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Notes for Xerxes by the Syllabus Dot Points:
Political, social, economic and religious contexts
Geography, topography and resources of the Persian Empire
Overview of Persian political, social and military structures
Expansion of the Persian Empire
Overview of religion in the Persian Empire
Personal background, social position and status
· Xerxes was born a prince in the royal court and would have had all the respect and prestige associated with his position.
Family background and early career
· Xerxes was not the eldest son of King Darius I
· Darius had three older sons by another wife while he was still a commoner.
· After he became king, Darius married Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great. Xerxes was the eldest son of this marriage.
· Xerxes was the son of a king, grandson of the founder of the empire and the son with the most royal blood.
· Xerxes had possibly been viceroy or governor of Babylon for 12 years and, if so, this would have given him good experience in government and administration.
· Herodotus recorded that Persian males were educated between the ages of five and twenty, and that they were taught “to ride, to use the bow and to speak the truth” (The Histories; Herodotus)
· The following is an extract from a text inscribed by Xerxes’ father, Darius, on his tomb at Naqsh-i Rustam: “Trained am I both with hands and feet. As a horseman I am a good horseman. As bowman I am a good bowman both afoot and on horseback. As a spearman I am a good spearman both afoot and on horseback.”
· Some scholars have suggested that Xerxes shared a co-regency with his father in the last eleven years of Darius’ reign. This is based on a Persepolis inscription in which Xerxes is said to have become king after Darius ‘left the throne’. Darius, then, may have stepped aside in favour of his son.
· Another version of this same text, in the Akkadian language uses the term ‘he went to his fate’. This, according to M.A Dandamaev, indicates that Darius died before Xerxes’ accession, thus excluding the possibility of a co-regency.
· Xerxes was the eldest grandson of Cyrus the Great, and the son of Darius and Atossa, Cyrus’ daughter.
Persian Education
· Xerxes education would have included the importance of speaking the truth, praying, studying music, learning from Persian legends, and rigorous training in all physical accomplishments, including horsemanship, throwing spears, shooting bow and arrows, hunting and tracking.
· Xerxes would have been brought up in the harem until the age of five.
· Until he was 15, he would have learned archery and fighting on foot and horseback.
· The boys were taught in groups of 50, those of noble birth being appointed nominal officers.
· They had to take part in grueling cross-country foot races.
· They were trained to endure extreme temperatures and to scavenge for their own provisions.
· At about the age of 20, recruits were presumably ready to take their places in the king’s standing army.
· Xerxes was probably not literate as he used scribes.
Significant events and achievements
Succession
· The succession of Xerxes to the Persian throne after the death of his father Darius, appears to have gone smoothly. There was no challenge to the throne unlike that to latter kings.
· Darius’ eldest son was Artabazanes, who was born before his father was king, by a commoner wife.
· Xerxes was born after his father’s accession to the throne. His mother Atossa was the daughter of Cyrus the Great.
· Sometime after 498BC, Xerxes appears to have become his father’s representative in Babylon. Xerxes also appears in reliefs at Persepolis behind his father Darius.
· According to Ctesias, Xerxes’ brother Ariamenes, satrap of Bactria, contested the throne but was won over by gifts and the promise that he would be second in the kingdom after Xerxes. Ariamenes crowned the new King and remained loyal, dying a hero at Salamis.
· Herodotus gives a different version: a violent quarrel broke out between Darius’ sons over the succession. A deposed Spartan king named Demeratus told Darius that in Sparta the custom was for the son born after his father became king to become king himself. Darius proclaimed Xerxes heir.
· Herodotus believed that Xerxes would have become king anyway, ‘because of the immense influence of Atossa’.
· An inscription dating to the beginning of Xerxes’ reign alludes to his power struggle: “Other sons of Darius there were – thus unto Ahura Mazda was the desire – Darius my father made me the greatest after himself”.
· J.M Cook points out that Xerxes had a stronger claim than his brother because his mother, Atossa, was the daughter of Cyrus the Great. (The Persian Empire; J.M Cook)
· An inscription from Xerxes’ reign clearly shows that he was proud of his Achaemenid ancestry. Like Darius, he claimed the divine sanction of Ahura Mazda for his reign. “A great god is Ahura Mazda…who made Xerxes king, one king of many…I am Xerxes, the great king…song of Darius the king, an Achaemenid, a Persian…by the favour of Ahura Mazda…” (History of the Persian Empire; A.T Olmstead)
Administration of the empire
· The empire was a hereditary monarchy (king who inherited the throne from his father). The descendants of Achaemenes, the Achaemenids, formed the royal dynasty and ruled by the grace of Ahura Mazda. The Great King was not a god, but an absolute monarch, administering the realm from his palaces.
· The king had considerable assistance in administering the empire.
· High officials were appointed form the royal family and nobles as they were more likely to be loyal to the king.
