The Battle of Salamis in 480 Bc That Saved the Western Civilization!

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PF/165/2014/1 BATTLE OF SALAMIS IN 480 BC - SAVING THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION! Reference: A. Naval War Studies - Ex Instruction. INTRODUCTION 1. From the ancient period human civilization has observed numerous wars. But only a handful of wars had considerable effect in shaping the civilization. Battle of Salamis is one of those significant wars which transferred the centre of power from the powerful Persian Empire to Hellenistic world. The Hellenistic world consisted of the small city states around the Ionian and Aegian Seas, where Sparta, Crete and Athens were politically dominant. 2. Since 6th century BC, the Persian Empire was an advanced civilization. Though it was an Autocratic society, but it promoted art, literature and innovation. During the reign of Darius I, it reached its peak and expanded up to Anatolia (present day Turkey) and included some former Hellenic city states. At the same time, the Hellenic city states were progressively developing in science, arts, commerce, literature and cultural activities. Sparta was the most dominant city state by virtue of its military might. But Athens was gradually becoming significant for its trade and philosophical development. 3. Athens had trade interest in the Ionian region. So Athens encouraged the Ionians when they revolted against Persia in 499 BC. This enraged Darius and he led the 1st Greco-Persian war and was defeated in 490 BC in the battle of Marathon. His son, Xerxes led the 2nd invasion against Athens. In the meantime, the Athenians convinced the Greek city states that Persia was a serious security threat for the whole region and formed an alliance against the Persians. 4. In the series of battles during the 2nd Greco-Persian war, the battle of Salamis was a naval battle fought between this alliance of Greek city states and the Persian Empire in September 480 BC in the straits of Salamis in the
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