, the defeat of the Persian army, coupled with the decline of power in the Persian court, marked the extent of the Persian Empire to the west.
Xerxes in Iran
The rule of Xerxes in Iran is marked by his determination to erect palaces and buildings in various cities of his Empire. In fact, this rapid building activity was so effective that most of what we know today as Achaemenid sites can be dated back to the time of Xerxes. In his early years, Xerxes completed his father’s Apadana palace in Susa, making it a one of the most important royal centres for the Empire. His further building activities can also be seen in Ecbatana, the summer residence of the Persian Emperors since the time of Cyrus.
The foundations of the Persepolis platform on the foot of the Mount of Mercy in Persia were built by Darius who also constructed at least two palaces there. Xerxes in turn took the Persepolis cause to his heart and built no less than three palaces, as well as the famous staircases, the Gate of All Nations, and the building known as the Treasury. From the Persepolis fortification tablets (a series of financial tablets in Neo-Elamite), we can see the extended effects of Xerxes’ building activities. Wood carvers, stone cutters, painters, jewellers, weavers, and all other artisans from around the empire were called to Persepolis and paid handsomely to create great palaces for the Great King. Although the purpose of Persepolis buildings have never been quite clear-since it is certainly not the ‘capital’ of the empire-it is obvious that their significance as the royal palace complex was known in the antique world.
Soldiers in Persepolis
Other than the usual business of maintaining irrigation canals of Mesopotamia, we can imagine that Xerxes might have continued to expand the Royal Road of Susa-Sardis to facilitate the communication and trade. Although not mentioned in Greek sources, the existence of such roads in the east, particularly in the economically important areas of Elam, Persia, Karmania, and Drangiana, is also quite conceivable.
The building activities of Xerxes also affected his Satraps around the empire. Achaemenid buildings in Asia Minor, particularly the Satrapies of Capadocia and Pontus are still visible. Generally, the relative peace and prosperity of Xerxes’ reign contributed to the expansion of trade and culture around the empire. Many pastoral tribes in Parthia, Sogdiana, Khwarazmia, and Bactria started to settle and for the first time, we have signs of the rise of local aristocracy. Hyrcania, previously part of Parthia, developed into a prosperous new Satrapi that specialised in trade with the north, probably via the eastern Sakas, and also supplied a famous regiment of cavalry to the royal army.
The prosperity of the empire, along with the Great King’s tendency to surround himself with close friends, gave rise to palace intrigues and conspiracies in the royal Harem. Stories about Xerxes’ seduction of his eldest son’s wife present us with the picture of a wealthy and secure empire that was entering the first stages of decline and corruption. In fact, the parallels between this decline in the Persian Empire with what happened in the Roman Empire about 500 years later is striking.
Xerxes’ own end is too similar to the end of many Roman Emperors. After 20 years of prosperous reign in which his territories grew from a conglomerate of conquered states to a cohesive empire, Xerxes was murdered in 465 BC by the commander of his royal guards, Artabanes (OP. Artawan). The rumours of the involvement of the chief eunuch and even one of Xerxes’ wives survived until the Herodotus’ times. Whatever the case, this event, like many others in Xerxes’ reign, can be marked as the first serious consequence of court power struggles on the politics of the Persian Empire. Artawan, along with his allies, chose Artaxerxes, Xerxes’ second son, to replace his father, although soon they realised their mistake and decided to remove him as well. Artaxerxes’ exceptional abilities pacified Artwan and other court conspirators, but it by no means was successful in putting an end to the similar events in the latter half of the Persian Empire.
Note on Achaemenid Names
A future chapter, prior to the story of the Sasanians, will be dedicated to the concept of the “National Iranian History”. Here it suffices to point out that as far as we can observe, the memory of much of the Achaemenid history was lost by people of the Sasanian and post-Islamic times. Among the forgotten items were the names of some of the kings, which never developed into their Middle and New Persian forms. Today in Iran, the names of some of the Achaemenid Emperors are either used in the original format, such as Kurosh for Cyrus (O.Per. Kurosh), or some reconstructed formats based on Greek or even French parallels. Among the latter, we can point out Dariush (from Greek Darius; O.Per. darya-vahaush) or Kambiz (Fr. Cambis, from Gr. Kambyses; O.Per. Kambujia).
The name of Artaxerxes (O.Per. arta-xshathra “king of rightness”) survived as a common name for the rulers of Persis during the Seleucid and Arsacid times, eventually given to the founder of the Sasanian Empire, Ardashir. Darius, daryavahaush of Old Persian, developed to Dārā, surviving into Classical Persian works. < /p>
The case of Xerxes is most peculiar. There is no general agreement among linguists on how Greeks created this name from the original Old Persian khshayarshan (“King of Good Men”). The name, with all its glory, almost completely disappeared from any local Iranian records until the early 20th century when it was reconstructed from O.Per. as Khashaayaarshaa (sic.). It further underwent the dropping of the last section, mistaken for “shah” or king, and was shortened to Khashayar, commonly used in Iran today. It is indeed one of the most interesting linguistic events in the Iranian philology!
All Images courtsy of University of Alabama, Birmingham
For Further Reading
Briant, Pierre. From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. Eisenbrauns, 2002
Herodotus. The Histories. Translated by Aubrey de Salincourt. Revised by John Marincola. Penguin Classics, London, 1996
Kent, R.G.Old Persian: Grammer, Text, Lexicon. American Oriental Society, 1953
Olmstead, Arthur T. History of the Persian Empire. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1970
Schwartz, Martin. "The Religion of Acheamenian Iran", in Ilia Gershevitch ed. Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. II. CUP, 1985
Curtis, John (ed.). Mesopotamia and Iran in the Persian Period, British Museum Press, London, 1997
(http://home.btconnect.com/CAIS/History/ brief_history_of_persian_empire.htm)
(http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/MiddleEast/Persia.html )
Wikipedia History of Persia (http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of _Persia)
Old Persian Texts (http://www.avesta.org/op/op.htm)
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This chapter will provide a summary of Xerxes’ reign and will also discuss the names of Achaemenid kings.
