Evaluation of Xerxes’ reign – packages of information
1. Xerxes’ impact and influence on his time:
- Impact reign refers to the short-term conseqeunces of Xerxes’ actions and policies for Persia and the rest of the world.Xerxes’ impact needs to be judged according to seven criteria: his succession to the kingship, the way he dealt with rebellions in the empire, his administration of the empire, his buiding program, his promotion of trade and prosperity, his religious policy and his foreign wars.
- Influence refers to the long-term consequences of those actions and policies.
2. An assessment of Xerxes’ life and reign (i.e. his impact):
- Succession to the kingship: Xerxes managed the succession successfully, buying his brother off with promises that he would be second in the kingdom after Xerxes.
- Dealing with rebellions in the empire: Xerxes moved quickly to crush rebellions in Egypt and Babylon, then never suffered a serious rebellion again.
- Administration of the empire: Throughout his reign, Xerxes administered his empire effectively, managing the satrapies with aplomb and extending the impire’s road system.
- Building program: Xerxes’ completed the projects started by his father, then built the city of Persepolis. These were impressive achievements.
- Promotion of trade and prosperity: Xerxes’ economic record is mixed. The empire remained prosperous in the early years of his reign, but according to Olmstead conditions declined in the later years due to high taxes and a shortage of coins.
- Religous policy: Xerxes promoted the worship Ahuramazda in the Persian heartland and religious tolerance elsewhere in the empire.
- Foreign wars: Although Xerxes’ preparations for the invasion of Greece were meticulous, he made several crucial mistakes at Salamis which cost him the campaign. This caused him to lose control of his European possessions. Elsewhere, however, he maintained the empire at full strength, and even managed to expand it in several places.
3. Xerxes’ legacy (i.e. his influence):
- In terms of domestic policy, Xerxes’ legacy includes the buildings he constructed in Persepolis, as well as the monuments and inscriptions he put up. The buildings in Persepolis still inspire awe from visitors.
- As far as foreign policy is concerned, Xerxes’ reign saw an end to the expansion of the Persian Empire. It also saw the independence of Ionia and the rise of Athenian power.
4. Ancient and modern images and interpretations of Xerxes:
- Ancient Greek sources on Xerxes (like Herodotus, Aeschylus and Ctesias) present him as arrogant, impetuous, gullible, cruel and even insane. These sources, of course, are biased.
- In fact, there are only a few examples of Xerxes acting in these ways. Most of the time, he acted cautiously and diplomatically, accepting advice from his generals. His cruelty was probably no greater or less than that of any other Great King. As J. O’Neil has observed in his Life of Xerxes, the Great King was no “deep-dyed villain”. Instead, he was “a weak ruler with little interest in, or aptitude for, military affaris who much preferred building activities.”