The Persian Empire was a centralized monarchical state. The successes and defeats of the Persians depended on the personal qualities of the king and his ability to make the right decisions. The main turns in Persian foreign policy are connected with the decisions that the kings made. Even the most powerful satraps, commanders and rulers of vassal regions depended on the mercy of the Achaemenids. The main stages of the history of the Persian Empire can be associated with the activities of its supreme rulers, who ruled the state from Persepolis.
First Achaemenids. The royal family from which Cyrus II and Darius I emerged ruled the Persians at least from the 7th century BC. Achaemenes, who reigned at the turn of the 8th-7th centuries BC, was considered its founder. The next king was his son Chishpish (Teisp).
It is known that in the 7th century BC. was the king of Persia Cyrus I. In the first half of the VI century BC. The Persians were ruled by Cambyses I, and after him the throne was inherited by his son named Cyrus.
Cyrus II ruled in 559-530. BC. This ruler was able to become the founder of a world empire from the king of little Persia. He conquered Media, Babylonia, Asia Minor and its Greek cities, vast lands in Central Asia. Cyrus allowed the Jews who had been driven to Mesopotamia after the Babylonian conquest to return to their homeland.
Cambyses II(530-522 BC). He was the closest associate of his father Cyrus. For several months during the life of his father, he ruled as king of Babylon. Before the last campaign against the Massagetae, Cambyses became co-ruler of Cyrus.
In 525-522 BC. King Cambyses II organized an invasion and subjugated Egypt. He was proclaimed king of this country in accordance with Egyptian tradition and is considered the founder of the XXVI dynasty.
Herodotus created the image of Cambyses as a cruel and insane tyrant, mocking the religious traditions of the Egyptians. Authentic texts do not confirm this, emphasizing the king's respect for the Egyptian religion.
Darius I(522-486 BC). Achieved power after the turmoil that followed the death of Cambyses. He overthrew the usurper Bardia and crushed the uprisings. Reorganized the system of satrapies. Under Darius I, the borders of the empire reached their maximum: northwestern India, part of Thrace, the Greek islands in the Aegean were conquered.
Artaxex I(465-424 BC). Under this king, the wars with the Greeks ended. He managed to maintain control over the rebellious Egypt and Cyprus. He began a policy of cooperation with the Greek policies for the benefit of Persia.
Artaxerxes II(404-359 BC). Soon after coming to power, he suppressed the uprising of his brother Cyrus the Younger, who spoke to Babylon. Under Artaxex II, Persia actively intervened in the affairs of the Greek policies, supporting alternately different policies so that the Greeks could not become dangerous.
In 386 BC. in alliance with Sparta, he dictated the Antalkid (Royal) peace to the Greeks, according to which the Hellenic policies of Ionia and Aeolis returned to the Achaemenid Empire. In 375, 371, 366 BC. with the participation of Artaxerxes II, new peace treaties were concluded between the Greek policies. In 391-382 BC. subjugated the strong ruler of Cyprus, Evagoras.
Artaxex III(359-338 BC). He continued his father's policy regarding the Greek policies. In 355 BC. intervened in the Allied War of Athens against Byzantium, Rhodes and Chios. He promised these policies support against Athens and achieved the conclusion of a peace according to which Byzantium, Rhodes and Chios left the union led by Athens.
In 349-344 BC. crushed uprisings in Phoenicia. During the campaigns of 344-342 BC. the commanders of Artaxerxes again conquered Egypt, which had detached at the end of the 5th century BC.
Darius III(336-330 BC). He was a representative of the side branch of the royal house, raising the origin to Darius II. Before coming to power, he was the governor of Armenia under the name Kodoman. Received the throne in adulthood as a result of a conspiracy organized by the court eunuch. Alexander the Great invaded during his reign. After a series of defeats and the loss of the capital, Darius was killed by his close associates.
After the death of most of the kings in Persia, revolts shook the empire. Satraps and dependent rulers tried to break away from the central empire, and representatives of the side branches of the Achaemenids to take the throne. To keep power from the king, determination, cruelty and the gift of a politician were required.
The activity of the kings from the Achaemenid family was connected, first of all, with the acquisition of new lands and the desire to keep the conquered ones in subjection.
