Xerxes I of Persia (; x-š-y-a-r-š-a , meaning "ruling over heroes", Greek   (519–465 BC), also known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth of the king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire. He ruled from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC at the hands of Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard.