STRUCTURED ESSAY 1 : WHAT DID XERXES OWE TO HIS FAMILY
BACKGROUND?
There is no doubt that Xerxes owed many things to his family; things such as the
education he received, the respect with which he was treated and the throne of the
Persian Empire.
Now while little is known about the education Xerxes received as a member of
the reigning Achaemenids, there are numerous references from several sources that
describe the activities performed by the sons of Persian nobles. Herodotus writes,
“From ages five to twenty years they were trained in horsemanship, archery, and
telling the truth.” Xenophon also writes that, “until the age of sixteen or seventeen
years the sons of Persian nobles were brought up at the royal court, practicing riding,
archery, throwing the spear, and hunting.” These two quotes, accompanied by the
tomb inscription of Darius, which states, “Trained am I both with hands and with feet.
As a horseman I am a good horseman. As a bowman I am a good bowman both afoot
and on horseback. As a spearman I am a good spearman both afoot and on
horseback,” are what give historians confidence that Xerxes was trained in the finer
points of horsemanship, archery and throwing the spear. This type of education would
not have been available to just anyone and was, in fact, reserved for the sons of the
king or sons of noblemen. Xerxes was both of these; son of King Darius and a
member of the Achaemenid dynasty, therefore his education was owed to his family
background.
Another privilege appointed to Xerxes as a result of his family background is
the respect with which he was treated within the Empire. As a member of the
Achaemenes; a family of infamous nobility owing to the deeds of the great
Achaemenes, founder of the Empire, and Cyrus the Great who conquered Media,
Babylon and Lydia; Xerxes position in the autocratic society of the Empire was
assured. The social position Xerxes held ensured that he was treated with the utmost
respect and dignity, thus the respect he was given and his position within the Empire
impacted on each other and it can be said, with quiet confidence, that the respect
Xerxes received in life was a reflection on the greatness of the family, known as the
Achaemenid dynasty, to which he belonged.
The final, and most precious, item Xerxes owed to his family background was
the throne of the Persian Empire. This gift was made more unique and valuable
because of the fact that Xerxes was not Darius’ “eldest” son; he was in fact the eldest
son borne to Darius by Atossa , daughter of Cyrus the Great. There was a feud
surrounding who would succeed Darius; would it be Artabazanus, Darius’ eldest son
to his first wife, or Xerxes, grandchild of Cyrus the Great? Artabazanus is given a
position of great power and nobility; Xerxes is given the crown. Xerxes owed his
kingship to his family and especially his father Darius. After murdering “Smerdis the
Pretender” (also know as Bardiva) and securing his crown, Darius not only justified
his throne by marrying Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, but ensured that there
would be little, if any, objection to succession of his son Xerxes because he was a
direct Achaemene and therefore held precedence over all others. Xerxes also owed the
efficient system of government he inherited to his family, which, after being reformed
by Darius, required no more alterations and was more manageable and efficient than
any of his predecessors had had during their respective reigns. The empire itself is
also something Xerxes owed to his family background; without members such as
Cyrus the Great (who added Media, Lydia and Babylon to empire), Cambyses (who
conquered Egypt) and his father Darius (adding Thrace and Ionia); Xerxes would not
have had such a great and powerful Empire. Thus, Xerxes owed the fact that he
received an already established empire to his family background.
In conclusion, it can be argued that Xerxes owed many things to his family
background, including, the education he received, the respect with which he was
treated, the throne of the Persian Empire and the Empire itself.
STRUCTURED ESSAY 2: DESCRIBE XERXES EARLY CAREER AND
EDUCATION.
Xerxes entire early life can be described as training to be a king. Everything from his
education to his administration over Babylon can be seen as the basic training of
becoming king of the Persian Empire.
Herodotus describes the training of Persian nobles as follows, “They train
their sons from their fifth to their twentieth year in three things only: horsemanship,
archery, and truth telling.” As there are numerous other historical writers, such as
Xenophon and Strabis, who have written about the education of Persian children
within the court, it is highly likely that this evidence is factual and that Persian
noblemen were, in fact, trained in horsemanship, archery and honesty. Darius also
describes the education system when he writes that, “ Trained am I both with hands
and feet. As a horseman I am a good horseman. As a bowman I am a good bowman
both afoot and on horseback. As a spearman I am a good spearman both afoot and on
horseback,” as does the historian Xenephon when describing Cyrus the Younger
(later known as Cyrus the Great) and is quoted, “Cyrus was considered…remarkable
for his fondness for horses and being able to manage them extremely well. In the
soldierly arts of archery and javelin (spear) throwing they judged him to be most
eager to learn and most willing to practice them.” Therefore from all of these sources
it can be assumed, if Persian traditions were held firm, that Xerxes received an
education not dissimilar from that of his father and grandfather.
