The Persian Wars
490 BC - 479 BC
Causes
In 508 BC, Athens was invaded by Sparta, and its allies, and Chalkis. In return for support against the invading Spartans, the Athenians gave the Persian king Darius I 'earth and water'. The Persians therefore saw Athens as a client and would therefore owe the same loyalty to Persia as all their other subjects. However, the Athenians continued to see themselves as independent. (Herodotus 5.73)
The Ionian Greeks, in Asia Minor, had lost their independence to the king of Lydia, Croesus. He sent an emissary to the Oracle of Delphi for advice on the threat of the Persians - it claimed that "if Croesus crosses into Persian territory, he will destroy a great empire" (Herodotus 1.91). In 546 BC, Croesus was defeated by the Persians and taken prisoner whilst all the lands that he controlled, including that of the Ionian Greeks, was now in Persian control.
In 499 BC, the Ioninas revolted against the Persian-backed tyrants who were controlling their cities and sent representatives to mainland Greece for aid, but only Athens and Eretria obliged. The combined Ionian, Athenian and Eretrian forces managed to reach Sardis, the former capital of Lydia, but were forced to retreat due tot the strength of the Persian counter-attack. The rebellion was crushed by 494 BC.
The Persians viewed the Athenian involvement in the Ionian revolt as a betrayal due to their previous promise of 'earth and water' that they had made. Herodotus claims that Darius was so outraged that he had a slave whisper "remember the Athenians" to him three times a meal (5.105). He therefore sent a flotilla of ships. Having razed Eretria to the ground, the Persians landed at Marathon whereupon the Athenians dispatched a courier to Sparta requesting aid. This was turned down. The only reinforcements to arrive were from Plataea.
The Ionian Greeks, in Asia Minor, had lost their independence to the king of Lydia, Croesus. He sent an emissary to the Oracle of Delphi for advice on the threat of the Persians - it claimed that "if Croesus crosses into Persian territory, he will destroy a great empire" (Herodotus 1.91). In 546 BC, Croesus was defeated by the Persians and taken prisoner whilst all the lands that he controlled, including that of the Ionian Greeks, was now in Persian control.
In 499 BC, the Ioninas revolted against the Persian-backed tyrants who were controlling their cities and sent representatives to mainland Greece for aid, but only Athens and Eretria obliged. The combined Ionian, Athenian and Eretrian forces managed to reach Sardis, the former capital of Lydia, but were forced to retreat due tot the strength of the Persian counter-attack. The rebellion was crushed by 494 BC.
The Persians viewed the Athenian involvement in the Ionian revolt as a betrayal due to their previous promise of 'earth and water' that they had made. Herodotus claims that Darius was so outraged that he had a slave whisper "remember the Athenians" to him three times a meal (5.105). He therefore sent a flotilla of ships. Having razed Eretria to the ground, the Persians landed at Marathon whereupon the Athenians dispatched a courier to Sparta requesting aid. This was turned down. The only reinforcements to arrive were from Plataea.
Battle of Marathon (490 BC)
The Athenians, who were led by Miltiades (c.550 BC - 489 BC), sent their hoplites at a dead run against the Persians in order to minimise the effect of the Persian archers. The superior armour of the hoplites allowed the Greeks to defeat the Persians, many of whom fell back to a swamp where they were easily picked off by the Athenians. An Athenian messenger ran 26 miles to Athens to tell of the victory and to warn of a possible naval attack by the Persian fleet. This never happened, instead, the Persians retreated. The defeat against the Athenians further enraged Darius as it had insulted his prestige. He died in 486 BC and was succeeded by his son, Xerxes I.
Naval Battle of Salamis (480 BC)
When the Persian forces arrived in Greece, the Athenians abandoned their city to be sacked by the Persians. This was because they knew that they could not defeat the Persians on land. Themistocles united other Greek city-states to fight alongside the Athenians at Salamis, where the narrow channel favoured the heavier and sturdier Greek ships. The Persian navy was massively defeated and Xerxes returned to Persia, frustrated. However, he left behind a massive infantry force, under the leadership of his best general. They made an offer for the Athenians to surrender but they refused so Athens was sacked for a second time.
End of the Persian Wars
The united Greek infantry defeated the Persian force still present in Greece at Plataea in 479 BC. This force was led by the Spartan Pausanius (c.520 BC - 470 BC). In the same year, the Greek navy destroyed its Persian counterpart at Mykale, on the coast of Ionia.