Persia Attacks the Greeks

1
Persia Attacks the Greeks

• Developed 2009/10 by
• Elin Richmond
• using illustrations from
• National Geographics
• Journey Across Time

2
Early Persia

• Persia civilization SW of what is today Iran
• Early Persians were warriors and nomads
• Cyrus the Great
• united Persians into
• a powerful kingdom
• An empire larger than any yet seen in the world

3
Persias Empire

• 539 BC Cyruss Persian armies capture Babylon in
  Mesopotamia
• Then Asia Minor
• Syria
• Canaan
• Phoenician cities
• Cyrus treats the subjects well, even let Jews,
  that had been captured by Babylonians, to return
  home.

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Reminder Timeline of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia Sumer Ca 3,000 BC
Sargon Akkadians Ca 2,340 BC
Assyrians Ca 900 BC
Hammurabi Babylonians Ca 1,800 BC
Nebuchadnezzar Chaldeans Ca 605
Persians from NE capture 539 BC
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Persias Empire

• Cyruss merciful rule helped keep the growing
  empire together.
• They then continued to conquer
• Egypt
• Western India
• Thrace (region NE of Greece)
• They built roads, including the
• Royal Road from Asia Minor to
• Susa (the capital of Persia).
• The empire was then about the size of USA today

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Persias Government

• By 521 BC Darius became the new emperor.
• 20 provinces called satrapies
• satrap Tax collector, judge, chief of police,
  head recruiter of army
• Each satrap answered to king/emperor of Persia
• Paid men to be full-time soldiers, incl. the
  Immortals
• Religion Zoroastrianism
• believed in one god (like the Jewish people, but
  unlike Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks)

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Reasons for the Persian Wars

• Greek colonization clashed with Persians
• By 500s BC Persia controlled Greek cities in
  Asia Minor
• 499 BC Greeks rebelled with Athenian army
  support, but were defeated
• King Darius now decided Greeks must be stopped
  from interfering with the Persian Empire

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The Battle of Marathon

• 490 BC Persian fleet of 20,000 soldiers landed on
  plain of Marathon (close to Athens)
• 10,000 Athenian waited on hills
• Persians waited, but grew impatient (began to
  board ships to sail to Athens)
• Athenians defeated the
• Persians easily
• Pheidippides Victory!

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Another Persian Strike

• 486 BC Darius son Xerxes became
• emperor after Darius died
• Revenge against Athenians
• 480 BC launched invasion with
• 180,000 troops and thousands
• of warships and supply vessels
• Greeks joined forces
• Athenian general, Themistocles plan
• To have time to ready Greek fleet 7,000 Greek
  soldiers hold of Persians at Thermopylae (Hot
  Gates) a narrow mountain pass

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Another Persian Strike

• Spartans especially brave incl. Leonidas
• Gave enough time to allow Athens to assemble 200
  ships
• Greeks attacked Persian
• ships at straits of Salamis
• defeated the Persian fleet
• Persian army still marched on Athens
• Persians burned the city
• Now Greeks more determined than ever.

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The End of the Persian Empire

• 479 BC Greeks came together
• Greeks crushed Persian army at Plataea (NW of
  Athens)
• Persians retreated to Asia Minor
• Persia lose strength, internal problems incl.
  new rulers raising taxes to pay for luxuries, as
  well as royal families fighting, plots to kill
  kings/emperors
• 334 BC Alexander the Great invaded
• 330 BC last Persian emperor died and Alexander
  the Great ruled

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Main Ideas/Summary Sentences for Ch.4.S2

• The Persian Empire united a wide area under a
  single government.
• Both Sparta and Athens played roles in defeating
  the Persians.