How did persian empire fall?
The Persian Empire, also called the Achaemenid Empire, had a glorious reign of strength from 559 BCE until its downfall in 330 BCE. It would experience its collapse because of poor leadership, unrest, and war. During its height, Persia encompassed western Asia, northern Africa, and parts of Europe. It reigned as one of the most powerful empires of the ancient world. Persian troops were stationed west to Greece and Libya, with control stretching east to modern-day Afghanistan, India, and Tajikistan.
Despite its vast territorial power, the Persian Empire would inevitably collapse as its resources were stretched thin due to constant war. Alexander the Great and the rise of his Greek and Macedon armies would also take a toll on the Persians, rendering a staggering death blow from which they would not recover. During the reign of Cyrus II and Darius I, the Persian Empire had expanded substantially to become the most powerful empire in western Asia. The Greco-Persian wars had further established it as a military force with which to be reckoned.
Xerxes the Great followed his father, Darius I, as the Persian king. Xerxes was named Darius I’s successor when he was only a boy, surprising many since Xerxes was not the eldest son. Typically, Persian tradition held fast at appointing the eldest son as the heir to any title or wealth. Darius deviated from the tradition because his oldest son was not born into royalty but a result of his relationship with a commoner before becoming king. As King, Darius I married Cyrus II’s daughter, Atosa, and she conceived Xerxes, who then became the first royal son. Although the empire was large and thriving when Xerxes took power, it was far from trouble-free.
The country lacked unification. Darius I’s failed campaigns into Greece were stalled when he was defeated at the Battle of Marathon. Before he was able to undertake a second invasion, an uprising in Egypt erupted. At the same time, the Bactrians started gaining power and wished to break free of Persian rule. The revolt in Egypt spurred a revolt in Jerusalem. As Xerxes ascended to the throne in 485 BCE, he was forced to act immediately and move against both Palestine and Egypt in an effort to curtail the rebellion and regain control of the situation.
Along with his armies, Xerxes entered Palestine through Gaza and onward to Egypt, where they suddenly stopped the revolt with strongarm tactics. Even though the campaign to control the unrest was relatively quick and effective, it still left a blemish on the empire and made it more difficult for Xerxes to control the regions. Many believe that Xerxes' departure from the ruling style of Darius I spurred the empire’s eventual downfall. Xerxes' father had respected the religion and customs of the Egyptians, always ensuring that they were free to practice their cultural beliefs. He even honored some of the Egyptian god-kings, going so far as to take a god-king name for himself to reinforce the Egyptians belief in monarchical rule.
Unfortunately, Xerxes did not share his father’s tolerance level and swiftly regulated the Egyptian’s religious beliefs and practices. He wanted them to conform to Persian customs, which only made his control of Egypt slip away; the Egyptians strongly objected to the changing ways. As shown in the Egyptian uprising, Xerxes had his own ideas of how things should be handled, departing from many of his father’s successful policies. Initially, his free-thinking and independent nature helped build his power and heighten his importance, but it also put the empire in peril of a regional revolt.
The policy changes were supposed to focus more power on Xerxes, but instead, the leader began losing his hold on his citizens. Xerxes had inherited the empire at its height, but he would do nothing to expand its vast holdings and, in time, would lose some of the empire’s territory. Another dilemma: Xerxes faced a lack of support from Babylon. He had changed the titles associated with the king, causing unrest and leading many to question whether Xerxes even had a legitimate claim to the throne's power. Before his reign, previous Persian kings had called themselves “King of Babylon, King of lands” when addressing the Babylonian people.
This was a respectful way to pay tribute to the ancient powers. Still, it was also very well-planned and strategic because the emperors of western Asia and Mesopotamia all strived to keep the Babylonians content. Xerxes lacked the diplomacy of his previous successors, calling himself “Xerxes King of Paras (Persia) and Mada (Media).” He then placed the words “King of Babylon, King of lands” at the end of his title; this was deemed an insult to the Babylonia people and their rulers. Many scholars theorize that the move to change the title was intentional and an act to strike a blow against Babylon’s independence. They believe that after the uprising in Egypt, Xerxes questioned the effectiveness of his father’s previous policies and wanted to humiliate the Babylonians to reassert himself as the only sovereign power. Whatever Xerxes' reasoning, his decision threw everything into a state of chaos, and loyalty faltered.
One member of the Babylonian nobility, Belshimanni, took advantage of the situation, proclaiming independence for Babylon and all Babylonians. He called himself the ‘King of Babylon, King of lands.” As Belshimanni gained a following, he stormed the Persian installations in Babylon.
He ultimately killed the satrap appointed by Xerxes to manage Babylon and the outlying territories. In response, Xerxes dispatched his best general and brother-in-law, Megabyzus, and his army to Babylon to curtail the uprising and dispense punishment for Babylonians for their attempted insurrection. Megabyzus took only a couple of days to regain control of Babylon. He tore through the city walls, laid waste to the temples, and melted an enormous 18-foot gold statue of the Babylonian's most important god, Bel Marduk. He also executed all of the priests and everyone associated with the uprising.
A policy change was implemented in terms of how satraps would manage going forward – a change that caused great unrest and bred even greater rebellion. Although the Persian army remained strong initially, Xerxes’s harsh reaction to the uprising shifted due to another challenge: An invasion of Greece loomed – and would present one of Xerxes's most famous setbacks in terms of his failed attempts to invade Greece and Europe. Xerxes pulled his naval fleets from Egypt, Asia Minor, and Phoenicia. He also rallied half of his foot soldiers by deploying three of his six army corps to invade Greece. Xerxes compiled an impressive array of 180,000 soldiers as he prepared for the invasion. He formed a robust supply line for his armies that reached from the Aegean Sea into Greece.
As his army slowly advanced into Greece, the Greeks quickly implemented a defense. Cities such as Sparta, Athens, Delphi, and Eretria formed an alliance. In 480 BCE, Xerxes, his troops, and his fleet formed along the Thracian coast. The Greeks didn’t back down but instead rallied to fight the forces. Upon seeing the Greek’s steadfast commitment to fighting the Persian forces at all costs, Xerxes changed his mind, losing interest in expanding the territories. He didn’t even focus on building within his own empire. Instead, he immersed himself in his harem lifestyle and left the management of Persia to his satraps and advisers. Xerxes's actions (such as falling in love with his brother's wife and pursuing his son’s wife) upset and shocked his court. He also launched a taxation campaign, furthering unrest in his empire. He even raised the monetary expectations across all lands he controlled to bolster his coffers.
The gold was rapidly drained from the Empire and melted down for storage in Xerxes palace. Discontent grew throughout the empire. During the last 15 years of Xerxes’s reign, his incompetence grew, and he was eventually assassinated in 465 BCE. Still, his failures had left their mark on the Persian empire and led to its collapse. His son, Artaxerxes I, took over the Empire but was a weak leader and the empire slowly crumbled even further. Without a doubt, Xerxes was the catalyst that started the fall of the Persian Empire. It never recovered from his weak and flawed leadership and would continue to decline.
By 330 BCE, the Persian empire would topple to the invading armies of Alexander the Great of Macedon. Many rulers would struggle to restore the impressive empire, but they would fail, and Persia would never achieve the size or strength it had experienced under the leadership of Cyrus the Great.
