Confucius · Xerxes I Were Confucius and Xerxes I alive at the same time? Yes. Confucius and Xerxes I were alive at the same time, from 519 BC to c. 479 BC. Confucius5th-century BCE Chinese philosopher and politicianBorn c. 551 BC · died c. 479 BCXerxes IFifth Achaemenid emperorBorn 519 BC · died August 465 BC, aged 53 or 54 AnaximanderCyrus the GreatConfuciusAeschylusXerxes ISophoclesPericlesHerodotusSocrates Confucius and Xerxes I in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.