All this road, whereby king xerxes led his army, the thracians neither break up nor sow aught on it, but they hold it in great reverence to this day. Nov 16, 2011 posts about intrigues of the harem written by estherslegacy. We can work out how old xerxes was, from history books like the greek historian herodotus as well as the internal evidence in esther. Goosh bede ta begam ba to niyatamo, daran az ben mibaran hoviatamo. Again from herodotus book 7, chapter 35, section 1. King xerxes pitched his camp in the region of malis called trachinia, while on their side the greeks occupied the straits. An archive of our own, a project of the organization for transformative works. Xerxes is identified with the fictional king ahasuerus in the biblical book of esther. His ultimate defeat spelled the beginning of the decline of the achaemenian empire. Artemisia advises that he leave mardonius in command, since then xerxes will have nothing to lose even if mardonius fails. This place is called thermopylae by most of the hellenes, but by the natives and.
He put together an incredibly large empire and conquered a lot of land. But when he saw mordecai at the kings gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against mordecai. Histaeus prevents the ionian guards from breaking up the bridge over. The jewish heroine of that book was the second wife of xerxes ahasuerus. This book surprised me by the authors ability to write a ficticious story about nonfictitious characters. In the histories, he describes the expansion of the persian empire under its kings cyrus, cambyses and darius, culminating in king xerxes expedition against the greeks, which met with disaster in the naval engagement at salamis and the battles at. Other identifications have been made for cambyses ii or with bardiya greek smerdis who reigned perhaps as an imposter for seven months between cambyses ii and darius i. Structured essay guide for persia section iii personalities in their times.
After darius death, the royal power descended to his son xerxes. Xerxes according to herodotus encyclopaedia iranica. Xerxes, the king of persia, is portrayed as seven feet tall. Posts about intrigues of the harem written by estherslegacy. The book is a little slow getting into, so hang in there. From the beginning of his book to the end, hitler was sure to blame the jewish people for everything bad that had happened to germany. Xerxes his son took it, and killed the priest who warned him not to move the statue.
Identification of this mighty king is found in the king james version under the name of. Xerxes, great king of the persian empire from 486465 b. In one of the famous battles of ancient history, the persian force met a much smaller greek army at a narrow mountain pass called thermopylae. Primary motive revenge herodotus discerned mardoniuss deeper motives. Their relatives, like thousands of jews, had been taken captive by an invading army and exiled there in decades past. He deposed queen vashti in 483482bc when he was 36 esther 1. Xerxes i, persian king 486465 bce, the son and successor of darius i. Desire to help others is inexistent servant leader i.
Ahasuerusxerxes was the father of darius the mede, mentioned in daniel 9. Xerxes crossed the hellespont now called the dardanelles and methodically overran greece. Texas reception into the union was a precedent which may have farreaching effects hereafter, when the pole and the tropics may hold allegiance to the stars and stripes. When a bridge, built by xerxes engineers, was destroyed by a storm on the hellespont, xerxes ordered his men to punish the waters. Why does herodotus allude to the ancient greek tradition that the spartan king, leonidas, was a descendant of the demigod hercules. Xerxes at the hellespont mid 5th century bce november 10, 2016 elizabeth. Bollards of several meters in diameter would have been necessary in order to fasten these cables without breaking them. Herodotus, the histories, book 7, chapter 35, section 1. Having entitlement as a result of excessive pride 4. In the hebrew text, the kings name is ahasuerus preserved in the kjv and esv. Herodotus tells us that xerxes was being prepared to be king from a young age as he was taught, to ride.
I know that many of the greek historians describe xerxes as having many character flaws, as well as being the reason the empire collapsed. Herodotus relates in his histories that the second persian invasion of greece already intended by darius. As soon as intention was expressed to put down rebellion in egypt, mardonius insisted on marching against athens. It is probable that herodotus never visited these places, but simply made up stories from things that he had heard. Again from herodotus book 7, chapter 35, section 1 when xerxes heard of this, he was very angry and commanded that the hellespont be whipped with three hundred lashes, and a pair of fetters be thrown into the sea.
