Persian Wars

Persian Wars

Cyrus 550-530BC Darius 522-486 BC Herodotus "The Hisbries" 484-425BC (biased towards Greeks) Xerxes 486-465BC

540 BC

Cyrus conquers the Chaldeans

550 BC

Cyrus the great began to organize the Persians into the greatest military power the ancient world had ever known. Lydia (extremely wealthy) under King Croesus. Lydia became the wealthiest nation in the world. used actual coins.

Battle of Thermopylae

(480 B.C.E. - August) Battle in which Spartan king Leonidas and his army of 300 Spartans (who Leonidas asked to fight to their death) and other Greeks (stood shoulder to shoulder with spears sticking out) refused to surrender to the numerically superior Persian army at the pass (held the Persian army off for 3 days) of Thermopylae; they were annihilated but allowed the other Greek forces to prepare for the Persian invasion. On site of a narrow mountain pass. Greek trader show Persians a way to surprise the Greeks. Significance: Greeks held Persians back for 3 days, example of Lycurgean regime - 300 men fighting till death, Persians had a straight shot towards Athens

Battle of Marathon

(490 B.C.E.) Battle where the Persians who invaded Greece were defeated on the Plain of Marathon by an Athenian army. Marathon 22.2 mi from Athens. according to Herodotus...Athenians had 10k men and Persians had 15K men (prob false). Prior to battle, Athenians asked Spartans to fight with them but they were celebrating a holiday and couldn't. Athenians 200 casualties, Persians 6400 (false). Significance: Athenian victory, hubris, how we got the term marathon

Battle of Salamis

480 BCE - September. The battle where the Athenian ships (after the fall of Athens) led by Themistocles surrounded and destroyed the Persians by great military strategies. All athenians fled to the island of Salamis. Created a wooden wall by putting the ships around the island. When Persians reached Athens they burned it to the ground. Persian ships: large, large amounts. Athen ships: new, smaller, smaller amounts. Significance: Athenians increased their hubris, Athenians won the battle against odds, Turning pint on the war since Greeks won

Lydia

547-546BC. When Cyrus conquered Lydia, he forced the Ionian Greeks to pay tribute/taxes

Chaldeans

597-538 BC. Babylonia captivity. Chaldean king: Nebuchadnezzar. When he conquer Jerusalem, took 8000 jews as slaves

Themistocles

A Greek military leader who convinced the Athenians to build a navy. This helped Athens win a major battle against Persia, the Battle of Salamis. He was ostracized around 471 BCE. Sent a note to the Persians saying they would surrender

phalanx

A military formation of foot soldiers armed with spears and shields.

Delian League

Alliance between Athens and many of its allied cities following the first attempted invasion of Persia into Greece. Caused a lot of wealth to flow into Athens and thus contributed to the Athenian "golden age."

How were the Persians able to build and maintain an empire

Build: military might. 10,000 immortals whose loyalty was to protect their king. Maintain: 1. set up districts/states. Satrap in charge of satraps. they collected taxes, raise an army and crops, legal system. 2. road system. most important road- royal road from _________to Sardis. every 14 miles was a rest stop 3. postal system. communicate and letters 4. tolerant rulers. rulers allowed every culture they conquered to practice their religion and culture. ex. freeing the jews from captivity in Babylonia

Miletus

Graecian ionian. 499BC revolted and burned Sardis (had help from Athens). Darius took Miletus burned it to the ground and took all the grecian ionians prisoners

Persians

Indo-European ethnicity. came down during second wave of migrations. by 1000 BC, the Persians had settled on the Iranian Plateau

Two groups in Plateau

Medes (north) and Persians (south). under control of the Assyrians. Mesopotamia had been taken by the Assyrians who were warlike. If the assyrians captured an enemy, they would skin him alive. Assyrians controlled Babylonia between 909-612 BC. Persians took over the Medes. Assyrians had trained Persians and Medes in art of war. Persians allied with Chaldeans to overthrow the Assyrians. Persia now under Chaldeans.

Xerxes

Persian king who led a massive campaign against Greece in 486 BC to avenge his father. This sprung an alliance between Athens and Sparta, who defeated him and his troops together. Was going to get revenge against Greece. All advisors (except Artemisia) told him to bring ships into passage. Famous saying: All my men are women and my women men.

Darius III

Persian king who lost his empire to Alexander the Great.

547-546 BC

Persians (under Cyrus) conquer Lydia

Persian Wars

The Persian wars was the war between Greece and the Persian Empire. This began in Ionia on the coast of Anatolia. The Persians conquered the Greeks land around 546 BC. The Persian Wars consisted of three battles; the battle of Marathon, the battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE), and the battle of Salamis (480 BCE). The Persian king Darius the Great defeated the rebels and swore to destroy Athens as revenge. In 490 BCE, a Persian fleet carried 25,000 men to Athens on a plain called Marathon. The Athenians were waiting in a phalanx with 10,000 Greek men. Even though they were outnumbered, they won the battle. Greeks sent a delegation to the Oracle "trust the wooden walls". Xerxes and his army could cross Hellespot so they built a pontoon bridge, used ships and chains to make a bridge, used walls and dirt so the horses believed they were on real land, took 7 days and 7 nights.

Hubris

excessive arrogance

Sardis

formerly capital of Lydia. Burned to the ground

530 BC

had conquered all peoples in Asia Minor, Fertile Crescent and Persia