Xerxes the Great

Xerxes I
King of Persia and Media Great King King of Kings King of Nations Pharaoh of Egypt
Rock relief of Xerxes at his tomb in Naqsh-e Rustam
King of Persia
Reign	486–465 BC
Coronation	October 486 BC
Predecessor	Darius I
Successor	Artaxerxes I
Born	518 BC Persia
Died	August 465 BC (aged 53 or 54) Persia
Burial	Persia
Spouse	Amestris Vashti? Esther?
Issue	Amytis Hystaspes Artaxerxes I Arsames
Dynasty	Achaemenid
Father	Darius I
Mother	Atossa
Religion	Zoroastrianism

Xerxes I (/ˈzɜːrksiːz/; Old Persian: x-š-y-a-r-š-a ( Khashayarsha ) "ruling over heroes",Greek Ξέρξης [ksérksɛːs]; 518–465 BC), called Xerxes the Great, was the fourth king of kings of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia. Like his predecessor Darius I, he ruled the empire at its territorial apex. He ruled from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC at the hands of Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard.

Xerxes I is most likely the Persian king identified as Ahasuerus in the biblical Book of Esther. He is also notable in Western history for his failed invasion of Greece in 480 BC. His forces temporarily overran mainland Greece north of the Isthmus of Corinth until the losses at Salamis and Plataea a year later reversed these gains and ended the second invasion decisively. Xerxes also crushed revolts in Egypt and Babylon immediately after succession.