Xerxes II of Persia

Brief ruler of the Achaemenid Empire (died 424 BC)

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Lived -500–-423, aged 77

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Era
-500–-423
Aged 77

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

A Persian king whose entire reign lasted forty-five days before his half-brother killed him — the shortest flicker of power in the Achaemenid line, known mostly because Ctesias bothered to write it down.

Biography

About

Xerxes II was the only legitimate son of Artaxerxes I and Damaspia, and served as crown prince before inheriting the throne in 424 BC. His rule never extended beyond the Persian heartlands. Forty-five days in, his half-brother Sogdianus assassinated him. Sogdianus held power for six months before Darius II murdered him in turn. The figure survives as little more than a name in the writings of Ctesias.

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