Editing Xerxes I (section)

===Invasion of the Greek mainland===
{{Main|Second Persian invasion of Greece}}
[[File:Xerxes all ethnicities.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The soldiers of Xerxes I, of all ethnicities,<ref>[http://www.iranicaonline.org/uploads/files/Clothing/v5f7a014_f1_300.jpg Soldiers with names], after Walser</ref> on the tomb of Xerxes I, at [[Naqsh-e Rostam]]<ref>The Achaemenid Empire in South Asia and Recent Excavations in Akra in Northwest Pakistan Peter Magee, Cameron Petrie, Robert Knox, Farid Khan, Ken Thomas [https://repository.brynmawr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1082&context=arch_pubs p. 713]</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Naqš-e-Rostam – Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/naqs-e-rostam |language=en}}</ref>]]
Darius died while in the process of preparing a second army to invade the Greek mainland, leaving to his son the task of punishing the [[Athens|Athenians]], [[Naxos Island|Naxians]], and [[Eretria]]ns for their interference in the [[Ionian Revolt]], the burning of [[Sardis]], and their victory over the Persians at [[Battle of Marathon|Marathon]]. From 483BC, Xerxes prepared his expedition: The [[Xerxes Canal]] was dug through the [[isthmus]] of the peninsula of [[Mount Athos]], provisions were stored in the stations on the road through [[Thrace]], and two [[pontoon bridge]]s later known as [[Xerxes' Pontoon Bridges]] were built across the [[Hellespont]]. Soldiers of many nationalities served in the armies of Xerxes from all over his multi-ethnic    massive sized empire and beyond, including the [[Medes]], [[Saka]], [[Elamites]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Phoenicia]]ns, [[Babylonians]], [[Egyptians]], [[Jews]], [[Arabs]]<ref>Farrokh, Kaveh (2007). ''Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War''. Oxford, UK: Osprey. {{ISBN|1846031087}}, p. 77</ref> [[Macedon]]ians, [[Thrace|Thracians]], [[Paionia|Paeonians]], [[Achaeans (tribe)|Achaean]] [[Greeks]], [[Ionians|Ionian]] [[Greeks]], [[Aegean Islands|Aegean]] [[Greeks]], [[Aeolis|Aeolian]] [[Greeks]], [[Greeks|Greeks from]] [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]], [[Colchians]], [[Sindhis]] and many more.

According to the Greek historian [[Herodotus]], Xerxes's first attempt to bridge the Hellespont ended in failure when a storm destroyed the [[flax]] and [[papyrus]] cables of the bridges. In retaliation, Xerxes ordered the Hellespont (the strait itself) whipped three hundred times, and had [[fetters]] thrown into the water. Xerxes's second attempt to bridge the Hellespont was successful.<ref>Bailkey, Nels, ed. ''Readings in Ancient History'', p. 175. D.C. Heath and Co., 1992.</ref> The [[Carthage|Carthaginian]] [[Sicilian Wars#The First Sicilian War (480 BC)|invasion of Sicily]] deprived Greece of the support of the powerful monarchs of [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]] and [[Agrigentum]]; ancient sources assume Xerxes was responsible, modern scholarship is skeptical.<ref>G. Mafodda, ''La monarchia di Gelone tra pragmatismo, ideologia e propaganda'', (Messina, 1996) pp. 119–136</ref> Many smaller Greek states, moreover, took the side of the Persians, especially [[Thessaly]], [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]] and [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]]. Xerxes was victorious during the initial battles.

Xerxes set out in the spring of 480BC from [[Sardis]] with a fleet and army which [[Herodotus]] estimated was roughly one million strong along with 10,000 elite warriors named the [[Immortals (Achaemenid Empire)|Immortals]]. More recent estimates place the Persian force at around 60,000 combatants.<ref>Barkworth, 1993. "The Organization of Xerxes' Army." ''Iranica Antiqua'' Vol. 27, pp. 149–167</ref>