Rise and fall of Sparta. Greco-Persian Wars. History of Ancient Greece: Greco-Persian Wars

Greco-Persian wars through the eyes of the Persians

Prerequisites

The Persian Empire reached by the end of the VI century BC. e. its highest power, subjugating almost the entire historical East. The first clash between the Persians and the Greeks took place under Cyrus, when he defeated Croesus and conquered the Lydian kingdom in 546 BC. e., on the territory of which were all the Greek colonies, with the exception of Miletus. The fall of Croesus made a strong impression on the Greeks of Asia Minor, whom he always treated well; Cyrus immediately turned them against him, imposing heavy tribute on them and forcing them to take part in the Persian conquests by delivering ships for the Persian fleet. However, after resistance from the inhabitants, part of the cities of Asia Minor was ravaged by the Persians, and part was forced to pay tribute.

Ionian revolt

Having established themselves in Asia Minor, the Persians moved to Europe, capturing Samos, Lemnos, Imbros, the Thracian coast, and finally Macedonia. A collision with Hellas was inevitable. During the campaign of Darius against the Scythians, Miltiades suggested to Histiaeus, the tyrant of Miletus, to destroy the bridge on the Danube in order to cut off Darius' retreat; but Histiaeus refused, as his plans coincided with the interests of the king. Darius rewarded Histiaeus with land in Thrace, where he founded a new colony; but Darius was pointed out the danger that could threaten from this colony, and Histia was summoned to Susa, where from that time he was held in honorable captivity.

Tyranny in Miletus passed to his son-in-law Aristagoras. Having failed in the campaign against Naxos (499 BC) and fearing for his power, Aristagoras, with the consent of Histiaeus, prepared an uprising, which had long been conceived by the Greeks. He failed to involve Sparta in the struggle; the Athenians gave him 20 ships, Eretria - 5. The allied troops moved to Sardis, took the city, burned it, although they could not capture the Acropolis, where the satrap Artaphernes with a garrison took refuge. The allied forces had to return to Ephesus as Persian reinforcements were approaching.

battles

During the Greco-Persian wars, many battles and battles took place. But the most famous of them were: Marathon, Salamis, Platea and Thermopylae. They are described below.

Marathon battle

Before the battle, the Athenians had 36,000 hoplites, 300 Plataean hoplites, and about 36,000 lightly armed slaves. The Persians had a thousand "immortals", a thousand cavalrymen, 4 thousand Saks, 24 thousand Ionian hoplites and 24 thousand of their slaves, that is, much less than the Greeks.

And so, early in the morning of September 12, 490 BC. e. the Greeks, with a quick step, moved towards the enemy, trying to overcome the 1.5 km separating them from the Persians. The Persians, standing still, began to hit the enemy with a shower of arrows. And already at the very beginning of the battle, Datis made a fatal mistake. Accustomed to the Persian tactics, he did not take into account the peculiarities of the Greek tactics and did not give the order to his Ionians to go on the attack. The phalanxes of the Ionians remained standing still. And while the Athenian center, showered with arrows, was completely upset, the flank forces freely went on the run and hit the Ionian phalangites standing still. With almost equal forces and the same depth of formation on the flanks, Miltiades had the only advantage - the pressure of his soldiers. The Athenian commander took a big risk. First, the run upset the ranks of his warriors even more. Secondly, the phalangites actually lost the support of their slingers and dart throwers, who did not have time to move behind the formation and fire at the enemy. But the calculation of Miltiades was justified! The Ionians who stood still could not withstand the ramming and fled. And in the center everything happened according to the Persian scenario. Frustrated by the shooting and smaller than on the flanks, the central forces were subjected to a combined attack by the terrible Persian cavalry, the "immortals" and the Saks. Having lost both structure and pressure, not controlled by anyone (since the most well-born and respected citizens, as better armed, walked in the first ranks, where they died), the Athenians turned into a crowd struck by the Persians and fled. Persians and Saks rushed to pursue them. The presence of the Persian cavalry on the battlefield could complete the victory with a terrible massacre ... But at that time, Miltiades miraculously managed to stop the pursuit of the defeated Ionians by his hoplites and rebuild them against the Persians and Saks. Most likely, the significant losses of the Persian army at Marathon are explained by the pursuit of the fleeing Ionians by lightly armed slaves. The Athenians connected their two wings in the center and turned around against the Persians who were carried away by the persecution.