· The empire was divided into administrative areas called satrapies. When Xerxes became king there were over 20, each ruled by a satrap responsible to the king.
· The king also appointed a satrap’s secretary and commander of the garrison.
· The satrap collected tribute, raised military levies, dispensed justice, administered the economy and minted silver coinage.
· The law was administered locally with a right of appeal to the satrap or even the Great king himself, assisted by a panel of royal judges who formed a High Court and held office for life.
· Wherever possible, the Persian rulers tried to keep local institutions in each new area to prevent disruption.
Revolts in the empire
· Within Persia itself, the change from Darius to Xerxes was smooth, but Xerxes had to contend with several revolts in the empire during the early years of his reign/
Egypt
· Given encouragement by the Persian defeat at Marathon, Egypt rebelled in 486BC in protest against a rise in taxes designed to finance the invasion of Greece, against the corruption of the Persian administration and against the policy of skilled workers begin taken to work as labourers on building projects.
· Darius died before he could put down the revolt.
· Xerxes may have gone to Egypt himself. By 484BC, the revolt had been suppressed.
· Property of many temples was confiscated and the treatment of the people became harsher.
· Xerxes’ brother Achaemenes was appointed as satrap.
· Xerxes broke with the tradition of posing as native ruler and built no temples. He became an unpopular king in Egypt.
· Shortly before the death of Darius, the satrapy of Egypt rose in revolt, apparently as a protest against the heavy taxes imposed by the Persians.
· Xerxes was left to deal with this protest, which he ruthlessly suppressed. He showed Egypt no mercy. Previously Cyrus, Cambyses and Darius had adopted Egyptian pharaonic titles but Xerxes did not.
· He appears to have authorised no buildings in Egypt, and Egyptian officials filled only the lowest positions in administration.
· Also, Xerxes confiscated temple lands, earning him the hatred of Egyptian priests,
· He then appointed his brother Achaemenes to replace the satrap Pherendates, who had apparently been killed during the revolt.
Babylon
· Two revolts in Babylon occurred: one in 484BC and the other in 482BC when the satrap Zopyrus was killed. The Babylonians were discontented because of taxation, the loss of skilled workers and the upkeep of the Persian court and garrison there.
· Xerxes sent his brother-in-law Megabyzus to crush the revolt.
· Babylon was severely punished: the fortifications were torn down, the leaders were executed and their land was given to Persian nobles. A minor gold statue from the temple of Bel Marduk was taken, a priest who objected to this was killed, the Euphrates River was diverted to divide the city and taxation remained high.
· Xerxes seems to have dropped the title of “King of Babylon” from his official titles.
· The satrapy of “Babylon and the Lands Beyond the River” lost its identity by being divided into two smaller satrapies, reducing Babylon’s political status. Babylon does not seem to have suffered economically after the revolt.
· The Babylonians seemed to have resented the heavy taxation imposed by Xerxes and the forced removal of labourers to work on his monuments.
· When Babylon revolted for the second, and last time, Xerxes was not so lenient. Among the punishments inflicted on the Babylonians was the destruction of the fortifications of Babylon, the execution of some priests, the infliction of damage on major religious sanctuaries and the confiscation and removal to Persepolis of valuable religious property.
· Babylon lost its former political significance as a special province of the Achaemenid empire and was absorbed into the new satrapy of Assyria.
Wars against the Greeks
· Xerxes inherited his father’s plan to add Greece to the Persian empire, to take revenge on Athens for the help they had given the Ionains during the Ionian Revolt and for the defeat inflicted on the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490BC.
· Until 483BC, revolts and internal problems had delayed Xerxes’ plans for invasion.
Internal pressure
· There was significant pressure within Persia for Xerxes to invade Greece.
· For example, as told by Herotodus, there was a lot of pressure from Mardonius, Xerxes’ brother-in-law who wanted to be governor of Greece.
· European Greece would have been a profitable addition to the empire, certainly, but at the centre of Xerxes’ decision there must have been the feeling that he was honour bound to attack the Athenians since his father had failed to punish them.
Reasons for the attack on Greece
· It is believed that Xerxes was greatly influenced by his cousin Mardonius, who was ambitious to become the satrap of newly conquered territory. He urged Xerxes to carry out Darius’ plan to attack Greece.
· Queen Atossa was a very ambitious woman who also urged Xerxes to attack Greece, as she wanted her son to be acclaimed a worthy successor to Darius. She wanted to see the boundaries of the empire extended.
· Xerxes himself wanted to acquire new territory and to be seen as a worthy successor to Darius. Only Xerxes’ uncle Artabanus felt that the enterprise was too ambitious and feared defeat for the Persians.
· Xerxes received envoys from Thessaly promising aid, and the exiled family from Athens, the Peisistraditids, was willing to help Persia.
· Since the attack by Darius across the Aegean Sea had failed, Xerxes decided to invade Greece from the north. The army was to be supported by the fleet.