In the middle of the VI century BC. That is, a hitherto little-known tribe, the Persians, entered the historical arena, who, by the will of fate, soon managed to create the greatest empire at that time, a powerful state that stretched from Egypt and Libya to the borders. In their conquests, the Persians were active and insatiable, and only courage and courage during the Greco-Persian wars managed to stop their further expansion into Europe. But who were the ancient Persians, what is their history, culture? Read about all this further in our article.
Where is Persia
But first, let's answer the question of where ancient Persia is located, or rather, where it was located. The territory of Persia at the time of its highest prosperity stretched from the borders of India in the East to modern Libya in North Africa and part of mainland Greece in the West (those lands that the Persians managed to conquer from the Greeks for a short time).
This is what ancient Persia looks like on a map.
History of Persia
The origin of the Persians is associated with the warlike nomadic tribes of the Aryans, some of which settled on the territory of the modern state of Iran (the word "Iran" itself comes from the ancient name "Ariana", which means "country of the Aryans"). Once on the fertile lands of the Iranian highlands, they switched from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one, nevertheless, retaining their military traditions of nomads and the simplicity of morals characteristic of many nomadic tribes.
The history of ancient Persia as a great power of the past begins in the middle of the 6th century BC. e. when, under the leadership of a talented leader (later the Persian king) Cyrus II, the Persians first completely conquered Media, one of the large states of the then East. And then they began to threaten themselves, which at that time was the greatest power of antiquity.
And already in 539, near the city of Opis, on the Tiber River, a decisive battle took place between the armies of the Persians and the Babylonians, which ended in a brilliant victory for the Persians, the Babylonians were completely defeated, and Babylon itself, the greatest city of antiquity for many centuries, was part of the newly formed Persian empire . In just a dozen years, the Persians from a seedy tribe turned into truly the rulers of the East.
Such a crushing success of the Persians, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, was facilitated, first of all, by the simplicity and modesty of the latter. And of course iron military discipline in their troops. Even having gained enormous wealth and power over many other tribes and peoples, the Persians continued to revere these virtues, simplicity and modesty most of all. It is interesting that during the coronation of the Persian kings, the future king had to put on the clothes of a simple person and eat a handful of dried figs, and drink a glass of sour milk - the food of commoners, which, as it were, symbolized his connection with the people.
But back to the history of the Persian Empire, the successors of Cyrus II, the Persian kings Cambyses and Darius, continued their active policy of conquest. Thus, under Cambyses, the Persians invaded ancient Egypt, which by that time was undergoing a political crisis. Having defeated the Egyptians, the Persians turned this cradle of ancient civilization, Egypt, into one of their satrapies (provinces).
King Darius actively strengthened the borders of the Persian state, both in the East and in the West, under his rule, ancient Persia reached the pinnacle of its power, almost the entire civilized world of that time was under its rule. With the exception of ancient Greece in the West, which did not give rest to the warlike Persian kings, and soon the Persians, under the reign of King Xerxes, the heir of Darius, tried to subdue these wayward and freedom-loving Greeks, but no such luck.
Despite the numerical superiority, military luck for the first time betrayed the Persians. In a number of battles, they suffered a series of crushing defeats from the Greeks, however, at some stage they managed to conquer a number of Greek territories and even sack Athens, but still the Greco-Persian wars ended in a crushing defeat for the Persian Empire.
From that moment on, the once great country entered a period of decline, the Persian kings who grew up in luxury increasingly forgot the former virtues of modesty and simplicity, which were so valued by their ancestors. Many conquered countries and peoples were just waiting for the moment to rise up against the hated Persians, their enslavers and conquerors. And such a moment has come - Alexander the Great, at the head of the united Greek army, has already attacked Persia himself.
It seemed that the Persian troops would wipe out this arrogant Greek (more precisely, not even quite a Greek - Macedonian) to powder, but everything turned out to be completely different, the Persians again suffer crushing defeats, one after another, a close-knit Greek phalanx, this tank of antiquity, over and over again crushes superior Persian forces. The peoples once conquered by the Persians, seeing what is happening, also rebel against their rulers, the Egyptians even meet the army of Alexander as liberators from the hated Persians. Persia turned out to be a real ear of clay with feet of clay, formidable in appearance, it was crushed thanks to the military and political genius of one Macedonian.
