 In 465 BC, Xerxes I was murdered by "Hazarapat" ("commander of thousand") Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard and the most powerful official in the Persian court, with the help of a eunuch, Aspamitres.Greek historians give contradicting accounts of events.According to Ctesias (in "Persica" 20), Artabanus then accused Crown Prince Darius, Xerxes's eldest son, of the murder, and persuaded Artaxerxes to avenge the patricide by killing Darius.