Preparations
· Xerxes mobilised the resources of an immense empire for the expedition and spent approximately four years preparing.
· Huge supply depots were established along the route through Thrace and Macedonia.
· Engineers were engaged on large projects:
�* The bridge across the Hellespont allowed all the troops and supplies to cross from Asia into Europe. The distanced bridged was 1500 metres.
�* A canal was dug through the peninsula behind Mt Athos to avoid the diaster of 492BC when Darius’ fleet was destroyed by a storm. It took two years to build. The canal was over 2000 metres and 20 metres wide. Two triremes could be rowed past each other. Large breakwaters were built at either end to prevent the canal entrance and exit from silting up.
· A bridge across the River Strymon allowed all the troops and supplies to cross safely.
· A canal was cut at Mt. Athos to avoid any storm damage to the naval boats
The army
· Herodotus says the army consisted of 1 700 000 men and was “far greater than any other in recorded history”. Modern historians suggest between 200 000 and 200 000 men.
· The army consisted of components from various parts of the empire with their own dress, weapons and tactics.
· It was organised into sub-units of 10, 100, 1000, and 10 000 men. Mede or Persian generals supervised each group.
· The main strength of the Persian army was in the Iranian cavalry and infantry, who were armed with a bow and spear.
· The cavalry was drawn from all over the empire and included both horses and camels. The light cavalry would harass the enemy from a distance with javelins and bows, while the heavy cavalry used spears at close range.
· Three generals commanded the cavalry.
· The Persian army developed from the military traditions and tactics used by the Assyrian army.
· The elite myriad of the Persian army was the king’s personal division, the 10 000 special chosen ‘Immortals’ – so called because their numbers were always kept up to 10 000. Included within the Immortals was the highest-ranking group of all, the Arstibara or king’s ‘Spearbearers’, composed of members of the Persian nobility.
· As the empire expanded the army was increased by the addition of other myriads of infantry conscripted from the subject peoples. Valuable archaeological evidence of these people can be found in the sculptured reliefs from the palace at Persepolis.
· The cavalry was the most important addition to the army.
· The Medes who were regarded as the finest horsemen in Asia, formed the cream of the cavalry.
· By the time of the campaign against Greece, cavalry included contingents of Bactrians, Sagartians, Cissians and Indians as well as Libyan chariots and Arabian camel units.
The navy
· 300 Phoenician ships formed the core of the fleet of 1 200 ships. The Egyptians were the next most important fleet with 200 ships.
· The Ionians supplied 300 ships but their loyalty was in doubt when fighting fellow Greeks.
· Four admirals commanded the fleet.
· Transport and supply vessels were also used to sail parallel to the army.
· Persia relied on the use of the navies of the maritime nations that it conquered.
· The fleets of the Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Ionians formed the core of the Persian navy to which were added smaller contingents from Eastern Mediterranean states such as Cyprus, Pamphylia, Lydia and Caria.
· The crews of these ships were manned by the marines of the subject states as well as a number of Persian sailors.
· Each state’s navy was commanded by its own naval officers under the overall command of Persian admirals.
Xerxes’ invasion of Greece
· Xerxes had three main objectives for his Greek offensive:
* to punish the Athenians for their involvement in the Ionian revolt during the time of Darius and for the Persian defeat at Marathon in 490 BC
* to extend the Persian empire into Europe by adding Greece
* to gain personal glory as his predecessors had done before him.
Persian Strategy
· Herodotus tells us “Xerxes called a conference of the leading men in the country, to find out their attitude towards the war and explain to them his own wishes.” (Book VII, section 8)
· Foreign policy was based on conquest rather than a system of alliances.
· Xerxes sent envoys to the Greek states demanding ‘earth and water’, the traditional tokens of submission. Athens and Sparta were excluded from this offer, because they were to be attacked and punished for previous offences.
· Many of the Greek states had little choice but to agree to Persian demands in view of their own defencelessness and the size of the Persian force marching against them.
· Persian policy: A vital component of Xerxes’ strategy was the decision to invade Greece by a combined land and sea attack. It was essential that the navy kept close contact with the army in order to provide it with supplies, protection and communication.
Persian logistics
· Logistics refers to the provision, movement and supply of armed forces. It includes the following:
* mobilisation (recruitment) of forces
* supply of weapons and ammunition
* provision of communications
* organisation of transport
* provision and distribution of stores (food, clothing, etc.)
Persian tactics
· Tactics concern the particular methods of fighting adopted in battle. They include:
* choice of area in which to fight
* decision about when to fight
* deployment (positioning) of troops before battle
* troop manoeuvres during battle
· Persian battle tactics relied on the use of vast numbers of soldiers.
· This tactic was more suitable for the open terrain of Persian lands than the mountains and narrow passes of Greece.
