Editing Xerxes I (section)

== Consolidation of power ==
[[Image:Histoire universelle depuis le commencement du monde jusqu'à présent (1742) (14598039057).jpg|thumb|Engraving of [[Babylon]] by H. Fletcher, 1690]]
At the time of Xerxes' accession, trouble was brewing in some of his domains. A revolt occurred in [[Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt|Egypt]], which seemed dangerous enough for Xerxes to personally lead the army to restore order (which also gave him the opportunity to begin his reign with a military campaign).{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=525}} Xerxes suppressed the revolt in January 484 BC and appointed his full-brother [[Achaemenes (satrap)|Achaemenes]] as [[satrap]] of Egypt, replacing the previous satrap [[Pherendates]], who was reportedly killed during the revolt.{{sfn|Dandamayev|1983|p=414}}{{sfn|Dandamayev|1989|p=183}} The suppression of the Egyptian revolt expended the army, which had been mobilized by Darius over the previous three years.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=525}} Xerxes, therefore, had to raise another army for his expedition into Greece, which took another four years.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=525}} There was also unrest in Babylon, which revolted at least twice against Xerxes during his reign. The first revolt broke out in June or July of 484 BC and was led by a rebel of the name [[Bel-shimanni]]. Bel-shimmani's revolt was short-lived; Babylonian documents written during his reign only account for a period of two weeks.{{sfn|Dandamayev|1993|p=41}}

Two years later, Babylon produced another rebel leader, [[Shamash-eriba]]. Beginning in the summer of 482 BC, Shamash-eriba seized Babylon itself and other nearby cities, such as [[Borsippa]] and [[Dilbat]], and was only defeated in March 481 BC after a lengthy siege of Babylon.{{sfn|Dandamayev|1993|p=41}} The precise cause of the unrest in Babylon is uncertain.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=525}} It may have been due to tax increases.{{sfn|Stoneman|2015|p=111}} Prior to these revolts, Babylon had occupied a special position within the [[Achaemenid Empire]]; the Achaemenid kings had held the titles of "[[King of Babylon]]" and "[[King of the Lands]]," implying that they perceived [[Babylonia]] as a somewhat separate entity within their empire, united with their own kingdom in a [[personal union]]. After the revolts, however, Xerxes dropped "King of Babylon" from his titulature and divided the previously large Babylonian satrapy (accounting for most of the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]]'s territory) into smaller sub-units.{{sfn|Dandamayev|1989|pp=185–186}}

Based on texts written by classical authors, it is often assumed that Xerxes enacted a brutal vengeance on Babylon following the two revolts. According to ancient writers, Xerxes destroyed Babylon's fortifications and damaged the temples in the city.{{sfn|Dandamayev|1993|p=41}} The [[Esagila]] was allegedly subject to great damage, and Xerxes allegedly carried the [[statue of Marduk]] away from the city,{{sfn|Sancisi-Weerdenburg|2002|p=579}} possibly bringing it to Iran and melting it down (classical authors hold that the statue was made entirely of gold, which would have made melting it down possible).{{sfn|Dandamayev|1993|p=41}} Modern historian [[Amélie Kuhrt]] considers it unlikely that Xerxes destroyed the temples, but believes that the story of him doing so may derive from an [[anti-Iranian sentiment|anti-Persian sentiment]] among the Babylonians.{{sfn|Deloucas|2016|p=39}} It is doubtful if the statue was removed from Babylon at all{{sfn|Dandamayev|1993|p=41}} and some have even suggested that Xerxes did remove a statue from the city, but that this was the golden statue of a man rather than the statue of the god [[Marduk]].{{sfn|Waerzeggers|Seire|2018|p=3}}{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=544}} Though mentions of it are lacking considerably compared to earlier periods, contemporary documents suggest that the Babylonian [[Akitu|New Year's Festival]] continued in some form during the Achaemenid period.{{sfn|Deloucas|2016|p=40}} Because the change in rulership from the Babylonians themselves to the Persians and due to the replacement of the city's elite families by Xerxes following its revolt, it is possible that the festival's traditional rituals and events had changed considerably.{{sfn|Deloucas|2016|p=41}}