The battles of the Achaemenid Empire against the European Greeks, alongside the battles of Thermopylae and Marathon, are among the most famous military events in world history.Nowadays, the description of this great Persian campaign is only available to researchers through Greek writings, and therefore, the Eastern perspective on what happened in this event has been left out. Based on Herodotus' reports in his seventh, eighth, and ninth books, and following it, Diodorus in his eleventh book, the Persian army of the Achaemenid Empire was ultimately defeated in the Battle of Salamis after several victories, and with their voluntary withdrawal from the captured city of Athens, the Achaemenids returned to Asia. This was followed by the initial victories of Mardonius and his ultimate failure, which led the military borders of this empire back to its previous European satrapies.This article analyzes another report that depicts a vivid narrative in an Arsacid palace, according to which, Xerxes himself called his final victories in these battles, contrary to the claims of the Greeks.This article concludes that firstly, memories and details related to the events of the Achaemenid era were preserved in the historiography of the Arsacid era, and secondly, based on the ancient Eastern perspective, Greek narratives related to the subject of the Achaemenid campaign in Europe can be seriously criticized.In sum, this article states that the forces of Xerxes and Mardonius were not defeated by the Greek forces. However, due to the damage caused by two storms, their military power was weakened, and as a result, they failed to achieve all their goals. Furthermore, this research suggests that the Battle of Plataea did not unfold as described by Herodotus and Diodorus regarding the role of the Greeks in its outcome.In conclusion, Xerxes' military operations weakened and brought severe calamity to Northern Greece's foundation.
Firouzi, S., Rasouli, A., & Saadat Mehr, M. A. (2023). An Illustrated Oriental Narrative of Xerxes' Battles in Europe; Data from a Parthian Palace and a Different Alternative to the One-Sided Greek Accounts. Ancien Culture and Languages, 3(2), 25-54. doi: 10.22034/aclr.2023.2002476.1068
MLA
Sorena Firouzi; Arezoo Rasouli; Muhammad Amin Saadat Mehr. "An Illustrated Oriental Narrative of Xerxes' Battles in Europe; Data from a Parthian Palace and a Different Alternative to the One-Sided Greek Accounts". Ancien Culture and Languages, 3, 2, 2023, 25-54. doi: 10.22034/aclr.2023.2002476.1068
HARVARD
Firouzi, S., Rasouli, A., Saadat Mehr, M. A. (2023). 'An Illustrated Oriental Narrative of Xerxes' Battles in Europe; Data from a Parthian Palace and a Different Alternative to the One-Sided Greek Accounts', Ancien Culture and Languages, 3(2), pp. 25-54. doi: 10.22034/aclr.2023.2002476.1068
VANCOUVER
Firouzi, S., Rasouli, A., Saadat Mehr, M. A. An Illustrated Oriental Narrative of Xerxes' Battles in Europe; Data from a Parthian Palace and a Different Alternative to the One-Sided Greek Accounts. Ancien Culture and Languages, 2023; 3(2): 25-54. doi: 10.22034/aclr.2023.2002476.1068
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