· Another feature of Persian tactics was the use of archers in initial attack. Kneeling archers would direct volleys of arrows at the enemy’s front line. The purpose of this was to panic the opposing force and prepare the way for the advance of the infantry.
· The cavalry, a vital contingent of the army, would support the infantry and archers – its mobility enabled it to harass any section of the enemy line that tried to retreat.
· Xerxes and his commanders used these tactics with varying success throughout the campaigns of 480-479 BC.
Methods of warfare
· Both armies usually put their most experienced soldiers in the centre, even though the heaviest fighting usually took place on the wings.
Preparations by the Greeks
· Mainland states looked to Sparta for leadership. Sparta was the head of an alliance of Peloponnesian states, including Thevbes, Megara, and Aegina.
· In 481BC, representatives of states willing to resist the Persians met at Sparta and pledged to put aside their feuds.
· Spies were sent to Western Asia. Xerxes captured three and allowed them to see the strength of his forces and then let them return to Greece, hoping the Greeks would submit.
· King Leonidas of Sparta was in charge of the Greek defence on land, and Eurybiades was in charge of the fleet.
· Athens provided 200 of the 334 warships. Themistocles, an Athenian, came to have a very important role in the planning and tactics used in the naval battles.
· The Greeks planned to meet the Persian army as it advanced. To protect northern Greece it would be necessary to guard the mountains between Thessaly and Macedonia. This would leave the rest of Greece open to attack.
· Thessaly appealed for aid in guarding the Olympic Pass.
· A force of 10 000 Greeks was sent to the pass at Tempe in northern Thessaly. When the Thessalians medised (changed to the Persian side), the defence at Tempe was abandoned.
· The Greek army assembled at the Isthmus of Corinth, where the Peloponnesians had decided to defend the peninsula, leaving Athens to certain destruction. Themistocles threatened to withdraw the Athenian fleet.
· The Greeks decided to hold the narrow coastal pass at Thermopylae and the channel off Cape Artemisium.
· The Greeks were aware of Xerxes plans through spies sent to Persia, but were too preoccupied with domestic concerns to respond.
· It was decided that the best overall strategy to counter the invasion was to bottle up Persia’s army and navy in narrow areas. This would make it impossible for them to deploy their huge numbers of troops and ships in traditional open formation.
· Another important strategy was to prevent the Persian fleet from carrying out its vital supporting role of maintaining the extended supply lines to the army.
Political, social, economic and religious contexts
- The political, social, economic, and religious bases on which the empire was set were firmly in place by the time Xerxes inherited the kingship.
Geography, topography and resources of the Persian Empire
- The huge size of the empire meant that there were great variations in the terrain and resources. These variations had an effect on communications, events and the amount of tribute paid by the different areas.
- The empire stretched about 1800 kilometres from the Caspian Sea in the north to the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean in the south.
- It extended about 3600 kilometres from Egypt and the coast of Ionian in the west to the Indus River in the east.
- The area included many different nationalities: Greeks, Syrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, and Indians.
- The central part of the empire, where the Persians first settled, is a great plateau at an altitude of between 1000 and 2000 kilometres above sea level, situated between the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in the south.
- The empire was rich in resources.
- Quarries produced metals such as iron, copper, gold, lead and tin, stone for building such as marble and alabaster, and many precious and semi-precious stones.
- There were many wild animals and birds: lions, bears, hares, goats, and ostriches.
- The empire produced cereal crops such as barley and wheat, fruit and vines. The Oxus River nearby was also very productive.
- Forests were exploited for their timber for building purposes.
- Trade and commerce flourished in times of peace.
Overview of Persian political, social and military structures
- The Persian political, social and military structures were all in place when Xerxes became king.
- The king was at the head of all Persian political, social and military structures.
- The Persian king:
�* Was an absolute monarch, king of kings
�* owned all land and its peoples
�* was owed obedience by all subjects
�* was expected to be a good leader
�* delegated the tasks of ruling to royalty and nobles
�* had a special relationship with the god Ahura Mazda
�* Was not divine
�* was descended from Achaemenes, founder of Persia.
- To the Persians, the ideal of Persian manhood was a warrior, one who could ride and shoot arrows.
- The nucleus of the army consisted of specially picked men, all Persians: the 10 000 Immortals.
- Custom decreed that all men up to 50 years of age had an obligation to serve their community as royal warriors.
- The army consisted of a professional core of Persians and Medes. They manned the garrisons at key points throughout the empire, at river crossings, mountain passes and on routes connecting provincial capitals with frontiers.
- The officers were Persians (many related to the king) and Medes. Native (local) officers excited but they were junior.
- Conscripting men for the satrapies could increase the army greatly in times of war.
- The Persians themselves were not a maritime power but had naval forces through their acquisition of Phoenicia, Ionia and Egypt. They had a policy of the army and navy being in contact with each other at all times during campaigns. The shops were also used to carry supplies for the army.