Sasanian state and Sasanian revival
The conquests of Alexander the Great turned out to be a disaster for the Persians, who, in order to replace their arrogant power over other peoples, had to humiliately submit to ancient enemies - the Greeks. Only in the II century BC. e. the tribes of the Parthians managed to expel the Greeks from Asia Minor, although the Parthians themselves adopted a lot of things from the Greeks. And in the year 226 of our era, a certain ruler of Pars with the ancient Persian name Ardashir (Artaxerxes) raised an uprising against the ruling Parthian dynasty. The uprising was successful and ended with the restoration of the Persian power, the Sassanid state, which historians call the "second Persian empire" or the "Sasanian revival".
The Sasanian rulers sought to revive the former greatness of ancient Persia, which at that time had already become a semi-legendary power. And it was under them that a new flowering of Iranian, Persian culture began, which everywhere displaces Greek culture. Temples are being actively built, new palaces in the Persian style, wars are being waged with neighbors, but not as successfully as in the old days. The territory of the new Sasanian state is several times smaller than the size of the former Persia, it is located only on the site of modern Iran, the actual ancestral home of the Persians and also covers part of the territory of modern Iraq, Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Sasanian state existed for more than four centuries, until exhausted by continuous wars, it was finally conquered by the Arabs, who carried the banner of a new religion - Islam.
culture of persia
The culture of ancient Persia is most notable for their system of government, which was admired even by the ancient Greeks. In their opinion, this form of government was the pinnacle of monarchical rule. The Persian state was divided into so-called satrapies, headed by the satrap itself, which means “guardian of order”. In fact, the satrap was a local governor-general, whose broad duties included maintaining order in the territories entrusted to him, collecting taxes, administering justice, and commanding local military garrisons.
Another important achievement of Persian civilization was the beautiful roads described by Herodotus and Xenophon. The most famous was the royal road running from Ephesus in Asia Minor to the city of Susa in the East.
The post office also functioned well in ancient Persia, which was also facilitated by good roads. Also in ancient Persia, trade was very developed, a well-thought-out tax system similar to the modern one functioned throughout the state, in which part of the taxes and taxes went to conditional local budgets, while part went to the central government. Persian kings had a monopoly on the minting of gold coins, while their satraps could also mint their own coins, but only silver or copper. The "local money" of the satraps circulated only in a certain territory, while the gold coins of the Persian kings were a universal means of payment throughout the Persian empire and even beyond its borders.
Coins of Persia.
Writing in ancient Persia had an active development, so there were several types of it: from pictograms to the alphabet invented in its time. The official language of the Persian kingdom was Aramaic, coming from the ancient Assyrians.
The art of ancient Persia is represented by local sculpture and architecture. For example, bas-reliefs of Persian kings skillfully carved in stone have survived to this day.
Persian palaces and temples were famous for their luxurious decoration.
Here is an image of a Persian master.
Unfortunately, other forms of ancient Persian art have not come down to us.
Religion of Persia
The religion of ancient Persia is represented by a very interesting religious doctrine - Zoroastrianism, named so thanks to the founder of this religion, the sage, the prophet (and possibly the magician) Zoroaster (aka Zarathushtra). At the heart of the teachings of Zoroastrianism lies the eternal opposition of good and evil, where the good beginning is represented by the god Ahura Mazda. The wisdom and revelation of Zarathushtra are presented in the sacred book of Zoroastrianism - the Zend-Avesta. In fact, this religion of the ancient Persians has a lot in common with other monotheistic later religions, such as Christianity and Islam:
- Belief in a single God, which among the Persians was actually represented by Ahura Mazda. The antipode of God, the Devil, Satan in the Christian tradition in Zoroastrianism is represented by the demon Druj, personifying evil, lies, destruction.
- The presence of the sacred scripture, the Zend-Avesta among the Zoroastrian Persians, as the Koran among the Muslims and the Bible among the Christians.
- The presence of a prophet, Zoroaster-Zarathushtra, through whom divine wisdom is transmitted.
- The moral and ethical component of the doctrine, so Zoroastrianism preaches (however, like other religions) the renunciation of violence, theft, murder. For an unrighteous and sinful path in the future, according to Zarathustra, a person after death will end up in hell, while a person who performs good deeds after death will stay in paradise.
