Xerxes (Old Persian Khšayâršâ): He is the Ahasuerus of Esther who married Esther after losing the Battle of Marathon. king of the ancient Persian empire, ruled November 486 - August 6 (?), 465 BC. Best known for his ill-fated expedition against Greece in 480 BC, described in books six, seven and eight of the Histories of the Greek researcher Herodotus. Several royal inscriptions of Xerxes survive. Be sure to click on and read the royal inscriptions of Xerxes. Xerxes is the son of Darius I under whom the the second Temple was built and dedicated. Xerxes is also know for gathering the largest land army of one million men to march against the Greeks. The ethnic make up of the army is described in Herodotus.