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Historical person

Xerxes I

520 BCE–466 BCE

Xerxes I was king of the Achaemenid Persian Empire from 486 to 465 BC. He suppressed revolts in Egypt and Babylonia and led the vast invasion of Greece in 480 BC, winning at Thermopylae before setbacks at Salamis and Plataea forced the campaign’s failure. He also continued major building projects at Persepolis and was assassinated in a palace conspiracy.

Xerxes I died in Persis. Xerxes I also held the offices or ranks of pharaoh and King of Kings. Xerxes I belonged to the Achaemenid dynasty and operated within Achaemenid Empire.

Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire presents Xerxes I as the Persian king whose invasion forces Leonidas and the Spartans into the doomed defence of Thermopylae. Gore Vidal’s Creation gives a Persian court perspective, placing Xerxes within the imperial world encountered by its fictional Persian diplomat rather than treating the Greeks as the story’s natural centre. Captivating History’s The Battle of Thermopylae recounts the 480 BCE clash directly, and The Greco-Persian Wars follows Xerxes’ invasion as part of the larger sequence from Marathon to Salamis and Plataea. Herodotus’ The Histories remains the ancient narrative on which much later writing depends, presenting Xerxes’ council, bridge-building, march into Greece and eventual strategic failure through a mixture of inquiry, reported speech and memorable anecdote.

Periods

Periods linked to Xerxes I

Achaemenid Persian Empire550–330 BCE Greco-Persian Wars499–449 BCE

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Xerxes I (4 series)

Penguin Classics: Ancient World in Order

by various authors 32 books 4.6(13,212)

Penguin Classics: Ancient World brings together foundational works of literature, history, philosophy, drama and poetry from the earliest civilisations through classical Greece and Rome. The wider Penguin Classics series began in 1946 with E. V. Rieu’s translation of Homer’s Odyssey, reflecting its original aim of making important texts…

All books in this series

Dangerous Beauty in Order

by Angela Hunt 3 books 4.6(2,880)

Dangerous Beauty retells the lives of Esther, Bathsheba and Delilah, three biblical women whose beauty places them close to male power and exposes them to danger. Each novel reconstructs a distinct ancient court or conflict while giving the woman at its centre a private history, divided loyalties and…

All books in this series

The Long War in Order

by Christian Cameron 7 books 4.6(9,721)

The Long War follows Arimnestos of Plataea from the Ionian Revolt and slavery to the battles that decide the Persian invasions of Greece. Farmer, bronzesmith, hoplite, sailor and captain, he moves through Marathon, Salamis and Plataea while Greek cities struggle to cooperate against the Achaemenid Empire. The sequence…

All books in this series

Athenian in Order

by Conn Iggulden 2 books 4.5(12,318)

The Athenian series follows the struggle of Athens and its allies against the Persian Empire, moving from Marathon and the political battles of the intervening decade to Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea. Xanthippus and Themistocles provide the principal viewpoints as military survival, democratic rivalry and competing Greek interests shape…

All books in this series

Standalone books

Standalone books featuring Xerxes I (4 books)

Non Fiction

Non Fiction featuring Xerxes I (4 books)

Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.