The persian ( Achaemenid) King Xerxes' route from Anatolia towards Greece: A general evaluation in the light of recent archeological and historical geography findings

The Achaemenid Kingdom, founded by the Great King Kyrus, was extended from the Indus Valley to the Aegean, from Central Asia to the Nile during the reigns of Kambyses and Dareios. Following the death of Dareios I, Xerxes I, the son of Dareios I, set off towards Greek mainland (481 - 480 BC) to complete the work left by his father. Since Anatolian route of this expedition hasn't been examined sufficiently, in this thesis the subjects which were examined include which route was followed by Xerxes I, in which regions military quarters were formed, the importance of Oluz Höyük (Kritalla?) for the expedition and soldiers from different nationalities. While writing this thesis, besides historical archaeological methods, historical methodology method and library studies were carried out and map of Anatolian route towards Greek mainland was prepared. Keywords: Persian, Anatolia, Oluz Höyük, Thermopylai, Sparta