薛西斯一世(前519年～465年)

Xerxes I

波斯文作Khsayarsha

阿契美尼德王朝的波斯国王（西元前486～西元前465年在位）。继位前曾统辖巴比伦十几年。西元前484年和西元前482年，对埃及和巴比伦尼亚进行猛烈的镇压。他为大流士在马拉松的惨败（西元前490年）报仇，花了三年时间徵集军队，并组成一支海军。当一场暴风雨摧毁横渡赫勒斯滂海峡的船桥，薛西斯用马鞭抽海，以示惩罚。桥重新搭起之後，他以七天的时间监督军队跨海，按近代估计为360,000人，并有七百艘战舰为後援。在几次胜仗後，占领阿提卡，洗劫雅典，但在萨拉米斯的海战中失败，跨海回亚洲，留下军队，在普拉蒂亚战役後，才撤走军队。薛西斯因这次失败而心灰意懒，退居苏萨和波斯波利斯，开始大兴土木，广筑宫室，在不知情下卷入後宫的阴谋，在王后的要求下，杀自己兄弟的全家。他本人则被宫廷的大臣们谋杀。他在希腊的挫败意味着阿契美尼德王朝衰亡的开端。

English version：

前519年～465年

Xerxes I

Persian king (486-465 BC) of the Achaemenian dynasty. The son of Darius I, he had been governor of Babylon before his succession. He ferociously suppressed rebellions in Egypt (484) and Babylonia (482). To avenge Darius' defeat by the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon, he spent three years raising a massive army and navy. When a storm destroyed the bridges he had built to cross the Hellespont, he had them rebuilt and for seven days oversaw the crossing of his army, numbering 360,000 troops by modern estimates, supported by over 700 ships. The Persians broke through at the Battle of Thermopylae and pillaged Athens, but then lost its navy at Battle of Salamis (480). Xerxes returned to Asia, leaving the army behind; it withdrew after its defeat at the Battle of Plataea (479). In Persia he began an extensive building campaign at Persepolis. Drawn unwittingly into palace intrigues, he killed his brother's family at the queen's demand. He was murdered by members of his court. His setback in Greece was regarded as the beginning of the decline of the Achaemenid dynasty.