Latest / The Achaemenid Empire: Persia's Golden Age of Power — Fexingo History / The Xerxes I Succession Crisis: How Atossa Made a King
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Darius the Great — his rise, his reforms, his building projects. But what happened when he died? Who took over, and how was that decision made? Luna: I assumed it was just the eldest son. Lucas: You'd think so, right? But it wasn't that simple. Darius had several sons from different wives, and the succession wasn't automatic. When he fell ill in 486 BCE, a real power struggle was brewing. The two main contenders were Artobazanes, his eldest son from his first wife, and Xerxes, his eldest son born after Darius became king — and his mother was Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great. Luna: So birth order wasn't the only factor. Lucas: Exactly. Artobazanes argued primogeniture — I'm the firstborn, the throne should be mine. But Xerxes had a different argument. He was what the Greeks later called 'porphyrogenitos' — born in the purple, meaning after his father took the throne. And his mother was the daughter of the empire's founder. That carried enormous weight. Lucas: Herodotus tells us that Atossa was the real power behind Xerxes's claim. She was already influential — she had Darius's ear, and she knew how the court worked. She probably convinced Darius to name Xerxes as co-king before his death, which would have made the transition smoother. Luna: Did the Persians have a formal process for choosing a king? Lucas: Not exactly. There was no written constitution. It was a blend of custom, consensus among the nobility, and royal will. The king could name a successor, but it had to be accepted by the court. In this case, Xerxes's claim won out. He was crowned in late 486 or early 485 BCE. Lucas: But here's the thing — this succession crisis wasn't just a family drama. It had huge consequences. Xerxes immediately faced revolts in Babylon and Egypt. He crushed Babylon brutally — destroyed their temples and melted down the golden statue of Marduk. That's a far cry from Cyrus's policy of religious tolerance. Luna: Wait, really? He destroyed the temples? Lucas: According to later sources, yes. The Babylonians revolted twice — once before Xerxes's accession and once after. He responded with overwhelming force. Then he turned his attention to Greece — the invasion that defined his reign. Lucas: And that invasion — Thermopylae, Salamis, the burning of Athens — it all traces back to how Xerxes became king. If Artobazanes had succeeded, would there have been a Persian invasion of Greece? We'll never know. Luna: So Xerxes wasn't just Darius's son — he was Atossa's son, and that mattered. Lucas: Absolutely. Atossa is one of the most fascinating figures in Persian history. She appears in Herodotus, and also in the Persepolis Fortification Tablets — administrative records that mention her household and her wealth. She controlled vast estates, had her own seal, and received rations for hundreds of workers. She was a political actor in her own right. Luna: I love that we can actually see her in the archaeological record. Lucas: It's rare for a woman from this period to be so visible. The tablets show that Atossa had a huge economic footprint. She owned land in Persis, Elam, and Media. She also had her own scribes and administrators. That kind of power gave her influence at court. Lucas: And she used it to secure her son's position. It's a reminder that royal women in the Achaemenid Empire weren't just ornaments — they were players. Of course, their power was informal, but it was real. Luna: Informal but decisive. Lucas: Exactly. And that brings up a broader point: the Achaemenid succession was always fragile. Every time a king died, there was potential for civil war. The system depended on the king's ability to manage his family and the nobility. Darius himself had come to power after a rebellion, so he knew the stakes. Lucas: If today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support. You can buy me a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It really helps us keep doing these deep dives. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to keep the show going without ads. Lucas: Anyway — back to Xerxes. He inherited an empire at its peak, but also one with simmering resentments. His response to the revolts shows a different style from his father. Darius was a builder and an administrator. Xerxes was more of a warrior — or at least, he wanted to be seen as one. Luna: Do we know how Xerxes viewed his own succession? Lucas: He seems to have tried to avoid the same problems. He had several sons, and he designated Artaxerxes as his successor while he was still alive. But there was still intrigue — his eldest son Darius was executed for conspiracy, and another son, Hystaspes, was governor of Bactria. It's messy. Lucas: And it only got messier after Xerxes's assassination in 465 BCE. But that's a story for another episode. Luna: So the succession crisis of 486 BCE set a pattern. Lucas: Exactly. And it shows that the Achaemenid Empire, for all its power, was always one death away from instability. The king's authority was absolute, but only if he could hold the court together. Xerxes did — barely — but his reign ended in assassination. The throne passed to Artaxerxes, but the cracks were showing. Lucas: So when we think about Persia's golden age, we should remember not just the monuments and the armies, but the human decisions — and the women behind them — that shaped everything.