Lesson 28 - Fighting The Persian wars

Introduction

Athens and Sparta were two very different city-states in ancient Greece. Their differences sometimes led to a distrust of each other. But between 499 and 479 B.C.E., these city-states had a common enemy—the Persian Empire. At that time, Persia was the largest empire the world had ever seen. Its powerful kings ruled over lands in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. During the 400s B.C.E., the Persians invaded Greece, and the Persian wars began. To fight the Persians, the Greek city-states eventually joined together as allies. Allies are states that agree to help each other against a common enemy. Compared with Persia, these tiny Greek city-states had much less land and far fewer people. How could they possibly turn back such a powerful invader? In this chapter, you will learn about important battles during the Persian wars and discover who won them. You will also learn about the factors that influenced the outcome of the Persian wars.

The Battle of Plataea

In 479 B.C.E., an army of 80,000 allied Athenian and Spartan troops destroyed the Persian army in this decisive battle that ended the Persian wars.

The Battle of Thermopylae

In 480 B.C.E., the Persian army used a secret mountain path to surround a small Spartan force and win the Battle of Thermopylae. Then the Persians advanced to Athens.

The Battle of Marathon

In 490 B.C.E., the Persian king Darius invaded Greece. At the Battle of Marathon, better Greek weapons and strategy defeated the Persians.

The Persians army defeated _________?

In 493 B.C.E., the Persian army defeated the Ionians. To punish the Ionians for rebelling, the Persians destroyed the city of Miletus (my-LEE-tuhs).

The Battle of Salamis

In the same year, 480 B.C.E., the Persian king Xerxes burned down Athens. The Persian navy was later defeated at the Battle of Salamis, when Greek ships rammed and sank the Persian vessels.

The Persian Empire and the Ionian Revolt

The vast Persian Empire extended from Egypt east to the Indus River. In 546 B.C.E., the Persians conquered the Greek settlements of Ionia. The Ionians revolted, and in 493 B.C.E., the Persians defeated them. This triggered the first of the Persian wars in 490 B.C.E. The Ionian Revolt, which began in 499 B.C.E., led to the start of the Persian wars. Earlier, in 546 B.C.E., the Persians had conquered the wealthy Greek settlements in Ionia, a small coastal region bordering the Aegean Sea, in Asia Minor. The Persians took the Ionians' farmland and harbors. They forced the Ionians to pay tributes, or the regular payments of goods. The Ionians also had to serve in the Persian army.

To rule such a large area, King Darius __________?

To rule such a large area, King Darius (duh-RAHY-uhs), one of the greatest of all the Persian kings, divided the empire into 20 provinces.