- There were Persian admirals in charge of the fleet, but they had very little experience in naval warfare and were dependent on their native commanders.
- Persian kingship:
�* Religious policy – beliefs, sacrifices, tolerance, or lack of tolerance
�* Administration of empire
�* Building program – inscriptions, creations, buildings
�* Warfare and expansion of empire – of all kings, whether they failed or not
�* Legitimacy and public image – legitimacy of rule
- Darius appears to have begun the worship of Ahura Mazda; Xerxes continued this policy making some important modifications of his own.
Expansion of the Persian Empire
- The vast empire that Xerxes inherited was the culmination of the work of the first three kings.
- The empire was established by Xerxes’ grandfather, Cyrus the Great, who had inherited the kingdom of Anshan in about 560BC. He was subject to the Medes in the north. Cyrus defeated Astyages, king of the Medes, in about 550BC and became king of Media as well as Anshan.
- Cyrus defeated in turn the Lydians, the Ionians, Bactrians, and Babylonians, but was killed fighting the Scythians in 530BC.
- Cyrus’ son Cambyses conquered Egypt but died on his way back to Persia.
- Darius I, Xerxes’ father, became king and put down revolts throughout the empire.
- Darius aimed to conquer Greece. He sent a combined army/navy expedition around northern Greece but the navy was wrecked in a storm. He sent a naval expedition across the Aegean Sea but the Persians were defeated by the Athenians at Marathon. He was preparing for another attempt but died before it was ready.
Overview of religion in the Persian Empire
- The Persians were very devoted to their religion
- According to the prophet Zoroaster, a religious prophet and reformer, who lived in the seventh century BC in Eastern Persia, the god Ahura Mazda created man, light and darkness and all else both material and spiritual.
- Most important among Ahura Mazda’s creations were two opposing forces: one, representing “Truth”, was called Spenta Mainyu, the Holy Spirit; the other, Angra Mainyu, the Destructive Spirit, included the “Lie”.
- Both powers were constantly at work on men whose moral responsibility was to choose between them.
- The god would judge a man after death: if the man had chosen good, he would receive eternal afterlife of ease and prosperity; if evil, his lot would be everlasting torment.
- The sacred book of the Zoroastrians was the Avesta.
- Ahura Mazda bestowed the kingship on the Achaemenids and because of this was given prominence in royal inscriptions.
- The Magi were hereditary priests, probably Median, who worked at interpreting the King’s dreams and made prophecies. They made sacrifices and accompanied the army on campaigns.
- Rituals are not clear but sacred fires were maintained in special buildings usually constructed as towers.
- The Persian kings tolerated other religions in the empire, probably for political reasons. Foreign gods were worshipped in Egypt, Babylon and other areas on the king’s behalf. Payments to foreign gods are also recorded.
Personal background, social position and status
· Xerxes was born a prince in the royal court and would have had all the respect and prestige associated with his position.
Family background and early career
· Xerxes was not the eldest son of King Darius I
· Darius had three older sons by another wife while he was still a commoner.
· After he became king, Darius married Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great. Xerxes was the eldest son of this marriage.
· Xerxes was the son of a king, grandson of the founder of the empire and the son with the most royal blood.
· Xerxes had possibly been viceroy or governor of Babylon for 12 years and, if so, this would have given him good experience in government and administration.
· Herodotus recorded that Persian males were educated between the ages of five and twenty, and that they were taught “to ride, to use the bow and to speak the truth” (The Histories; Herodotus)
· The following is an extract from a text inscribed by Xerxes’ father, Darius, on his tomb at Naqsh-i Rustam: “Trained am I both with hands and feet. As a horseman I am a good horseman. As bowman I am a good bowman both afoot and on horseback. As a spearman I am a good spearman both afoot and on horseback.”
· Some scholars have suggested that Xerxes shared a co-regency with his father in the last eleven years of Darius’ reign. This is based on a Persepolis inscription in which Xerxes is said to have become king after Darius ‘left the throne’. Darius, then, may have stepped aside in favour of his son.
· Another version of this same text, in the Akkadian language uses the term ‘he went to his fate’. This, according to M.A Dandamaev, indicates that Darius died before Xerxes’ accession, thus excluding the possibility of a co-regency.
· Xerxes was the eldest grandson of Cyrus the Great, and the son of Darius and Atossa, Cyrus’ daughter.
Persian Education
· Xerxes education would have included the importance of speaking the truth, praying, studying music, learning from Persian legends, and rigorous training in all physical accomplishments, including horsemanship, throwing spears, shooting bow and arrows, hunting and tracking.
· Xerxes would have been brought up in the harem until the age of five.
· Until he was 15, he would have learned archery and fighting on foot and horseback.
· The boys were taught in groups of 50, those of noble birth being appointed nominal officers.
· They had to take part in grueling cross-country foot races.
