Xerxies, Speech
By the favour of Ahuramazda, I was made king of this, the greatest empire. My Persia is the largest and most powerful empire the ancient world has yet seen#. I am Xerxes! An Achaemenid, son of the great conqueror: Darius, and grandson to Cyrus the Great: who established this mighty kingdom. By all rights, this throne was mine: by blood (for, as good Demaratus advised, I was the firstborn of my father after his accession), lineage and Ahuramazda’s will. Me, did Ahuramazda constantly- throughout my kingship- protect.
As all Persian kings, I was supreme ruler and owner of all of Persia. I had a large deal of duties, for as a king I had many roles: economical, political, administrative, legal, religious and militaristic. I received income from the estates and workshops, and accepted taxes, tributes and great gifts. I controlled and oversaw all aspects of the bureaucracy. As supreme commander of the Persian army I accompanied my force on great campaigns- I travelled with them into Greece, until further responsibilities and duty called me back to Persia. And, it was by Ahuramazda’s favour that I was made king, and it was by Him that I was guided through my reign. I reigned for a long twenty-one prosperous years.
I proved my worth as king, readily and consistently. As soon as I came to the throne my reign was challenged which I dealt with as a good king would. In 486 BC, after my father death, the Egyptians rose up in revolt against me. They did so because of supposed corruption in the government- so I, soon after I had suppressed the revolt, replaced the satrap Aryandes with my own brother! Later, angered by necessary punishment, Egyptian priests dubbed me “that wicked man”#. They accuse me of confiscating a large piece of land from their temple at Buto, and taking possessions from other Egyptian temples. These allegations are exaggeration, but I did confiscate land from the Buto temple. I tolerate their paganism, and I am a “wicked man”? They should know that I...
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