In a word, as we can see, the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism is strikingly different from the pagan religions of many other peoples, and is very similar in nature to the later global religions of Christianity and Islam, and by the way, it still exists today. After the fall of the Sassanid state, the final collapse of Persian culture and religion in particular occurred, since the conquering Arabs carried the banner of Islam with them. Many Persians also converted to Islam at this time and assimilated with the Arabs. But there was a part of the Persians who wanted to remain true to their ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, fleeing the religious persecution of Muslims, they fled to India, where they have preserved their religion and culture to this day. Now they are known under the name of the Parsis, on the territory of modern India and today there are many Zoroastrian temples, as well as adherents of this religion, real descendants of the ancient Persians.
Ancient Persia, video
And in conclusion, an interesting documentary about ancient Persia - "The Persian Empire - an empire of greatness and wealth."
The Persian king Xerxes I is one of the most famous characters in the ancient history of mankind. Actually, it was this ruler who led his troops to Greece in the first half of the 5th century. It was he who fought with the Athenian hoplites in the Battle of Marathon and with the Spartans in the very one widely promoted today in popular literature and cinema.
Beginning of the Greco-Persian Wars
Persia at the very beginning of the 5th century was a young, but aggressive and already powerful empire, which managed to conquer a number of eastern peoples. In addition to other territories, the Persian king Darius also took possession of some Greek colonies-policies in (the territory of modern Turkey). During the years of Persian rule, among the Greek population of the Persian satrapies - that was the name of the administrative territorial units of the Persian state - they often raised uprisings, protesting against the new orders of the eastern conquerors. It was Athens' help to these colonies in one of these uprisings that led to the beginning of the Greco-Persian conflict.
Marathon battle
The first general battle of the Persian landing and the Greek troops (Athenians and Plataeans) was what happened in 490 BC. Thanks to the talent of the Greek commander Miltiades, who skillfully used the hoplite system, their long spears, as well as the sloping terrain (the Greeks pushed the Persians down the slope), the Athenians won, stopping the first Persian invasion of their country. Interestingly, the modern sports discipline "marathon running" is associated with this battle, which is a distance of 42 km. That is how much the ancient messenger ran from the battlefield to Athens to announce the victory of his compatriots and fall dead. Preparations for a more massive invasion were thwarted by the death of Darius. The new Persian king Xerxes I ascended the throne, continuing the work of his father.
The Battle of Thermopylae and the Three Hundred Spartans
The second invasion began in 480 BC. King Xerxes led a large army of 200 thousand people (according to modern historians). Macedonia and Thrace were quickly conquered, after which an invasion began from the north into Boeotia, Attica and the Peloponnese. Even the coalition forces of the Greek policies could not resist such numerous forces, gathered from the many peoples of the Persian Empire. The weak hope of the Greeks was the opportunity to accept the battle in a narrow place through which the Persian army passed on its way to the south - the Thermopylae Gorge. The numerical advantage of the enemy here would not be so noticeable at all, which left hopes for victory. The legend that the Persian king Xerxes was almost beaten here by three hundred Spartan warriors is some exaggeration. In fact, from 5 to 7 thousand Greek soldiers from different policies, not only Spartan, took part in this battle. And for the width of the gorge, this amount was more than enough to successfully hold back the enemy for two days. The disciplined Greek phalanx kept the line evenly, really stopping the hordes of the Persians. No one knows how the battle would have ended, but the Greeks were betrayed by one of the inhabitants of the local village - Ephialtes. The man who showed the Persians a detour. When King Leonidas found out about the betrayal, he sent troops to the policies to regroup forces, remaining on the defensive and delaying the Persians with a small detachment. Now there really were very few of them - about 500 souls. However, no miracle happened, almost all the defenders were killed on the same day.
What happened next
The battle of Thermopylae never fulfilled the task that the Greek men assigned to it, but it became an inspired example of heroism for other defenders of the country. The Persian king Xerxes I still managed to win here, but later suffered crushing defeats: at sea - a month later at Salamis, and on land - in the battle of Plataea. The Greco-Persian War continued for the next thirty years as protracted, sluggish conflicts, in which the odds were increasingly in favor of the policies.
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Persian king Xerxes I (born around 519 BC - death in 465 BC) King of the Achaemenid state (486 BC). He led the Persian campaign in Greece (480-479 BC), which ended in defeat and marked the end of the first stage.
