King Xerxes from 300

Not many know about this interesting man, so I thought I'd do my best to illuminate some connections to the world that we know.

Alternate name: Ahasuerus, Khshayarsa, Khashyar Shah. Xerxes is his Greek name.
Years Ruled: Possibly 486-465 BCE
Father: King Darius the First. Potentially Darius the Mede; read about in Daniel Ch. 5,6 of the Bible.
Mother: Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great; another Persian King.
Wife: Possibly Queen Esther (Hadassah), an orphan daughter of a Benjamite named Abihail. She was either his wife or the wife of one of his sons, Artaxerxes I or Artaxerxes II; we aren't sure.

After his eventual retreat from Greece, which was thought to be due to civil unrest in Babylon more than Greece's armies, he focused on building projects his father never completed.

One such project was the Gate of All Nations, located in the ruins of the ancient city of Persepolis, Iran.

Two large bulls stood in the western direction and two large Lamassu stood facing eastward. It is thought that this gateway had mechanisms placed inside of it; built of wood and metal; a sophisticated device. While most known for his attempt to take Greece, especially to us from the movie, Xerxes was also heralded as a great builder of his nation.

He was a bit egocentric. In the movie he perceives himself as a god. From what I can find of him, that's not far off the mark. He thought he was all-that-and-then-some, as most kings did back then. In one good example, instead of holding to long honored traditions of his forefathers, he famously melted down the giant statue of Marduk instead of paying homage to the god's greatness. He instead claimed that he and he alone was the King of the Medes and Persians.

The great statue of Marduk was solid gold, and thought to resemble something similar to this below, but much taller:

Much like in the movie 300, he was a very sexual man. He is said to have had a fondness for women and a lack of restraint; one such instance leading to his pursuit of his brother Masistes’ wife. When she refused him, he married one of his sons, Darius, to the daughter of Masistes, Artaynte, in hopes that, by that union, he could get closer to his brother’s wife and manage to seduce her. When he saw Artaynte, however, he desired her more than the mother and, when he approached her, she agreed to an affair.

After much more soap opera styled drama and his plot having worked, his Brother eventually tried to raise a revolt in Bactra against him. Xerxes, hearing of his plans, trapped him and killed him, his sons, and all of the men he had rallied to his cause.

His assassination came at the hand of his minister, Artabanus, who also murdered his son Darius. Xerxes’ other son, Artaxerxes I, then killed Artabanus, took the throne. Artaxerxes I also furthered his own name as his father did, individualizing himself as the one ruler over all.