The Persian commander Datis, in the heat of the pursuit, unexpectedly finding himself cut off from the ships, was forced to stop his soldiers, turn around and attack again. However, now all the advantages were on the side of the Hellenes. The short distance to the Greeks and the almost complete absence of throwing weapons used up at the beginning of the battle did not allow the Persians to upset the phalanx. The situation was further worsened by the absence of a field fortification captured by the Greeks. And behind the Persians, the defeated, but not exterminated, central forces of the Athenians could gather again. The Persian commander, having gathered his troops, made the only right decision - to attack the enemy, trying to break through to the ships. Judging by the result of the collision, the Greeks did not have time to rush forward, and if they did, their ranks were completely upset by a swampy river. But this could no longer decide the clash in favor of the Persians. First, having 7,000 Persians against 26,000 Athenians, Datis could not be saved by any quality of his troops. Secondly, the main weapon of the Persian infantry - the bow could no longer be used at full capacity. Nevertheless, the training of the Persian infantry and cavalry for hand-to-hand combat helped them out this time as well. The Persian cavalry cut through the Athenian hoplites and cleared the way for the infantry, who fled to the ships, pursued by the hoplites.

In this battle, very bloody and lengthy, two Athenian strategists and a polemarch were killed. But the Athenians managed to capture 7 triremes (most likely, the rowers and crews of these triremes made up a large part of the total losses of the Persians in the Battle of Marathon).

The Persians sailed to Eretria, captured prisoners and moved to Athens, from where they were given a sign that there were no troops in the city. At this time, Miltiades also received a message from Athens that the Persian fleet was moving towards the city. And now the Athenians, after the battle, the seven-kilometer march through the swamp and the battle for the ships, made an accelerated forty-kilometer march straight to Athens. After standing at Athens, the Persians sailed back.

Battle of Plataea

At dawn, the Persian cavalry, sent out as usual to harass the Greeks, found their camp empty. This was immediately reported to Mardonius, and he, with the Persian vanguard, rushed in pursuit of the Greeks, who, as he believed, fled. However, the Spartans, attacked by the enemy, gave him a staunch rebuff, at the same time sending to the Athenians with a request for help. The Athenians, however, were unable to help, as they were attacked by the Greeks. The Persians built a fortification of large wicker shields and from behind it showered the Spartans with arrows; the Spartans attacked and took the fortification, after which the battle turned into hand-to-hand combat. Mardonius tried to turn the tide of the battle by attacking at the head of his horsemen, but was killed; the courage shown by him was especially noted by the Greeks. After the death of the leader, the Persians fled to the wooden fortification; learning about the flight of the Persians, the Greeks who fought with the Athenians also fled (at the same time, however, the Theban "sacred detachment" did not want to retreat and completely perished in battle). The Spartans pursued the Persians, but since they were not accustomed to take the fortifications, they could not do anything with the wooden fortification until the Athenians approached. With the approach of the Athenians, the fortification was taken, and all its defenders were either killed or captured. Of the entire Persian army, only the rearguard, led by Artabazus, escaped, who, not believing in the possibility of victory, was late (as it was believed intentionally) for the battle, and after the news of the flight of the troops hastily led his soldiers away.

Battle of Salamis

10 years after the defeat of the Persian army in the Battle of Marathon, the Persian king Xerxes I undertook a new campaign against Greece.

Thanks to the political and military figure Themistocles, who insisted on creating a powerful navy in Athens, 100 combat triremes were built there in 2 years. And in 481 BC. e. The Greek states (polises) formed a military-defensive alliance, headed by the commander-in-chief from Sparta.

The Persians broke through into central Greece. The Greek fleet, which met the Persian ships at Cape Artemisia, was forced to withdraw to the south and stood off the western coast of Attica.

The inhabitants of Athens were evacuated from the city, and some of them fled to the island of Salamis, which is located in the Aegean Sea, a few kilometers from the mainland.

The Persian army occupied Athens, and the fleet was stationed in the harbor of Faler.