After the death of Darius I Hystaspes, his son, Xerxes I, ascended the Achaemenid throne. The new king of kings immediately ran into military problems. The vast state was restless. Some of the provinces were falling out of obedience. 484 BC e. Persian king Xerxes was forced to go to pacify the rebellious Egypt. Then came the news of the uprising in Babylon. The Persian army invaded Mesopotamia, destroyed the fortifications, plundered the temples and destroyed the main shrine of the Babylonians - the statue of the god Marduk.
The successful pacification of the rebellious may have turned Xerxes' head, and he began to think about capturing new territories. Xerxes fully inherited his father's hatred of the Greeks. But, remembering the failures of Darius and being very circumspect, he did not rush. The king of kings thought for a long time, and his associates were perplexed: they were convinced that little Hellas, on the territory of which there were many city-states, would not be able to withstand the power of the huge Persian army.
In the end, the king called those close to him for advice. He outlined to them his plans for the construction of a huge pontoon bridge across the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles). The Persian king Xerxes intended not only to fulfill his father's covenant and seize Greece. He intended to turn all states into one, that is, to come to world domination. The military leaders could not but support the idea of Xerxes. In the eastern despotism, which was the state of the Achaemenids, it was not customary to contradict the ruler. Those who had their own opinion could easily say goodbye not only to the position, but also to the head.
For four years, preparations for the campaign continued. Finally, the titanic work of building the bridge was completed. Persian troops were already ready to cross over to Europe. However, a terrible storm destroyed the gigantic structure. Then the king ordered to cut off the heads of the builders, among whom the vast majority were Phoenicians and Egyptians subject to the Persians. In addition, by order of the formidable ruler, the strait was carved with a whip, and shackles were thrown into the sea. At that distant time, people still animated natural objects, and the king sincerely believed that the recalcitrant strait after punishment would feel the full force of the wrath of the great Xerxes.
The bridge was rebuilt. In addition to the fact that ships could now safely bypass a dangerous place in the strait, a channel was dug. To do this, they dug up a whole mountain. The Persian king Xerxes had as many human resources as he wanted: 20 satrapies-provinces regularly supplied labor.
480 BC e., August - the troops safely crossed to Europe. For 7 days and nights, troops marched along the bridge without stopping. Persians, Assyrians, Parthians, Khorezmians, Sogdians, Bactrians, Indians, Arabs, Ethiopians, Egyptians, Thracians, Libyans, Phrygians, Cappadocians, inhabitants of the Caucasus - this is an incomplete list of the peoples that were part of the army of Xerxes.
According to Herodotus, in the army of Xerxes there were 1 million 700 thousand infantrymen, 80 thousand horsemen and 20 thousand on camels, auxiliary troops. The total number of warriors, in his opinion, reached more than five million people. In fact, according to scientists, the number of troops did not exceed 100,000, but even this figure at that time can be considered huge. In addition, the ground forces were supported by a fleet of 700–800 ships.
Xerxes did not doubt victory. Well, what could the Greeks oppose to his military power? Smiling smugly, he declared: “In my army, everyone is subject to one person. The whip will drive them into battle, the fear of me will make them brave. If I order, everyone will do the impossible. Are the Greeks capable of this, talking about freedom? However, it was precisely this desire for freedom that helped the Hellenes to survive in a fierce struggle with the most powerful empire of that time.
Entering the land of Hellas, the king first of all tried to inform about his advance as quickly as possible reached the Greek cities. For this, the first captured Greek scouts were not executed, but released, showing the army and fleet. Ambassadors were sent to the policies demanding "land and water." But the Persian king did not send anyone to the hated Athens and Sparta, making it clear to their inhabitants that there would be no mercy for them. But Xerxes' expectations were not justified: only Thessaly and Boeotia agreed to recognize his authority. The rest began to prepare to fight back.
Athenian strategist Themistocles, elected in 482 BC. e., in a short time he was able to create a powerful fleet. He, as Plutarch wrote, "put an end to the internecine wars in Hellas and reconciled the individual states among themselves, persuading them to postpone enmity due to the war with Persia."
According to the plan of the allies, they decided to give battle to the enemy on land and at sea. 300 trireme ships were sent to Cape Artemisia on the coast of Euboea, and the army headed to Thessaly. Here in the gorge of Thermopylae, the Greeks expected a formidable enemy.