In regards to the early careers of Persian nobles, it can be noted that the
historian Strabo makes reference to the early training in leadership when he writes,
“…and then they divide the boys into companies of fifty, appoint one of the sons of the
king or satrap as leader of each company…” If this evidence is to be believed, then it
is quite possible that Olmstead’s theory about Xerxes “governing the important
Persian province of Babylon” before ascending the throne in 486 BC is feasible but
lacks actual proof because the basis of his theory is the inscription from Borsippa,
which refers to a new palace built by “the King’s son”. Olmstead claims that this
proves his theory about Xerxes administration of Babylon. However, as the
inscription does not mention Xerxes by name, it just says “King’s son”, and given the
fact that Darius had many sons; it is highly unlikely that it was Xerxes who governed
the province. Some historians believe that before Xerxes ascension, he shared a coregency with his father Darius, before he died in 486, as another step in his
administrative career. But, this theory is based on the Old Persian inscription which
states that Xerxes became king after his father, Darius, “left the throne” and the
Akkadian translation says that Xerxes became king after Darius had “went to his
fate,” or in other words, had died. Therefore it is doubtful that this theory is true
because of the lack of coinciding evidence. Also, before Xerxes ascension there was a
dispute about who should be named crown prince; Artabazanus, as the eldest son from
Darius’ first marriage, claimed that as he was older then Xerxes he should be named
heir, despite the fact that he was only his half brother and his mother was, for all
intensive purposes, a commoner. As a means of ending the feud Xerxes took the
advice of Demaratus and used the point that in Sparta “if there were sons born to a
king before their father was king and another son born later, when the father had
already succeeded to the throne, the succession passed to the later-born”. Xerxes
presented this idea to Darius and, as a result, was named crown prince before
Artabazanus. The fact that Xerxes was able to reason his way to throne, before his
brother, could be argued as a defining moment in the early career of the crown prince
of the Persian Empire.
Therefore, it is most likely that through his education and experience through
his early career that Xerxes was able to prepare himself for the role he would partake
in later on in his life.
STRUCTURED ESSAY 3: BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE SUCCESSION OF
XERXES AS KING OF PERSIA.
Xerxes succession to the throne of the Persian Empire was a journey that started long
before he was even born, with his fathers actions securing his position of nobility, and
then continued on until after he was named “crown prince”, at which point his
brothers tried to lay claim to the throne before Xerxes.
As far as Darius is concerned, he did everything in his power to ensure that
when his son, Xerxes, ascended the throne there would be little to no objection from
Persian nobles as to who should succeed. Darius’ first course of action as a contender
for the throne, after the death of Cyrus the Greats eldest son Cambysus, was to declare
civil war on Cyrus’ other son known as Bardiva, but more commonly called “Smerdis
the Pretender”. In declaring war, Darius claimed that “Smerdis” was an impostor and
that the real heir to the throne had already been killed. After defeating “Smerdis” and
usurping the throne, Darius then pursued and married Cyrus’ daughter, Atossa, as a
means of justifying his right to rule. In turn, this justification of his own right to rule,
Darius ensured the right of his future sons because not only was their father the king
of the Persian Empire but their mother was a direct descendant of the first family and
therefore Xerxes had his lineage on his side. Darius then names Xerxes the “crown
prince” of the Persian Empire, which starts a family feud between Xerxes and
Artabazanus, the eldest son from Darius’ previous marriage. The feud continued for
some time until, after much deliberation, Darius named Xerxes “crown prince”.
Xerxes succession was hindered once more after being named “crown prince”
when, as Plutarch writes, his other half brother Ariamenes “…made his way down
from the Bactrian country to contest Xerxes’ right to the kingdom.” Xerxes saw this
and “…sent him (Ariamenes) gifts, bidding those who offered them to say, ‘With
these gifts Xerxes your brother now honours you; and if he be proclaimed King, you
shall be the highest at his court.” This type of flattery, which could be argued as
bribery, was not uncommon and most probably easier than declaring civil war, as his
father had done. Plutarch concludes with, “When Xerxes was designated as the King,
Ariamenes at once paid homage to him and placed the crown upon his brother’s
head, and Xerxes gave him a rank second only to himself.” Thus ensuring his safety,
for at that time there was no other contesting Xerxes right to rule, because he had
satisfied Ariamenes’ ambitions by placing him at the head of his forces. Xerxes also
bestowed a position of great power, wealth and nobility upon Artabazanus; ensuring
his safety once more.
Therefore, it can be said that, while Xerxes succession was not without it’s
dramas, it was not a violent struggle as it was for his father, and this fact could then be
attributed to the theory that Xerxes preferred to rationalise situations and discuss
solutions rather than employ the totalitarian system of government which had been
used previously.