Who was xerxes i?
First Vice President Gabrielle walker
image courtesy of wikimedia commons
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What causes the names of famous individuals to be scorched onto the pages of history books while others are left to melt into obscurity? Known as Xerxes the Great to some and King Xerxes I of Persia to many, he is painted out to be one of the greatest failures of antiquity, but he is much more than his losses. He is known most notably for his participation in the Persian wars along with his noteworthy defeat at the battle of Salamis. Although Xerxes’s legacy is tainted by this failure, his many victories such as his repression of Babylonian and Egyptian revolts and his success, in the battle of Thermopylae, reveals his military prowess. The various
efforts of Xerxes I during his lifetime creates a unique story of his great losses and even greater triumphs.
To start off, Xerxes’s aptitude during the revolts of Babylon and Egypt, as well as his victory, during the battle of Thermopylae, highlights his overwhelming doggedness and passion. Born around 519 BCE as the son of Darius I, a great military leader, and grandson of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, Xerxes I was already expected to become something great. At his ascension to his throne, Xerxes faced one
evident conflict, which was the current coup broiling in both Egyptian and Babylonian territory. Although both his father and grandfather were in Egypt’s and Babylon’s good graces during their reigns, the ongoing coup prompted him to use more stringent measures in order to curb the insurrection. In order to quell the coup and any other coups from occurring in the future, Xerxes reprimanded Egypt by destroying the river delta, which was a main water source. As for the Babylonians, Xerxes tore down many temples and fortresses, and also destroyed the patron gods of Babylon. Due to the lengths he took to suppress the insurrection, Xerxes was no longer allowed to refer to himself as a king of either Babylon or Egypt, and opted to refer to himself as merely the king of Persia. After the events of the Babylonian and Egyptian revolts, Xerxes opted to continue the battles that his father, Darius I, started between Greece and Persia. A blot on Xerxes’s achievements was by far the battle of Salamis, which was considered the turning point in the Persian wars. The battle of Salamis was set behind the backdrop of a naval battle. Athes specialized in naval warfare, as a ressult their ships were easily able to outmaneuver the large and ponderous Persian ships.
One may refer to Xerxes the Great as a failure blinded by hubris and arrogance, or a monster whose goal was to destroy a meek and motley crew of Greek city-states, but a different light can be shone onto his story. He was also an ardent and unshakable King who quelled insurrection for the good of his empire and a man on a quest to avenge his father’s honor. It was through Xerxes the Great’s stern nature and emboldened spirit that he was able to launch the campaign that his father began and, although it ultimately resulted in a failure, Xerxes’s boundless perseverance is the trait of a truly great individual.