It was an excellent example of how the mistakes in the organization can spoil the results. By the end of sixth century Persia was the most important player on the arena of the Middle East. This country gained much power and influence during the government of Achaemenid dynasty. It conquered such powerful east-Mediterranean states as Midia, Lidia, Babylonia and Egypt. After the last Lidia’s ruler Kreza was defeated, Persians had conquered the Greek colonies that were located at the west coast of Asia Minor.
It shows the Spartans as chariot warriors, and infantry who fought for glory. Later the army was issued with aspis shields which made their new phalanx formation possible. In 550BC the entire state dedicated itself to aiding the Spartan warriors, and using helots to farm the land owned by spartiates, and perioeci as sailors, tradesmen and light infantry. By the end of the Corinthian War, however, the city of Thebes revolted and in a short campaign led by Epiminondas won the Theban War, extended Sparta to the assembly of Thebes. When the Theban-Athenian alliance was defeated by Macedon at the Battle of Chaeronea, Sparta was taken over.
Athens and its allies between 500- 440 BC Athens between the time periods had a changing relationship between it and its allies with different key events that sculpted Athens to being a powerhouse amongst the other Greek states. The key events that were to the rise of Athens were the series of Persian wars, the formation of the Delian League and the development of Athens into an Empire as well as the running battle between Athens and Sparta. ‘The Persian Wars for the first time brought together all the Greeks states to form one defensive front against the daunting invasion of the Persians led fist by Darius than later on a much larger force by Xerxes they formed the Hellenic league with each Greek state represented by a delegate. The Ionian revolt saw Athens come to the aid of its Asia Minor allies and unknowingly aggravate the Persians to seek revenge. Persia was experiencing difficulties with Naxos between the democrats and oligarchs, the oligarchs fled to Miletus, where they asked Aristogoras for help to reinstate themselves in Naxos.
The consequential rise of the Athenian Empire, however, was simultaneous with the development of its increasingly autocratic and aggressive attitude. The aftermath of this conflict therefore involved the Athenian worldview coming to resemble that which it had initially sought to repress. The Persian Wars are demonstrative of how external threats can promote unity and cohesion from within. The ease and aggression with which the Persians conquered the region of the Asia Minor during the sixth century BCE established them as the pre-eminent power in the ancient world, and therefore a threat to Greek autonomy. After King Cyrus of Persia overthrew the Median rulers in 550 BCE, the Persians successfully extended their realm in conquering Lydia (546 BCE), eventually pushing their boarders further eastward by crossing to the boarders of Macedonia in 513 BCE (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2012).
When assessing the individuals during the pentacontaetia, it seems logical to start with Miltiades. During this time, Miltiades was the Athenian general, and he made his greatest contribution to the formation of the Athenian Empire by his efforts in the battle of Marathon. This battle was a key part in the formation of the empire as it proved the Ionian States that Athens could defeat the Persians without the aid of Sparta (however the advancing army did play an indirect role in the battle). Miltiades commanded his 10,000 Athenians and Plateans (Herodotus) and successfully stopped the first Persian invasion. It is said by Plutarch that Miltiades enjoyed the highest prestige from the battle, and this would have increased Athenian reputation among the Greek states (it is important to note that one factor of the formation of e empire was that the Ionian States chose Athens), and would thus have made them more inclined to choose Athens as the hegemon, and allowing them to create their empire.
Persian Wars. The Persians continued to invade Greece, however the Spartans and Athens Greek pride converged them into one massive defence. Both speaking the same language and
The Greeks and the Persians both possessed amazing societies. The two cultures were linked by land, and by the common shipping area of the Mediterranean, but despite their close proximity, the nations differed in a multitude of ways. Perhaps the most obvious differences between the two was the structure of their governments. The Greek government was made up of a variety of city-states all with separate forms of lordship and all with a loose loyalty to one another(Part 1: The City-State and Sparta). Athens, one of the strongest city-states, was known as the first democracy, and was ruled by the people(Lecture 10: the beginnings of democracy).
Discuss the causes and origins of the Peloponnesian War. The Peloponnesian War was a long and brutal affair involving Sparta and its allies and the Athenian empire. The war was fought over supremacy in Greece but was also a struggle of opposing political systems and outlooks. There was division, within city states themselves, particularly Athens, over whether to go to war and then how to fight it. Sparta was eventually the victor of the conflict but at a terrible price to Greece.
Spartan’s role in the infamous battle of Thermopylae was one of great importance; I have stated before how they were ‘successful’, the reason I used this word is because they were successful in their objective in stalling the Persian invasion. this can be seen from Herodotus when he says that when the Hellen’s witnessed the Persian army, Leonidas supposedly suggested having the idea of sending the majority of troops back to their designated city states to call for reinforcement while the Spartans and select others stay and help defend. Therefore the Spartans and allies were successful in their attempt to hold the Persians back from The Hot Gates. The second reason they managed to beat back the Persians for days on end was because their spears were balanced perfectly and much longer, in comparison to the Persians who were “using shorter spears than the Greeks and having no advantage in their numbers” this shows how the military background of the Spartan infantry helped them in beating back the Persians, who had hardly any military background as
Ionian Revolt Assess the significance of the Ionian Revolt. The Ionian Revolt may be considered one of the monumental moments which eventually acted as a catalyst for the Persian War. Thus, the significance of the Ionian Revolt may also be described as crucial. Some would argue that although the Ionian Revolt had some weight in sparking the Persian War, it was ultimately inevitable because of the expansion of the Persian Empire. The significance of the Ionian Revolt also dictated and contributed to the course of other battles that followed the revolt due to the new discoveries the states made of their opposing armies.