Xerxes Topic Summary - taken from Antiquity 2 textbook PDF

Preview

Summary

Notes which cover the span of Xerxes' reign in Persia...

Description

Xerxes Topic Summary Historical context - Conquest of Media to the north-west added grain and horse-producing regions to the empire - Trading system introduced by Achaemenid rule facilitated the exchange of commodities throughout the empire o Acquisition of the fleets of conquered territories to form the Persian navy o Royal Road from Sardis to Susa - Kings ruled with the sanction of Ahuramazda Persian military structures - Split into myriads of 10 000 men o Elite myriad was the king’s personal divison, the “Immortals”  Arstibara (or the king’s ‘spear-bearers’ was comprised of member of Persian nobility) - Each myriad consisted of 10 regiments, of 1000 men each Subject people in the army (Foreign policy) - Evidenced by the sculptured reliefs from the palace at Persepolis - By time of Xerxes’ campaign against Greece, cavalry included contingents of Bactrians, Sagartians, Cissians and Indians, as well as Libyan chariotry and Arabian camel units - Navies were essential to success of army and Persia relied upon conquered navies to constitute their own Political structure - Nepotism rather than meritocracy - Feudal and patriarchal structures in place o Feudal is evidenced through sworn oaths  Exchange of rights and responsibilities

Persian Empire: Expansion, religion and kingship - Religion o Most important god was Ahuramazda, but other gods included Mithras and Anahita  Came to represent qualities such as truth and justice - Persian concept of kingship o Religious policy  Xerxes’ worship of Ahuramazda gave Zoroastrianism an important political dimension by justifying his right to the throne  Furthermore, he could seek divine approval for his actions  Daeva inscription  Although unclear, could be evidence of Persia’s sack of Eretria and Athens (Herodotus)  “all I did by the favour of Ahuramazda” (Daeva inscription)  “Other business that had been done ill; that I made good” o Possibly not religious?  “Do not rise in rebellion” (Daeva inscription)  “Xerxes’ destruction of the Daeva sanctuary marks no breach with his ancestors’ presumed religious tolerance” (Sancisi-Weerdenburg) o Argues for religious tolerance  Greater focus on Ahuramazda, despite the polytheism of the Persian empire  This was due to the need for legitimization (Granger) o Administration of empire  Able to marshal resources and troops in preparation for the Greek campaign  “Xerxes in the process of assembling his armies, had every corner of the continent ransacked” (Herodotus)  Satrapal system  23 administrative districts called satrapies ruled by satraps directly responsible to the king  High-ranking family members were appointed to the most important satrapies o Evidences feudal system through the oaths taken  Division of Babylon into two districts, Babylon and Across-the-River is thought to have occurred during Xerxes’ reign  Local forms of government were tolerated provided they paid their taxes, kept the peace and complied with requests for troops and other services  Revolts in the empire  Egypt (486BCE) o Most likely a revolt against imposed taxes o “Marched against those who had revolted from him” (Herodotus) o “Laid all Egypt under a far harder yoke than ever his father had put upon it” (Herodotus) o “The view that Xerxes treated Egypt harshly after the rebellion is not tenable” (Granger)  Rather, Granger believed that Xerxes improved infrastructure, as evidenced by the Ahiqar scroll  Babylon (484BCE) o Herodotus’ view:  Splits the satrapy in 2  Babylon and Across-the-River  Diversion of Euphrates River to flow through the middle of the city  Brutal suppression with religious elements, e.g. statue of Bel Marduk o Kuhrt’s view:  “neither destruction nor cultic impairment can be demonstrated”

Lack of destroyed remains found “do not bear witness to harsh repressions”  Administration legitimizes his rule even though foreign policy may not  “This one failure (Greece) was more than offset by a whole series of victories, including the recovery of Egypt, and the retention of control over most of the Greeks themselves” (Cameron)  “Strengthened the defences in the west by appointing hyparchs to strategic posts along the western frontier” (Granger)  “His reign forms a period of consolidation, not of incipient decay” (SancisiWeerdenburg)  Roads and communication  2500km ‘royal road’ protected by over 100 sentry fortifications   Agriculture/tribute/trade  Land tenure was based on a feudal system  Imperial revenue could come in the form of the tribute paid by subject peoples through material payments  Allowed extensive trading across the empire’s network, with the trading of a variety of raw materials and manufactured goods being stimulated by improved communications and the standardisation of coinage, weights and measures  Sources: o Apadana reliefs o Fortification and treasury tablets  Coinage/weights/measures  All were standardised throughout the empire  Darius introduced gold (the daric) and silver coins as legal tender  Standardised weights were based on the Babylonian system  Evidence of standardised measures was the royal ‘cubit’, a black limestone ruler measuring 45.7cm  Eye of the King  Supervised the payment of tribute, oversaw the methods used to suppress revolts, and “reported evils to the king” (Lendering)  “the king himself… might see everything and hear everything” (Aristotle) Building program  Persepolis  Benefits of developing an extensive building program included the ability to promote the ruler’s favoured gods, and promote the ruler himself. Furthermore, it provided employment for his civilians  “Whatever good construction is seen, all that by the favour of Ahuramazda we built” (inscription)  “A political message of calculated significance” (Cool Root)  “The more important palaces on the terrace of Persepolis were built in Xerxes’ reign” (Sancisi-Weerdenburg)  Gate of All Nations Warfare and empire expansion  3 aims with his invasion of Greece:  Punish the Athenians for their involvement in the Ionian revolt and the Persian defeat at Marathon in 490BC  Adding Greece to the Persian Empire and thus expanding it  Legitimize his rule  Successful expeditions to Egypt and the lands of the Dahae and Akaufraka (Granger)  Two perspectives for an essay structure: (include in intro: The vast difference in opinions makes any assessment difficult on a common criteria, hence why there needs to be more focus on the uncontested evidence) 1. Helleno-centric (from Herodotus and Troezen inscription) a. Argues Xerxes failed because his main objective was to seize Greece and he failed at Salamis and Plataea 

