Masistes

Along with general Mardonius, he commanded the army column that crossed Thrace along the coast;[2] however, he was almost completely absent during the course of the war, including the battles of Salamis and Plataea.

According to Herodotus, the battle was just about to take place at sea, but the Persians decided to come ashore in Ionia, Asia Minor, and fight on land.

Herodotus relates that, after his defeat in Greece, Xerxes fell in love with the wife of Masistes, but failed in all attempts to win her favour.

The wedding was celebrated in Sardis, but when the court returned to Susa, Xerxes decided that he desired the daughter rather than the mother, and Artaynte became his lover.

Under Amestris' orders, Masistes' wife was tortured and mutilated: her breasts, nose, ears, lips and tongue were cut out.

Masistes refused, and when he saw his mutilated wife he fled to Bactria to start a revolt; however, he was intercepted on his way by troops sent by the king, and put to death along with his followers and his three sons.

[7] It was originally considered that Xerxes, affected by his defeats in Greece, became involved in harem intrigues that would cause turmoil in the court and eventually result in the decadence and ruin of the Empire.

Thus, although the tale is based on Persian oral accounts of Masistes' revolt, it is impossible to consider it as a historical fact and to derive literal conclusions from it.

[10] Relating to this, it has been argued that the royal robe (which Amestris wove for Xerxes in the story) was not just a piece of clothing but a symbol of the Persian monarchy.

In a clay cuneiform tablet ( a commercial document, specifically) from the Babylonian city of Nippur dated to 429 BC (during Artaxerxes I's reign) mention is made of a certain Masishtu (Masištu), whose name has been identified as the Akkadian form of Masistes.