Xerxes I did not confront the Macedonian invasion of the Achaemenid Empire. He ruled from 486 to 465 BCE, more than a century before Alexander of Macedon invaded Persian territory in 334 BCE. The Persian king who fought Alexander was Darius III.
The Reign of Xerxes I
Xerxes inherited the Achaemenid throne from his father, Darius I. He became ruler of an empire extending from Anatolia and Egypt to Central Asia and the Indus Valley.
Early in his reign, Xerxes responded to unrest in Egypt and Babylonia. He also continued the construction of Persepolis, commissioning monuments such as the Gate of All Nations and completing projects begun by Darius.
Macedonia Under Persian Influence
Persia had established influence in Macedonia before Xerxes became king. During the European campaigns of Darius I, the Macedonian monarchy accepted a subordinate relationship with the Achaemenid Empire.
When Xerxes invaded Greece in 480 BCE, his forces travelled through Thrace and Macedonia. The Macedonian king Alexander I cooperated with the Persians while also maintaining connections with the southern Greek states.
Macedonia was therefore not yet the enemy that would later conquer Persia. During the reign of Xerxes, it was a comparatively small kingdom operating within the political world shaped by Achaemenid power.
Xerxes Invades Greece
Xerxes launched a major invasion of mainland Greece in 480 BCE. The campaign continued the struggle that had begun during the Ionian Revolt and the reign of Darius I.
Persian engineers built pontoon bridges across the Hellespont and cut a canal through the Athos peninsula. These projects allowed a large army and fleet to move from Asia into Europe.
The Persians defeated the Greek defenders at Thermopylae and advanced into central Greece. Athens was evacuated and occupied, while important buildings on the Acropolis were burned.
Salamis and the Persian Withdrawal
The Persian fleet was defeated in the narrow waters near Salamis. The loss threatened communication and supply routes across the Aegean, encouraging Xerxes to return to Asia with part of his forces.
Xerxes left Mardonius to continue the campaign. In 479 BCE, the Persian army was defeated at Plataea, while another Greek victory at Mycale weakened Achaemenid control of the Aegean coast.
These defeats ended the attempt to conquer all of mainland Greece, but they did not destroy the Achaemenid Empire. Persia remained a major power and continued to influence Greek affairs for more than a century.
The Rise of Macedon
After the reign of Xerxes, Macedonia gradually became more powerful. In the fourth century BCE, Philip II reorganised the Macedonian army and established control over most of Greece.
Philip planned an invasion of the Achaemenid Empire but was assassinated in 336 BCE. His son Alexander III inherited both the Macedonian throne and the proposed campaign against Persia.
Alexander Invades the Achaemenid Empire
Alexander crossed the Hellespont in 334 BCE, approximately 146 years after the invasion led by Xerxes. Macedonian propaganda presented the campaign as revenge for the earlier Persian attacks on Greece.
This claim provided Alexander with a convenient justification for conquest. His campaign quickly expanded beyond retaliation and became a struggle for control of the entire Achaemenid Empire.
Alexander defeated Persian forces at the Granicus River, Issus and Gaugamela. He then occupied Babylon, Susa and Persepolis before pursuing Darius III into the eastern provinces.
The Burning of Persepolis
In 330 BCE, important buildings at Persepolis were destroyed by fire. Ancient writers sometimes connected the burning to Xerxes’s destruction of temples on the Athenian Acropolis in 480 BCE.
One tradition claimed that the fire was an act of revenge for the Persian invasion of Greece. Another interpretation suggests that Alexander deliberately destroyed part of the palace complex to announce the end of Achaemenid royal authority.
The precise motive remains uncertain. The story nevertheless created a symbolic connection between the campaign of Xerxes and the Macedonian conquest more than a century later.
Xerxes and Alexander in Historical Memory
Greek and Roman authors often portrayed Xerxes as the leader of an enormous but unsuccessful invasion. Alexander was presented as the commander who reversed the conflict by carrying war into Asia.
This interpretation can oversimplify the history of both campaigns. Xerxes remained ruler of a powerful empire after withdrawing from Greece, while Alexander’s conquest depended on years of warfare, negotiation and cooperation with Persian officials.
Two Different Invasions
Xerxes led a Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BCE. Alexander led a Macedonian invasion of the Achaemenid Empire beginning in 334 BCE. The two events were separated by almost a century and a half.
Xerxes never fought Alexander and did not witness the rise of Macedonia as an imperial power. Their campaigns became connected through later traditions of retaliation, conquest and the struggle between the Greek and Persian worlds.