Xerxes waited 4 days for news of the naval battle. When it became known that half of his fleet was swept away by a storm, and the rest suffered heavy losses and could not break through to the coast, the king sent scouts to find out what the Greeks were doing. He hoped that those, seeing the superiority of the enemy, would retreat. However, the Greeks stubbornly remained in place. Then Xerxes moved the army. Sitting in a chair, he watched the progress from the top of the mountain. The Greeks continued to stand. The "immortals" were thrown into the battle, but they could not achieve success either.
It became clear that the position of the Greeks is extremely advantageous, and their courage has no limits. Perhaps the king of the Persians, Xerxes, would have had to look for another way, but among the locals there was a traitor who, for a reward, showed the Persians a bypass path. The defenders of the gorge noticed that they were surrounded. The commander of the Greeks, King Leonid released the allies. 300 Spartans, 400 Thebans and 700 Thespians remained with him. After a fierce fight, they all died. Enraged, Xerxes ordered to find the body of Leonidas. He was beheaded and his head was put on a spear.
The Persian army advanced towards Athens. Themistocles persuaded the citizens to leave the city. He was sure that the Athenians would take revenge not on land, but at sea. But not all allies agreed with the opinion of their commander. Endless bickering began. Then the strategist sent his slave to Xerxes, who again waited, hoping for disagreements in the enemy camp. The slave told Xerxes that the Hellenes were going to retreat at night, and Themistocles wanted to go over to the side of the Persians and advised him to start the offensive at once at night.
Xerxes showed unforgivable gullibility. Apparently, he was so confident in his own strength that he did not even think about a possible trap. The Persian king ordered the fleet to close all exits from the Salamis Strait so that not a single enemy ship could escape him. Themistocles wanted to achieve this: now the ships of the Spartans and Corinthians could not leave the Athenians. It was decided to give battle.
(480 BC) 1000 Persian ships and 180 Greek ships took part. On the shore, under a gilded canopy, the Persian king Xerxes sat on a throne, watching the battle. Nearby were courtiers and scribes who were supposed to describe the great victory of the Persians. But the clumsy Persian ships, forced to operate in a narrow strait, were much inferior to the fast Greek triremes. The latter went to ram and easily dodged the enemy.
As a result, most of Xerxes' fleet was sunk. The bulk of the Persians, who could not swim, drowned. Those who reached the coast were exterminated by the Greek infantry. In the end, the Persians turned to flight. The surviving ships were destroyed by the inhabitants of Aegina, who set up an ambush.
The remnants of the Persian army moved to the bridge over the Hellespont. Themistocles wanted to destroy it, but heeded the advice of the former strategist of Athens, Aristides. He believed that the trapped Persian warriors would fight desperately and many Greeks would die.
They say that the king of kings returned home on a ship that was utterly overcrowded. During a strong storm, the helmsman turned to him: “Sir! We need to lighten the ship!” - and the king ordered his subjects to leave the ship. Those themselves began to rush overboard, where they, who could not swim, were waiting for inevitable death. Having safely reached the shore, Xerxes granted the helmsman a golden ring for saving his life and immediately ... ordered to cut off the head of the savior because he had killed so many Persians.
But not the entire Persian army left Hellas. By order of Xerxes, troops were left in Thessaly, which were supposed to spend the winter and continue the war in the spring. 479 BC e. - a major battle took place near the city of Plataea in Boeotia. In it, the famous Persian commander Mardonius fell, with whose death the Persians were finally broken and left the Peloponnesian Peninsula. The first stage of the Greco-Persian wars was finally completed.
With dreams of world domination, Xerxes had to part forever. His destiny was the exaltation of the capital of Persepolis. The construction of the palace, begun under Darius, was completed, and a new one was built, the construction of the throne room of one hundred columns began.
In the meantime, there was a relentless struggle for influence at court. The courtiers and even members of the Xerxes family intrigued incessantly. Xerxes became more and more suspicious. Once, when the queen reported that his brother was preparing an assassination attempt, the king ordered the destruction of his entire family.
The courtiers, all the more, could not count on the pity of the king. As you can see, because in the summer of 465 BC. e. Xerxes and his eldest son were killed by conspirators led by the minister Artabanus. Another son of the king, Artaxerxes I, ascended the throne, but the golden age of the Achaemenid dynasty passed into the past along with the warlike Persian king Xerxes I, firmly established in history.
