Editing Xerxes I (section)

==Death and succession==
[[File:Clay tablet. The cuneiform text mentions the murder of Xerxes I (r. 485-465 BCE) by his son and a lunar eclipse (609-447 BCE). From Babylon, Iraq. British Museum.jpg|thumb|left|This cuneiform text mentions the murder of Xerxes I by his son. From Babylon, Iraq. British Museum]]
In August 465&nbsp;BC, [[Artabanus of Persia|Artabanus]], the commander of the royal bodyguard and the most powerful official in the Persian court, assassinated Xerxes with the help of a [[eunuch]], Aspamitres.{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|pp=195–209}} Although the [[Hyrcanian]] Artabanus bore the same name as the [[Artabanus (son of Hystaspes)|famed uncle of Xerxes]], his rise to prominence was due to his popularity in religious quarters of the court and harem intrigues. He put his seven sons in key positions and had a plan to dethrone the [[Achaemenid dynasty|Achaemenids]].<ref>[[#refkhshayayrsha|Iran-e-Bastan/Pirnia book 1 p. 873]]</ref>

Greek historians give differing accounts of events. According to [[Ctesias]] (in Persica 20), Artabanus then accused the Crown Prince Darius, Xerxes's eldest son, of the murder and persuaded another of Xerxes's sons, [[Artaxerxes I of Persia|Artaxerxes]], to avenge the patricide by killing Darius. But according to [[Aristotle]] (in Politics 5.1311b), Artabanus killed Darius first and then killed Xerxes. After Artaxerxes discovered the murder, he killed Artabanus and his sons.<ref>[[#refartabanus-ei|Dandamayev]]</ref> Participating in these intrigues was the general [[Megabyzus]], whose decision to switch sides probably saved the Achaemenids from losing their control of the Persian throne.<ref>[[##refartaxerxes|''History of Persian Empire'', Olmstead pp. 289/90]]</ref>