Persian Wars Introduction

Ancient Greece Map

Collection of city-states Athens Sparta Corinth Delphi Olympia Thebes

Shortage of Farmland Because farmland was so scarce, warfare amongst Greek settlements was common. Had to look elsewhere for food Developed colonies (settlements in distant places)

Greek Colonies

Persian Wars (Greco-Persian Wars) Fought between the Persian Empire and the Greek City-States Time Period: 499-479 B.C.E. Location: Greece and Asia Minor The Persians had expanded their empire from the Middle East, to Africa (Egypt), South East Asia, and Asia Minor. An invasion of Greece would be next.

Advantages at the start Persia Greece Powerful Army Large Population and lots of soldiers Conquered areas fought for Persia A lot of Weapons and Resources United city-states Same language Fighting on their own soil Banding together against a common enemy Balance of great Army and Navy

Famous Battles of the Persian Wars Battle of Marathon 490 B.C.E. Battle of Thermopylae and Salamis 480 B.C.E. Battle of Plateau 479 B.C.E.

Persian wars A series of wars fought between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire between 499-479 B.C.E.

Polis A Greek City-State Example: Athens, Corinth, Sparta, Thebes, Delphi, Olympia, etc. Allies States that agree to help each other against a common enemy Example: Athens and Sparta put aside differences to fight a common enemy

Athenians, Spartans Corinthians and Persians Someone from the Greek City-State of Athens Someone from the Greek City-State of Sparta Someone from the Greek City-State of Corinth Someone from the Empire of Persia

Hoplite- Hoplite –Greek civilian/soldier named after the shields they would carry. Weapon of choice: Spear with a bronze tip and Iron Sword

Persian empire The largest empire the world had seen up to its time. Persia ruled over Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Ancient Military terms Cavalry- Soldiers who fought on horseback Trireme - An ancient Greek wooden warship with 3 rows of oars on each side of the ship Phalanx- close knit fighting formation perfected by the Greeks where they would interlock their shields and march/fight shoulder to shoulder with one another. Weapons on the battlefield- Bow and Arrows Swords Spears Javelins

Trireme

Other important Vocabulary words Hellespont- the strait between the Aegean and the Sea of Marmara that separates European Turkey from Asian Turkey where Persia set up pontoons and marched their troops across. Present day called the Dardanelles Isolationism – A policy of avoiding political and economical relations with other places Colonies- A settlement set up in a distant place Ionian Revolt- A rebellion by Greek colonies set up in Asia Minor to not follow the rule of the Persian Empire. These events in 499 B.C.E. marked the beginning of the Persian Wars.

Persian War Important Figures King Darius King of the Persian Empire who invaded Greece at the start of the Persian Wars. Led Persia at the Battle of Marathon King Xerxes King of the Persian Empire after Darius who continued fighting versus the greek city-states. Led Persia at Battle of Thermopylae and the rest of the Persian Wars. Miltiades Athenian General who helped lead the Greek City-States to victory at the Battle of Marathon Leonidas Spartan King who led 300 Spartans and other allied soldiers at the Battle of Thermopylae. They were heavily outnumbered but fought heroically to help delay Persia’s invasion

More Important figures ● Herodotus- Famous Greek Historian who wrote about the Persians Wars. Also known as the “Father of History” ● Pheidippides- Greek messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens to warn them about a Persian Invasion. Themistocles – Famous Athenian Naval commander and politician who helped lead Greece to victory against the Persians at the Battle of Salamis

Battles of the Persian Wars Battle of Marathon- Athens defeats the Persians at Marathon in 490 B.C.E. Battle of Thermopylae – 300 Spartans (and 6,000+ allied soldiers) led by King Leonidas who fought to the death at Thermopylae against the might Persian Empire in 480 B.C.E. Battle of Salamis –Naval battle near the Island of Salamis where the Greeks defeated the Persians led by Naval Commander Themistocles. Battle of Plateau – Decisive Battle that ended the Persian Wars and Persia’s attempt at conquering Greece in 479 B.C.E.