Ancient History

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Xerxes

Outcomes
Principal focus
Revolts in the Empire: Egypt
Revolts in the Empire: Babylon
Questions
More

This tutorial was written by
Dr V G Callender, Assoc. lecturer, Macquarie University.

This discussion is dedicated to Russel Granger

Outcomes

A student:

H2.1	explains historical factors and assesses their significance in contributing to change and continuity in the ancient world
H4.1	uses historical terms and concepts appropriately
H3.4	explains and evaluates differing perspectives and interpretations of the past
H3.3	analyses and evaluates sources for their usefulness and reliability
H3.2	discusses relevant problems of sources for reconstructing the past

The Principal Focus of this study is that students gain an understanding of Xerxes in the context of his time.

Revolts in the Empire: Egypt

The first event that we know about in the life of Xerxes was the outbreak of revolt in Egypt. This happened in June 486 BC, in the reign of Darius, and by October of that year had become a very serious situation. Darius died in that month, and perhaps the people thought that it was the best time for Egypt to break away from the Persian Empire. Although reasons for the revolt are a little unclear there is no doubt that the people also imagined that they could rebel because the king was so far away and Xerxes was a new and untried king.

Other reasons for the revolt were due to the known corruption of the Persian government operating in Egypt—the satrap Aryandes was executed by the Persians themselves for this (Olmstead 1948, 225)—and other causes were certainly due to the taxation that Egyptians had to pay the Persian government. The goods raised by this taxation were not staying in Egypt, as they had done in the past; the gold, precious stones, wheat and other foodstuffs were being sent out of Egypt and into Persia.

Moreover, the most highly skilled workmen, especially the stonemasons and artists, were being sent to Persia to work on the buildings of the king, and their families and friends wanted them to return. Perhaps another reason the revolt happened at this time could have been due to the earlier defeat at Marathon, in 490 B.C. Because the Persian forces lost this battle, the Egyptian rebels could have thought that it might be easy to defeat the Persians at this time.

Xerxes put down the revolt with some severity. The satrap, Pherendates, had died during the revolt (perhaps he was killed by the insurgents), and Xerxes put his own brother, Achaemenes, in his place. Other measures were aimed at the temples. The Satrap Stela of 311 BC, which calls Xerxes that wicked man, states that Xerxes confiscated a large piece of land from the temple at Buto, a pre-eminent Egyptian site, and other temples too, lost some of their possessions.

By 484 BC, however, the Wadi Hamrnamat quarries were being worked again, so the revolt had ended by then. Nevertheless, Xerxes never adopted Egyptian titles as both Cambyses and Darius had done, never gave himself an Egyptian throne name, and does not seem to have built any Egyptian temples. He seems to have taken no other interest in the land at all. For all those reasons he earned himself an unpopular image among the Egyptians.

Revolts in the Empire: Babylon

Just after the revolt in Egypt had been put down, in June-July of 484 BC the Babylonians, led by Bel-Shimanni, revolted against their Persian overlords. They, too, were rebelling against taxation and the deportation of workers for projects at Persepolis and Susa. More specifically, they complained about the huge expenses they had to pay for the upkeep of the Persian satrapal court at Babylon and, in addition, the upkeep of the Persian garrison (Dandamaev 1989, 183).

According to Ktesias (Persika xiii.53), the rebels killed Zopyrus, the colourful satrap whose incredible story appears in Herodotos m.153–160. With Babylon taken, they went on to persuade the cities of Borsippa and Dilbat to join them. Bel-shimanni declared himself an independent ruler and as such he is recorded on some Babylonian documents, but he only reigned for about two weeks.

The revolt was put down by the Persians quickly. After executing the leaders, the forces were withdrawn from the area. In time, they joined the troops on their way to Ionia.

The second revolt was far more serious. It began in autumn 482 BC and was led by Shamas-eriba. He also occupied Babylon, Dilbat and Borsippa, but this time, other cities joined the rebellion. Because the main body of the Persian army had already left for Ionia, with the intent of beginning the third Persian invasion of Greece, the rebels must have thought that they had some chance of success this time, and at first things did look promising: the Persian army that laid siege to Babylon could do nothing.

It was several months before the siege of Babylon was successful, but once Babylon fell, the rest of the revolt was easily put down by Megabyzus, Xerxes' brother-in-law, one of the best generals in the Persian army. By about March 481 BC, the rebellion had ended. This time however, the punishment inflicted was severe. The city walls were demolished to some considerable extent (though Herodotos still saw them as massive walls some 30 years later [I.180]). The leaders of the rebellion were executed and their land was given to Persian nobles (Granger 1992, 131) belongoing to the royal family and the nobility. The temple of Marduk of Egasila was robbed of its minor gold statue (not the one of Bel-Marduk) and may have been damaged, and at least one of its priests was killed. The Euphrates River was diverted to flow through the city of Babylon, with the residential area on one side and the temple area on the other, thus weakening its defences. Apparently, the residential region was not destroyed according to the archaeologists who examined the site (Oates 1978, 138). The amount of taxation remained high.

Questions

Why does Callender think that the Egyptian revolt was extensive in October, 486 BC?
What evidence does Olmstead provide?
List three reasons given by Callender for the Egyptians to complain about Persian rule, at this time.
Why does the Satrap Stela of 311 BC call him "that wicked man"?
What evidence exists to show that the revolt had been crushed by 484 BC?
What does Dandamaev say were the causes of the Babylonian revolt?
Why was the Persian army strong enough to put down the first Babylonian revolt quickly, but not as strong in dealing with the second revolt?
From what you know of sieges in the ancient world, does the siege of Babylon seem to be a long one?
Compare the archaeological evidence of Oates, and the written evidence of Herodotos. Is Callender's statement "This time, however, the punishment inflicted was severe." a reasonable summary of the situation after the return of Persian rule?
Why do you think Xerxes made the administrative changes that he did?

Burn, ARR. (1984) Persia and the Greeks, Duckworth, London.

Dandemaev, M.A. and Lukonin, V.G. (1989) The Culture and Social Institutions of Ancient Iran, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Granger, R (1992) The Life of Xerxes in Ancient History, Resources for Teachers Vol XXII, No. 3 pp. 125–144.

Herodotos (1985)The Histories, trans Rex Warner, Penguin, Harmondsworth.

Kuhrt, A. (1995) The Ancient Near East c. 3000–330 BC Vol 2, Routledge, London.

Lawless and Cameron (1994) Studies in Ancient Persia, Thomas Nelson, South Melbourne.

Olmstead, A.T., (1948) History of the Persian Empire, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Wiesehoefer, J. (1996) Ancient Persia 550 BC–650AD trans Azodi, A. IB Tauris Publishing, London.