Mordecai and esther live in susa during the reign of xerxes. As we will see in many ways, their religions were very similar. Not too shabby, but the other 10 inches are special effects. Herodotus was more of a storyteller than a historian. He is best known for his massive invasion of greece from across the hellespont 480 bc, a campaign marked by the battles of thermopylae, salamis, and plataea. Jan 14, 2010 the book of esther begins with a banquet scene probably reflecting that situation. Xerxes i commonly known as xerxes the great, was the fourth king of kings of the achaemenid. Aug 15, 2015 xerxes, great king of the persian empire from 486465 b. He had a war against greece in 480470bc, when he was 3949. Mardonius was not the only bad advisor in the kings surroundings. The fall of the house of darius and the rise of alexander last edited by pikahyper on 030519 03.
It was the religious perspective in which xerxes would have been coming from when he was getting to know esther. To look the part though, santoro had to let go of vanity. Even as the forces of king xerxes prepared to surround the greek soldiers at thermopylae, king leonidas of the spartans determined to stay and fight even though he sent some of the greek forces away. The young king inherited a solid empire, which was greater than any before in history. Hitler said that the loss of the first world war was the result of a jewish conspiracy, the treaty. As a discipline, history begins with herodotus histories, the first known systematic investigation of the past. Xerxes latest news, breaking stories and comment the independent. Jul 23, 2014 was xerxes i, referred to as ahaseurus in the old testament, good or bad. This place is called thermopylae by most of the hellenes, but by the natives and their neighbors pylae. Mozenrath still has xerxes in this au, but he has frail health and has problems with his heart.
However, it does appear throughout the book of esther in the niv and nasb. Herodotus is the father of history andaccording to somealso the father of lies. Herodotus the invasion of greece by xerxes is the subject of the great history written in nine books by herodotus. Xerxes latest news, breaking stories and comment the. Persian king 486465 bc, the son and successor of darius i.
Xerxes pontoon bridges were constructed in 480 bc during the second persian invasion of. The greek campaign, begun in 480 bc, was unsuccessful. I cant find much evidence that he was particularly good or bad as he is portrayed in 300. Is there any evidence that did not come from a greek historian that corroborate these claims. Immediately download the xerxes summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching xerxes. To read the history herodotus only book is to seek ones roots as a. Ahasuerus is given as the name of the father of darius the mede in the book of daniel. Adapted from notes written by olga davidson and originally published in the glimmerglass festivals 2017 program book. He became king of persia in 485bc at the age of 33.
Xerxes was ruler of the persian empire from 486 to 465 bce. We can work out how old xerxes was, from history books. Why is xerxes name used but not mentioned in the bible. The asiatic great king xerxes, who followed in the footsteps of. This beautiful childrens book retells the stories of the ancient world and brings history to life. It was found recorded there that mordecai had exposed bigthana and teresh, two of the kings officers who gua. Stories from herodotus by lorna oakes, paperback barnes. He is best known for his massive invasion of greece from across the hellespont 480 bce, a campaign marked by the battles of thermopylae, salamis, and plataea. King ahasuerrus xerxes was the father of darius the mede, mentioned in daniel 9. The story of xerxes eunuch hermotimus, and the horrible revenge he got on the man who castrated him 1046. Herodotus excerpts from book vii of the histories translated. Xerxes is the central character of the aeschylus play the persians.
There was an emperor of persia with a tricky name maybe the best attempt at getting it into english is xsyarsa. The religious politics that reshaped 17thcentury england and scotland and propelled many towards transatlantic migration. The 2017 glimmerglass production of handels xerxes, directed by tazewell thompson, runs through august 18. Persian king xerxes sets out to conquer the world to avenge his father dariuss defeat and create an empire, unlike anything the world has ever seen. His motivation was to make himself ruler, putting his sons in charge as well. Much of xerxes bad reputation is due to propaganda by the macedonian king alexander. King xerxes lay encamped in trachis in malis and the hellenes in the pass. Josephus names astyages as the father of darius the mede, and the description of the latter as uncle and fatherinlaw of cyrus by mediaeval jewish commentators matches that of cyaxares ii, who is said to be the son of astyages by xenophon. Xerxes is celebrated for his many building projects throughout his empire but is best known, in both ancient and modern sources, for the massive expedition he mounted against greece in 480 bce, which, according to herodotus, assembled the largest and most well equipped fighting force ever put into the field up to that point. It was first performed in the kings theatre london on 15 april 1738.