· They were trained to endure extreme temperatures and to scavenge for their own provisions.
· At about the age of 20, recruits were presumably ready to take their places in the king’s standing army.
· Xerxes was probably not literate as he used scribes.
Significant events and achievements
Succession
· The succession of Xerxes to the Persian throne after the death of his father Darius, appears to have gone smoothly. There was no challenge to the throne unlike that to latter kings.
· Darius’ eldest son was Artabazanes, who was born before his father was king, by a commoner wife.
· Xerxes was born after his father’s accession to the throne. His mother Atossa was the daughter of Cyrus the Great.
· Sometime after 498BC, Xerxes appears to have become his father’s representative in Babylon. Xerxes also appears in reliefs at Persepolis behind his father Darius.
· According to Ctesias, Xerxes’ brother Ariamenes, satrap of Bactria, contested the throne but was won over by gifts and the promise that he would be second in the kingdom after Xerxes. Ariamenes crowned the new King and remained loyal, dying a hero at Salamis.
· Herodotus gives a different version: a violent quarrel broke out between Darius’ sons over the succession. A deposed Spartan king named Demeratus told Darius that in Sparta the custom was for the son born after his father became king to become king himself. Darius proclaimed Xerxes heir.
· Herodotus believed that Xerxes would have become king anyway, ‘because of the immense influence of Atossa’.
· An inscription dating to the beginning of Xerxes’ reign alludes to his power struggle: “Other sons of Darius there were – thus unto Ahura Mazda was the desire – Darius my father made me the greatest after himself”.
· J.M Cook points out that Xerxes had a stronger claim than his brother because his mother, Atossa, was the daughter of Cyrus the Great. (The Persian Empire; J.M Cook)
· An inscription from Xerxes’ reign clearly shows that he was proud of his Achaemenid ancestry. Like Darius, he claimed the divine sanction of Ahura Mazda for his reign. “A great god is Ahura Mazda…who made Xerxes king, one king of many…I am Xerxes, the great king…song of Darius the king, an Achaemenid, a Persian…by the favour of Ahura Mazda…” (History of the Persian Empire; A.T Olmstead)
Administration of the empire
· The empire was a hereditary monarchy (king who inherited the throne from his father). The descendants of Achaemenes, the Achaemenids, formed the royal dynasty and ruled by the grace of Ahura Mazda. The Great King was not a god, but an absolute monarch, administering the realm from his palaces.
· The king had considerable assistance in administering the empire.
· High officials were appointed form the royal family and nobles as they were more likely to be loyal to the king.
· The empire was divided into administrative areas called satrapies. When Xerxes became king there were over 20, each ruled by a satrap responsible to the king.
· The king also appointed a satrap’s secretary and commander of the garrison.
· The satrap collected tribute, raised military levies, dispensed justice, administered the economy and minted silver coinage.
· The law was administered locally with a right of appeal to the satrap or even the Great king himself, assisted by a panel of royal judges who formed a High Court and held office for life.
· Wherever possible, the Persian rulers tried to keep local institutions in each new area to prevent disruption.
Revolts in the empire
· Within Persia itself, the change from Darius to Xerxes was smooth, but Xerxes had to contend with several revolts in the empire during the early years of his reign/
Egypt
· Given encouragement by the Persian defeat at Marathon, Egypt rebelled in 486BC in protest against a rise in taxes designed to finance the invasion of Greece, against the corruption of the Persian administration and against the policy of skilled workers begin taken to work as labourers on building projects.
· Darius died before he could put down the revolt.
· Xerxes may have gone to Egypt himself. By 484BC, the revolt had been suppressed.
· Property of many temples was confiscated and the treatment of the people became harsher.
· Xerxes’ brother Achaemenes was appointed as satrap.
· Xerxes broke with the tradition of posing as native ruler and built no temples. He became an unpopular king in Egypt.
· Shortly before the death of Darius, the satrapy of Egypt rose in revolt, apparently as a protest against the heavy taxes imposed by the Persians.
· Xerxes was left to deal with this protest, which he ruthlessly suppressed. He showed Egypt no mercy. Previously Cyrus, Cambyses and Darius had adopted Egyptian pharaonic titles but Xerxes did not.
· He appears to have authorised no buildings in Egypt, and Egyptian officials filled only the lowest positions in administration.
· Also, Xerxes confiscated temple lands, earning him the hatred of Egyptian priests,
· He then appointed his brother Achaemenes to replace the satrap Pherendates, who had apparently been killed during the revolt.
Babylon
· Two revolts in Babylon occurred: one in 484BC and the other in 482BC when the satrap Zopyrus was killed. The Babylonians were discontented because of taxation, the loss of skilled workers and the upkeep of the Persian court and garrison there.
· Xerxes sent his brother-in-law Megabyzus to crush the revolt.
