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 is a major character in Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire, which recounts Thermopylae largely from the Greek side while presenting the scale and authority of the Persian monarchy. He also appears in Gore Vidal’s Creation and numerous novels about the Persian Wars, with portrayals ranging from imperial strategist to extravagant despot.

In non-fiction, Xerxes I is discussed in Herodotus’s The Histories. Herodotus’s The Histories approaches the subject through military command and battlefield decision-making.

Historical context

Historical periods linked to Xerxes I

Achaemenid Persian Empire 550–330 BCE Greco-Persian Wars 499–449 BCE

Series

Series featuring Xerxes I (2 series)

The Long War in Order

by Christian Cameron 7 books 4.6

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…

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Killer of Men

4.4

Marathon

4.6

Poseidon’s Spear

4.6

The Great King

4.6

Salamis

4.6

Rage of Ares

4.7

Treason of Sparta

4.6

Athenian in Order

by Conn Iggulden 2 books 4.5

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