Editing Xerxes I (section)

== Early life ==
=== Parentage and birth ===
Xerxes' father was [[Darius the Great]] ({{reign|522|486|era=BC}}), the incumbent monarch of the Achaemenid Empire, albeit himself not a member of the family of [[Cyrus the Great]], the founder of the empire.{{sfn|Llewellyn-Jones|2017|p=70}}{{sfn|Waters|1996|pp=11, 18}} Xerxes' mother was [[Atossa]], a daughter of Cyrus.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=132}} Darius and Atossa married in 522 BC,{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=520}} and Xerxes was born around 518 BC.{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=1}}

=== Upbringing and education ===
[[File:Caylus_vase_1762.jpg|thumb|upright|The "[[Caylus vase]]", a quadrilingual [[alabaster jar]] with cuneiform and hieroglyphic inscriptions in the name of "Xerxes, the Great King". [[Cabinet des Médailles]], [[Paris]]<ref name="RMN">{{cite web |title=vase (inv.65.4695) - inv.65.4695, BnF |url=http://medaillesetantiques.bnf.fr/ws/catalogue/app/collection/record/ark:/12148/c33gbts1b |website=medaillesetantiques.bnf.fr |language=fr}}</ref>]]
According to the Greek dialogue [[First Alcibiades]], which describes typical upbringing and education of Persian princes, they were raised by [[eunuchs]]. Starting at the age of seven, they learned how to ride and hunt; after reaching the age of fourteen, they were each taught by four teachers from aristocratic backgrounds, who taught them how to be "wise, just, prudent, and brave."{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=27}} Persian princes also learned the basics of the [[Zoroastrian]] religion, and were taught to be truthful, to be courageous, and to have self-restraint.{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=27}} The dialogue further added that "fear, for a Persian, is the equivalent of slavery."{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=27}} At the age of 16 or 17, they began their mandatory 10 years of national service, which included practicing archery and javelin, competing for prizes, and hunting.{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=28}} Afterwards, they served in the military for around 25 years, after which they were elevated to the status of elders and advisers to the king. Families{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=28}} in this time, including Xerxes', would intermarry.

This account of education among the Persian elite is supported by [[Xenophon]]'s description of the 5th-century BC Achaemenid prince [[Cyrus the Younger]], with whom he was well-acquainted.{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=28}} Stoneman suggests that this was the type of upbringing and education that Xerxes experienced.{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=29}} It is unknown if Xerxes ever learned to read or write, with the Persians favoring oral history over written literature.{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=29}} Stoneman suggests that Xerxes' upbringing and education was possibly not much different from that of the later Iranian kings, such as [[Abbas the Great]], king of the [[Safavid Empire]] in the 17th-century AD.{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=29}} Starting from 498 BC, Xerxes resided in the royal palace of [[Babylon]].{{sfn|Dandamayev|1989|p=183}}

===Accession to the throne===
While Darius was preparing for another war against Greece, a revolt began in Egypt in 486BC due to heavy taxes and the deportation of craftsmen to build the royal palaces at Susa and Persepolis. The king was required by Persian law to choose a successor before setting out on dangerous expeditions; when Darius decided to leave for Egypt (487–486BC), he prepared his tomb at [[Naqsh-e Rustam]] (five kilometers from his royal palace at Persepolis) and appointed Xerxes, his eldest son by [[Atossa]], as his successor. However, Darius could not lead the campaign due to his failing health; he died in October 486&nbsp;BC at the age of 64.{{sfn|Dandamayev|1989|pp=178–179}}

[[Artobazan]] claimed that he should take the crown as the eldest of all Darius' children, while Xerxes argued for his own claim on the grounds that he was the son of Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, and that Cyrus had won the Persians their freedom. Xerxes' claim was supported by a Spartan king in exile who was present in Persia at the time, the [[Eurypontid]] king [[Demaratus]], who also argued that the eldest son did not universally have the best claim to the crown, citing Spartan law, which stated that the first son born while the father is king was the heir to the kingship.<ref>[[Herodotus]] 7.1–5</ref> Some modern scholars also view the unusual decision of Darius to give the throne to Xerxes as a result of his consideration of the particular prestige that Cyrus the Great and his daughter Atossa enjoyed.<ref>[[#refshabani-xerxes|R. Shabani]] Chapter I, p. 15</ref> [[Artobazan]] was born to "Darius the subject", while Xerxes was the eldest son "[[born in the purple]]" after Darius' rise to the throne. Furthermore, while Artobazan's mother was a commoner, Xerxes' mother was the daughter of the founder of the Achaemenid Empire.<ref>[[#ref|Olmstead: The history of Persian empire]]</ref>

Xerxes was crowned and succeeded his father in October–December 486&nbsp;BC<ref name=chi-v2>[[#refchi-v2|''The Cambridge History of Iran'']] vol. 2. p. 509.</ref> when he was about 32 years old.{{sfn|Dandamayev|1989|p=180}} The transition of power to Xerxes was smooth, due again in part to the great authority of Atossa<ref name=atossa-EI>Schmitt, R. "[[#refatossa-EI|Atossa]]". In ''[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]''.</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Sancisi-Weerdenburg
 |first1               = Heleen
 |author-link1         = Heleen Sancisi-Weerdenburg
 |editor-last1         = Vignolo Munson
 |editor-first1        = Rosaria
 |year                 = 2013
 |chapter              = Exit Atossa: Images of women in Greek historiography on Persia
 |title                = Herodotus
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=9Wp4AAAAQBAJ
 |series               = Oxford Readings in Classical Studies
 |volume               = 2: Herodotus and the World
 |edition              = reprint
 |location             = Oxford
 |publisher            = Oxford University Press
 |page                 = 139
 |isbn                 = 9780199587582
 |access-date          = 17 December 2022
 |quote                = According to Herodotus (7.2-3) Atossa played a prominent role in the selection of Xerxes as heir to the throne.
}} 
</ref> and his accession to royal power was not challenged by any person at court or in the Achaemenian family, or by any subject nation.<ref>
[[#refcah-vv|''The Cambridge Ancient History'' vol. V]] p. 72.</ref>