· Babylon was severely punished: the fortifications were torn down, the leaders were executed and their land was given to Persian nobles. A minor gold statue from the temple of Bel Marduk was taken, a priest who objected to this was killed, the Euphrates River was diverted to divide the city and taxation remained high.
· Xerxes seems to have dropped the title of “King of Babylon” from his official titles.
· The satrapy of “Babylon and the Lands Beyond the River” lost its identity by being divided into two smaller satrapies, reducing Babylon’s political status. Babylon does not seem to have suffered economically after the revolt.
· The Babylonians seemed to have resented the heavy taxation imposed by Xerxes and the forced removal of labourers to work on his monuments.
· When Babylon revolted for the second, and last time, Xerxes was not so lenient. Among the punishments inflicted on the Babylonians was the destruction of the fortifications of Babylon, the execution of some priests, the infliction of damage on major religious sanctuaries and the confiscation and removal to Persepolis of valuable religious property.
· Babylon lost its former political significance as a special province of the Achaemenid empire and was absorbed into the new satrapy of Assyria.
Wars against the Greeks
· Xerxes inherited his father’s plan to add Greece to the Persian empire, to take revenge on Athens for the help they had given the Ionains during the Ionian Revolt and for the defeat inflicted on the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490BC.
· Until 483BC, revolts and internal problems had delayed Xerxes’ plans for invasion.
Internal pressure
· There was significant pressure within Persia for Xerxes to invade Greece.
· For example, as told by Herotodus, there was a lot of pressure from Mardonius, Xerxes’ brother-in-law who wanted to be governor of Greece.
· European Greece would have been a profitable addition to the empire, certainly, but at the centre of Xerxes’ decision there must have been the feeling that he was honour bound to attack the Athenians since his father had failed to punish them.
Reasons for the attack on Greece
· It is believed that Xerxes was greatly influenced by his cousin Mardonius, who was ambitious to become the satrap of newly conquered territory. He urged Xerxes to carry out Darius’ plan to attack Greece.
· Queen Atossa was a very ambitious woman who also urged Xerxes to attack Greece, as she wanted her son to be acclaimed a worthy successor to Darius. She wanted to see the boundaries of the empire extended.
· Xerxes himself wanted to acquire new territory and to be seen as a worthy successor to Darius. Only Xerxes’ uncle Artabanus felt that the enterprise was too ambitious and feared defeat for the Persians.
· Xerxes received envoys from Thessaly promising aid, and the exiled family from Athens, the Peisistraditids, was willing to help Persia.
· Since the attack by Darius across the Aegean Sea had failed, Xerxes decided to invade Greece from the north. The army was to be supported by the fleet.
Preparations
· Xerxes mobilised the resources of an immense empire for the expedition and spent approximately four years preparing.
· Huge supply depots were established along the route through Thrace and Macedonia.
· Engineers were engaged on large projects:
�* The bridge across the Hellespont allowed all the troops and supplies to cross from Asia into Europe. The distanced bridged was 1500 metres.
�* A canal was dug through the peninsula behind Mt Athos to avoid the diaster of 492BC when Darius’ fleet was destroyed by a storm. It took two years to build. The canal was over 2000 metres and 20 metres wide. Two triremes could be rowed past each other. Large breakwaters were built at either end to prevent the canal entrance and exit from silting up.
· A bridge across the River Strymon allowed all the troops and supplies to cross safely.
· A canal was cut at Mt. Athos to avoid any storm damage to the naval boats
The army
· Herodotus says the army consisted of 1 700 000 men and was “far greater than any other in recorded history”. Modern historians suggest between 200 000 and 200 000 men.
· The army consisted of components from various parts of the empire with their own dress, weapons and tactics.
· It was organised into sub-units of 10, 100, 1000, and 10 000 men. Mede or Persian generals supervised each group.
· The main strength of the Persian army was in the Iranian cavalry and infantry, who were armed with a bow and spear.
· The cavalry was drawn from all over the empire and included both horses and camels. The light cavalry would harass the enemy from a distance with javelins and bows, while the heavy cavalry used spears at close range.
· Three generals commanded the cavalry.
· The Persian army developed from the military traditions and tactics used by the Assyrian army.
· The elite myriad of the Persian army was the king’s personal division, the 10 000 special chosen ‘Immortals’ – so called because their numbers were always kept up to 10 000. Included within the Immortals was the highest-ranking group of all, the Arstibara or king’s ‘Spearbearers’, composed of members of the Persian nobility.
· As the empire expanded the army was increased by the addition of other myriads of infantry conscripted from the subject peoples. Valuable archaeological evidence of these people can be found in the sculptured reliefs from the palace at Persepolis.
· The cavalry was the most important addition to the army.
· The Medes who were regarded as the finest horsemen in Asia, formed the cream of the cavalry.
· By the time of the campaign against Greece, cavalry included contingents of Bactrians, Sagartians, Cissians and Indians as well as Libyan chariots and Arabian camel units.