o

o

i. Xerxes goes to Greece (Agrees with Dio Chrysostomos) ii. Although Sparta was eventually defeated at Thermopylae, the state of Sparta remained uninvaded. Only a small force of Spartans, which, according to the Troezen inscription, was a delaying action iii. Sacks Athens (Same as Dio Chrysostomos) iv. Only a tiny portion of Athens’ population remained to be enslaved. Women and children went to Troezen, old men and moveable goods went to Salamis v. Tribute was imposed on some Greek city-states (Northern and Aegean states) vi. Xerxes returns to Asia (same as Dio Chrysostomos) 2. Persian (from Dio Chrysostomos and Dandamaev) a. Although Greek, Dio Chrysostomos preserves a Persian perspective on the Greco-Persian wars, recounting a meeting with a Mede who states the six criteria for the success of Xerxes’ invasion, which were ultimately fulfilled (This evidences Persian belief in Xerxes’ success) i. Campaign to Greece ii. Defeated Spartans at Thermopylae iii. Sacked Athens iv. Enslaved the remaining population v. Imposed tribute on “the Greeks” vi. Returned to Asia o Legitimacy and public image Sources’ analysis of Xerxes’ reign/legacy/admin etc. - Evaluate 4 sources with differing angles and contexts o Ancient Helleno-centric author (Herodotus) o Ancient Persian (Persepolis) o Modern Helleno-centric (Olmstead) o Modern balanced/Persian (Granger and Sancisi-Weerdenburg) Xerxes’ relationships with prominent Persians and non-Persians - Pythius (Lydian) o “2000 talents of silver, 3,993,000 gold Darics” (Herodotus) - Masistes (Persian) o Xerxes’ full-brother and younger brother Describing religious policy 1) Polytheism/tolerance a) Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem (Ezra) 2) Increased profile of Ahuramazda a) Daeva inscription and Granger 3) Intolerance? a) Cyrus cylinder and Ezra (Book in Bible) both show tolerance to Jews such as at Babylon and Jerusalem b) Furthermore, Esther (Bible) evidences that, during Xerxes’ reign, Jews were allowed to protect themselves i) In Egypt, Xerxes also “donated to temples” (Granger), a sign of his tolerance ii) In Babylon, Xerxes “supplied temple personnel with rations from the royal treasury” (Granger) Assessing foreign policy - Pink booklet 1 (p132) o Failures after 180/479 at Mycale, Eion, and Eurymedon (Herodotus and Thucydides) - Diodorus details the building of a more powerful fleet o “But the Persians, having met with so many great reverses, built other triremes in greater number, since they feared the growing might of the Athenians” - Sancisi-Weerdenburg + Kuhrt o Achaemenid history workshop (revisionist, formed to combat orientalism and the resultant Hellenocentrism) Manner and impact of Xerxes’ death

-

Granger, pink booklet 3, p51-53 Impact: o Initial problems o Eventual stability Manner

Legacy - Thesis statement: Legacy is considered as what Xerxes hands down to Ataxerxes - BP1: Religious policy o Tolerance with increased profile of Ahuramazda - BP2: Foreign policy o Include revolts quelled (although they may be considered as admin) o Greco-Persian wars  However, length of reign (15 years) AFTER the Greco-Persian wars evidences that it may not have been a failure  Dio Chrysostomos presents an alternative view… positive o Eurymedon River - BP3: Building program o Improved representation of self - BP4: Admin o o Although mostly positive, must include:  Manner of death (provides a negative assessment of his reign)  Died in a palace coup o Evidences political instability o Possibly evidences failure of Eye of the King...