He starts by briefly describing xerxes early life and lays the ground work for events that progressively occur later on in xerxes. The quote itself comes from renfield, a committed insane man, talking to quincey, a texan. Aug 03, 2017 adapted from notes written by olga davidson and originally published in the glimmerglass festivals 2017 program book. Afterward, xerxes turned to private matters, such as the events recorded in esther. The stand of leonidas and the 300 against his army at thermopylae is a byword for courage, while the failure of xerxes expedition has overshadowed all the other achievements of his twentytwoyear reign. The film stars jake gyllenhaal and anne hathaway, who originally starred together in brokeback. Xerxes is the protagonist of the opera serse by the germanenglish baroque composer george frideric handel. This type of event which fits in well in the known secular chronology with xerxes attempt to drum up support for his war against greece by putting together a 180day display of his wealth prior to submitting the war proposal to his princes, as was reported by herodotus clin. The wellinformed reader knows that, in the histories, to rise above others with a.
The name xerxes does not appear in the hebrew text of scripture. The great events by famous historiansvolume 1invasion of. Xerxes consults artemisia about mardonius offer 101. Herodotus excerpts from book vii of the histories translated and edited by a. If it is not good by 80 pages it probably will never get good. Notes on xerxes and his persian empire classical inquiries. Esther 6 niv bible that night the king could not sleep. Ene, 305 suggests a rotation of nobility coming in. Browse the independents complete collection of articles and commentary on xerxes.
Thus this ahasuerus is commonly identified with astyages. Mar 05, 2014 goosh bede ta begam ba to niyatamo, daran az ben mibaran hoviatamo. The great events by famous historiansvolume 1invasion of greece by persians under xerxes. Evidence andor links would be appreciated as well thanks. There is no doubt that he is the wellknown historical xerxes who reigned from 486465 b. Jacob abbott is a very skilled narrator, breaking down huge chunks of time into bite size bits for the history layman i. In chapter 2 of the book of esther, we are introduced to a jew named mordecai and an orphan girl in his charge named esther. But then as i sank my teeth into it more, the book came alive. His father darius was defeated by the greeks at the battle of marathon 490 b. Jan 02, 2017 three people were involved in xerxes assassination in 465 bc. The greek storyteller herodotus of halicarnassus fifth century bc was the worlds first historian.
Wiki answers says he was said to be a good king that believed in justice, while others say he was a megalomaniac. One of his better days mozenrath sneaks out palace to get away coddling and pity. Ahasuerus is also given as the name of a king of persia in the book of ezra. Jun 14, 20 ahasuerusxerxes was the father of darius the mede, mentioned in daniel 9. Darius son of hystaspes proposed to take this statue but dared not. He meets aladdin in the market and they have few peaceful days together until his health takes turn on worse and hes forced to reveal who he is. Could that had made it easier for the two of them to relate to each other and even perhaps easier for a possible conversion of xerxes to judaism. Explicitly, the histories deal with the persian wars, the greeks double defeat of the formidable forces led against them by the persian kings darius and xerxes, but herodotus work includes. Three people were involved in xerxes assassination in 465 bc. Yas in lieu of recent revisionist historical fabrications with an overt xenophobic slant, here are 7 things you probably didnt know about xerxes, fourth shah of the achaemenid persian dynasty. Throughout the persian war, xerxes lead the persians. He was a man who was used to controlling his own fate as well as the fate of others. In a larger than life battle film like 300, the villain has to be extralarger than life.
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