The navy
· 300 Phoenician ships formed the core of the fleet of 1 200 ships. The Egyptians were the next most important fleet with 200 ships.
· The Ionians supplied 300 ships but their loyalty was in doubt when fighting fellow Greeks.
· Four admirals commanded the fleet.
· Transport and supply vessels were also used to sail parallel to the army.
· Persia relied on the use of the navies of the maritime nations that it conquered.
· The fleets of the Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Ionians formed the core of the Persian navy to which were added smaller contingents from Eastern Mediterranean states such as Cyprus, Pamphylia, Lydia and Caria.
· The crews of these ships were manned by the marines of the subject states as well as a number of Persian sailors.
· Each state’s navy was commanded by its own naval officers under the overall command of Persian admirals.
Xerxes’ invasion of Greece
· Xerxes had three main objectives for his Greek offensive:
* to punish the Athenians for their involvement in the Ionian revolt during the time of Darius and for the Persian defeat at Marathon in 490 BC
* to extend the Persian empire into Europe by adding Greece
* to gain personal glory as his predecessors had done before him.
Persian Strategy
· Herodotus tells us “Xerxes called a conference of the leading men in the country, to find out their attitude towards the war and explain to them his own wishes.” (Book VII, section 8)
· Foreign policy was based on conquest rather than a system of alliances.
· Xerxes sent envoys to the Greek states demanding ‘earth and water’, the traditional tokens of submission. Athens and Sparta were excluded from this offer, because they were to be attacked and punished for previous offences.
· Many of the Greek states had little choice but to agree to Persian demands in view of their own defencelessness and the size of the Persian force marching against them.
· Persian policy: A vital component of Xerxes’ strategy was the decision to invade Greece by a combined land and sea attack. It was essential that the navy kept close contact with the army in order to provide it with supplies, protection and communication.
Persian logistics
· Logistics refers to the provision, movement and supply of armed forces. It includes the following:
* mobilisation (recruitment) of forces
* supply of weapons and ammunition
* provision of communications
* organisation of transport
* provision and distribution of stores (food, clothing, etc.)
Persian tactics
· Tactics concern the particular methods of fighting adopted in battle. They include:
* choice of area in which to fight
* decision about when to fight
* deployment (positioning) of troops before battle
* troop manoeuvres during battle
· Persian battle tactics relied on the use of vast numbers of soldiers.
· This tactic was more suitable for the open terrain of Persian lands than the mountains and narrow passes of Greece.
· Another feature of Persian tactics was the use of archers in initial attack. Kneeling archers would direct volleys of arrows at the enemy’s front line. The purpose of this was to panic the opposing force and prepare the way for the advance of the infantry.
· The cavalry, a vital contingent of the army, would support the infantry and archers – its mobility enabled it to harass any section of the enemy line that tried to retreat.
· Xerxes and his commanders used these tactics with varying success throughout the campaigns of 480-479 BC.
Methods of warfare
· Both armies usually put their most experienced soldiers in the centre, even though the heaviest fighting usually took place on the wings.
Preparations by the Greeks
· Mainland states looked to Sparta for leadership. Sparta was the head of an alliance of Peloponnesian states, including Thevbes, Megara, and Aegina.
· In 481BC, representatives of states willing to resist the Persians met at Sparta and pledged to put aside their feuds.
· Spies were sent to Western Asia. Xerxes captured three and allowed them to see the strength of his forces and then let them return to Greece, hoping the Greeks would submit.
· King Leonidas of Sparta was in charge of the Greek defence on land, and Eurybiades was in charge of the fleet.
· Athens provided 200 of the 334 warships. Themistocles, an Athenian, came to have a very important role in the planning and tactics used in the naval battles.
· The Greeks planned to meet the Persian army as it advanced. To protect northern Greece it would be necessary to guard the mountains between Thessaly and Macedonia. This would leave the rest of Greece open to attack.
· Thessaly appealed for aid in guarding the Olympic Pass.
· A force of 10 000 Greeks was sent to the pass at Tempe in northern Thessaly. When the Thessalians medised (changed to the Persian side), the defence at Tempe was abandoned.
· The Greek army assembled at the Isthmus of Corinth, where the Peloponnesians had decided to defend the peninsula, leaving Athens to certain destruction. Themistocles threatened to withdraw the Athenian fleet.
· The Greeks decided to hold the narrow coastal pass at Thermopylae and the channel off Cape Artemisium.
· The Greeks were aware of Xerxes plans through spies sent to Persia, but were too preoccupied with domestic concerns to respond.
· It was decided that the best overall strategy to counter the invasion was to bottle up Persia’s army and navy in narrow areas. This would make it impossible for them to deploy their huge numbers of troops and ships in traditional open formation.
· Another important strategy was to prevent the Persian fleet from carrying out its vital supporting role of maintaining the extended supply lines to the army.
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