WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Xerxes was the son of Darius I and Atossa, daughter of Cyrus; he was the first son born to Darius after his accession to the throne. Xerxes was designated heir apparent by his father in preference to his elder brother Artabazanes.

Detailed explanation-2: -Xerxes Tried To Finish Darius’ Greek Campaigns Xerxes sought revenge for his father’s defeat at Marathon a decade earlier. After a naval victory at Artemisium, the Persians annihilated the forces of the Spartan king Leonidas at Thermopylae. Xerxes’ army then ran amok in Greece, and Athens was sacked.

Detailed explanation-3: -The invasion, consisting of two distinct campaigns, was ordered by the Persian king Darius the Great primarily in order to punish the city-states of Athens and Eretria. These cities had supported the cities of Ionia during their revolt against Persian rule, thus incurring the wrath of Darius.

Detailed explanation-4: -Darius the Great directed a massive building program at Persepolis that would continue under his successors Xerxes and Artaxerxes I. Persepolis would remain an important site until it was sacked, looted, and burned under Alexander the Great of Macedon in 330 B.C.E.

Detailed explanation-5: -Darius I, King of Persia, decided he wanted to conquer the Greeks in 490 BC. He gathered a vast army of soldiers that outnumbered any army the Greeks could put together. They boarded the Persian fleet and headed to Greece. The Persian fleet landed at the Bay of Marathon, about 25 miles from the city of Athens.