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The military history of Greece between the end of the second Persian invasion of Greece and the Peloponnesian War (479–431 BC) is not well supported by surviving ancient sources. This period, sometimes referred to as the pentekontaetia ( πεντηκονταετία , the Fifty Years ) by ancient writers, was a period of relative peace and ...
- Overview
- Establishment and expansion of the Achaemenian Empire (559–500 bce)
Greco-Persian Wars, (492–449 bce), series of wars fought by Greek states and Persia over a period of almost half a century. The fighting was most intense during two invasions that Persia launched against mainland Greece between 490 and 479. Although the Persian empire was at the peak of its strength, the collective defense mounted by the Greeks ove...
In 559 bce the Persian king Cyrus II founded the Achaemenian dynasty, and he would spend the rest of his life extending his rule, which ultimately reached from the Indus River valley to the Aegean Sea. After the Persians defeated Croesus of Lydia about 546, the small Greek states on the Asian coast were reduced piecemeal, and Sparta, the strongest state on the Greek mainland, did nothing more than lodge diplomatic protests.
Darius, who reigned from 522 to 486, consolidated and extended the Persian empire. From his capital, far inland at Susa, the royal roads led to about 20 provinces, called satrapies, which were governed by satraps possessing full military and civil powers. The conquered peoples owed tribute and military service to the king. So long as they fulfilled their obligations, they were generously treated—permitted to practice their own religion and manage their internal affairs—but disobedience was harshly punished by massacre or deportation. The imperial army consisted of archers and sparabra (“shield bearers”), a type of light infantry armed with a spear and wicker shield; Median and Persian cavalry; and the best troops of the subject peoples. The navy was drawn from the Greek states of Asia Minor and from Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Egypt. Supreme authority in war and peace was vested in the Persian monarch, whose absolute powers were tempered only by the custom of consulting his Persian officials. Darius was described as “the great king, king of kings, king of the countries possessing all kinds of peoples, king of this great earth far and wide.” As the vicegerent of the Persian god, Ahura Mazdā, Darius laid claim to world rule.
In 514 Darius prepared to conquer Europe. Having made a reconnaissance by sea of Greece and Scythia, he decided to attack Scythia first and instructed a Samian engineer to build a pontoon bridge across the Bosporus. The imperial army overran eastern Thrace and crossed the Danube on a pontoon bridge that was constructed by Greek contingents within the Persian navy. The Persians then advanced far into what is now Ukraine, probably in 513. The Scythians retreated until Darius outran his lines of supply and then harassed his forces when he turned back. The Greek commanders in the Persian navy, although asked by the Scythians to cut the bridge over the Danube, remained loyal to Darius, but some Greek states bordering the Bosporus and the Hellespont rose in rebellion at the news of his discomfiture. These operations convinced Darius that a strong bridgehead in Europe was necessary. His generals punished the Greek rebels, established a satrapy in southern Thrace that cut off the Scythians from their Spartan allies, and received the submission of the king of Macedonia. Meanwhile, the Persian navy reduced Lemnos and Imbros (Gökçeada), and a Persian force was ready in 500 to attack Naxos, the strongest island in the Cyclades. This expedition was probably intended to pave the way for an invasion of Greece.
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- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sparta achieved a series of land victories, but many of her ships were destroyed at the battle of Cnidus by a Greek-Phoenician mercenary fleet that Persia had provided to Athens. The event severely damaged Sparta's naval power but did not end its aspirations of invading further into Persia, until Conon the Athenian ravaged the Spartan coastline ...
5 days ago · Sparta, ancient capital of the Laconia district of the southeastern Peloponnese, southwestern Greece. Along with the surrounding area, it forms the perifereiakí enótita (regional unit) of Laconia (Modern Greek: Lakonía) within the Peloponnese (Pelopónnisos) periféreia (region). The city lies on the right bank of the Evrótas Potamós (river).
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- The historical name of Sparta is Lacedaemon. It was the ancient capital of the Laconia district of the southeastern Peloponnese, Greece. Along with...
- The Battle of Salamis (480 BCE), one of the battles in the Greco-Persian Wars, revealed the magnitude of Athenian naval power and set in motion the...
- The present-day city was built in 1834 on the ancient site. It is called Néa (New) Spartí locally to distinguish it from the ruins that were excava...
- Leonidas was a Spartan king whose stand against the invading Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece is one of the enduring tales...
Apr 6, 2016 · The Persian Wars refers to the conflict between Greece and Persia in the 5th century BCE which involved two invasions by the latter in 490 and 480 BCE. Several of the most famous and significant battles in history were fought during the Wars, these were at Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea, all of which would become legendary.
- Mark Cartwright
- The Persian ruler Darius began the Persian Wars to subdue the rebellious Greek city-states in the western part of his empire. Wealth, new territory...
- Athens and Sparta were allies along with many other Greek city-states who fought against the Persian invasion of Greece. Athens distinguished itsel...
- The Greek allies won the battle of Marathon against the Persians in 490 BCE.
- The Persians won the battle of Thermopylae against fierce resistance from just 300 Spartans and their allies in 480 BCE.
- The alliance of Greek city-states, which included Athens and Sparta, won the Persian Wars against Persia from 490 to 480 BCE.
Nov 12, 2009 · Sparta was a warrior society in ancient Greece that reached the height of its power after defeating rival city-state Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.). Spartan culture was centered on ...
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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Greco-Persian Wars . Persian Wars, or Greco-Persian Wars, (492–449 bc) Series of wars between Greek states and Persia, particularly two invasions of Greece by Persia (490, 480–479). When Darius I came to power in Persia in 522, the Ionian Greek city-states in Anatolia were under ...
