Khairete
During the next couple of months, i will keep myself busy with writing a essay of the Graeco- Persian Wars. Any help is appreciated. Questions and remarks are appreciated. My conclusion that i wrote on these wars is open for discussion.
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Graeco- Persian Wars
Between 492 en 449 B.C. there were several Graeco- Persian Wars. This is the timeline of those wars.
When Greek colonists set out from mainland Greece, evicted by the Dorians and the Herakleidae, perhaps, many wound up in Ionia, in Asia Minor. Eventually the Ionian Greeks came under the rule of the Lydians, and particularly King Croesus (560-546 B.C.). In 546, the Persians took over Ionia. Condensing, and oversimplifying, the Ionian Greeks found the Persian rule oppressive and attempted to revolt with the aid of the mainland Greeks. Mainland Greece then came to the attention of the Persians, and war between them ensued.
Summary of each event to follow soon.
500 B.C. - Ionian Revolt in Asia minor:
where the Greeks were involved because they were asked to assist the rebels in their revolt.
492 B.C. - Battle of Marathon:
25,000 Persians landed under the command of the king Darius on the plain of Marathon. With the help of 1,000 Plataeans, Athens, under Miltiades, won. Greeks prevented a surprise attack on Athens by a quick march back to the city.
481 B.C. - Greek League:
Greek league against Persia, with Sparta in charge of the army, and Athens, the navy. Eventually Athens became the dominant member of the League.
480 B.C. - Battle of Thermopylae:
Persians, under Xerxes, invaded Greece. In August 480 B.C., they attacked the Greeks at the narrow pass at Thermopylae. After two days, a traitor led the Persians around the pass behind the Greek army. The Spartan general, Leonidas, fought to the death. Meanwhile, Persians attacked the Greek fleet, with both sides suffering heavy losses. In September, aided by northern Greeks, the Persians marched on Athens and burned it to the ground. It had been evacuated
479 B.C. - Battle of Salamis
The Athenian statesman Themistokles (c. 514-449 B.C.) stationed the Athenian fleet at Salamis in 479 B.C., feigned retreat, and lured the Persians into the strait. The Persians were beaten in the naval battle and retreated.
479 B.C. - Battle of Plataea
Spartans, Tegeans, and Athenians fought the Persian army that remained in Greece at the final Battle at Plataea in 479 B.C.
Xerxes and his fleet had returned to Persia, but his troops remained in Greece under Mardonios. They stationed themselves for battle in a place suitable for their horsemen -- the plain. Under the Spartan Pausanias, the Greeks stationed themselves advantageously in the foothills of Mt. Kithaeron.
Mardonios eventually tried to draw the Greeks out, using his cavalry. He failed, so retreated. He changed his tactic and used his cavalry to separate the Greeks from their provisions.
Eventually Pausanias took his troops down into the plains where it was still separated from the Persians, but only by a row of hills. The Greeks managed to cut off some of the Persian supplies, too. Eventually skirmishes broke out and the Persians poisoned the Greek water supply. Pausanias tried to move his troops to another water supply by sending the less experienced first. The result was that the Greek troops looked to the Persians as though they had split up for political reasons. When Mardonios attacked, the various groups rushed in to help each other and defeat the Persians.
Athens grew in power and continued to pursue the Persians, so even though this Battle at Plataea was the final main battle of Greeks against Persians on Greek soil, it wasn't until 449 that Athens and Persia put an end to the Persian Wars.
477 B.C. - the Delian League
Athens, in charge of the Delian League, went on the offensive to free the Ionian cities. Following the victory at the Battle of Salamis, during the Persian Wars, the Ionian cities joined together in the Delian League for mutual protection. They placed Athens at the head because of her naval supremacy and because many of the Greek cities were annoyed with the tyrannical behavior of the Spartan commander Pausanias, who had been leader of the Greeks during the Persian War. This free confederation of autonomous cities, founded in 478 B.C., consisted of representatives, an admiral, and treasurers appointed by Athens. It was called the Delian League because its treasury was located at Delos. An Athenian leader, Aristides, initially assessed the allies in the Delian League 460 talents a year to be paid to the treasury, either in cash or ships. After the Graeco- Persian Wars, the Delian League began fighting against piracy. In 454 B.C. the treasury that was at Delos was moved into Athens. Athens become more dominant. It was ended in 404 B.C. when Athens was taken by the Spartans during the Peloponessian Wars. It was later revived in 378-7 to protect against Spartan aggression, and survived until Philip II of Macedon's victory at Chaeronea.
449 B.C. - Peace of Callias
Persia and Athens sign peace treaty.
Conclusion:
It might be possible that if the Greeks never intervened during the Ionian revolt, they probably never had to deal with the Persian Empire. But than again, the Persian imperialism would have made sure that Greece and Persia crossed paths. So these wars were the Greek version of the world wars. The Roman versions of the world wars were the Punic- Roman wars. To my knowledge, this was the first time democracy was ever challenged and survived the challenge. Which is something that can not be said of most European countries after the First World War. Than again the scale of these wars was different. The fighting during the Graeco- Persian wars was only contained in Greece and Persian kingdom of Empire. The fighting of the First World War was all over Europe. Greece survived and flourished again until the Peloponessian wars. The difference between the world wars and the Graeco Persian wars was that the most of the country was untouched by these wars unlike the countries of the world wars where the damage was total.
Recomended reading:
The Graeco-Persian Wars by Peter Green
Thermopylae: battle for the west by Ernle Bradford
The year of Salamis, 480-479 B.C.: the Graeco- Persian Wars by Peter Green
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