Themistocles believed that only the defeat of the enemy fleet could save Greece, but on the high seas the Greek fleet, numbering 380 triremes, could not resist the Persian, whose number in various sources ranges from 500 to 800 penteres.

The fleet of the Athenians and their Corinthian allies was in the Gulf of Eleusinus, waiting for the approach of another 60 Greek ships. Xerxes did not wait, but gave the order to his brother Ariomen, who commanded the fleet, to start the battle.

September 28, 480 BC e. Persian ships began to enter the narrow Strait of Salamis. However, the long winding path in this strait did not make it possible to bring down the entire power of the Persian fleet on the Greeks. The ships of the Persians, which left the Strait of Salamis in the Gulf of Eleusinus, were attacked by many Greek triremes. The Persian ships could not turn back - other ships were moving behind them. Large ships blocked the fairway and mixed into an uncontrollable chaotic mass. Light Greek triremes entered the Salamis Strait and attacked the helpless enemy ships.

Within a few hours, the Greeks managed to sink, capture and disable about 200 enemy ships (the losses of the Greeks amounted to about 40 triremes).

Battle of Thermopylae

In 480 BC e. A huge Persian army led by Xerxes made the transition from Asia Minor to Europe through the Hellespont. Herodotus estimates the army of the Persians and dependent peoples at an incredible 1.7 or 2.6 million people. Modern historians, based on logistics, estimate the number of Persians up to 200 thousand people, although these figures are being questioned as overestimated.

The Greeks sent an army of up to 10 thousand hoplites to detain the Persians on the distant approaches to the Peloponnese. At first, the allied army wanted to hold Xerxes on the northern border of Thessaly with Macedonia, but then they retreated to the Isthm, the isthmus connecting the Peloponnese peninsula with the Balkans. However, in this case, many Greek cities on the mainland would have been defenseless, and the army moved to Thermopylae, a narrow passage in the mountains from the region of Thessaly to Central Greece. At the same time, the Greek fleet became a barrier to the Persian flotilla at Cape Artemisia near Thermopylae.

The Greeks set up camp behind a wall that blocked the narrow Thermopylae pass. The wall was a low barricade made of heavy stones. The Persian army stopped at the city of Trakhina in front of the entrance to Thermopylae. One local resident, telling the Hellenes about the large number of barbarians, added that "if the barbarians release their arrows, then an eclipse of the sun will occur from a cloud of arrows." In response, the Spartan Dienek joked lightheartedly: "Our friend from Trachinus brought good news: if the Medes darken the sun, then it will be possible to fight in the shade."

Xerxes waited 4 days, and on the 5th he sent the most combat-ready detachments from the native Medes to storm. According to Diodorus, Xerxes sent in the first wave of attackers close relatives of the soldiers who had died 10 years earlier in the battle with the Greeks at Marathon. The Greeks met them face to face in the gorge, while the other part of the Greeks remained on the wall. The Greeks feigned retreat, but then turned around and counterattacked the frustrated crowds of Persians. Then Xerxes replaced the Medes with the Kissians and Saks, famous for their militancy. More lightly armed barbarians could not break through the dense phalanx of the Greeks, hiding behind a solid wall of large shields. Before evening came, the guards of Xerxes, warriors from the detachment of "immortals", went into battle. But they retreated after a short fight.

On the second day, Xerxes sent warriors known for their courage into battle, with the promise of a good reward for success and death for fleeing the battlefield. The second day also passed in fruitless attacks. The Persians replaced the attacking detachments, the Greeks, in turn, replaced each other in battle.

Xerxes did not know what to do next when he was approached by a local resident, Ephialtes, who volunteered to lead the Persians along a mountain path around Thermopylae for a reward. The path was guarded by a detachment of Phocians (from central Greece) of 1000 soldiers. A select Persian detachment of 20 thousand under the command of Gidarn went covertly all night, and in the morning it suddenly fell upon the Phokians. Having driven them to the top of the mountain, Hydarn continued to move to the rear of the Hellenes guarding Thermopylae. The Phokians sent runners to inform the Greeks of the Persians' detour; the Greeks were warned of the same thing at night by a defector named Tyrrastiades from the Persian camp.

Hoplites on a vase from the Greco-Persian Wars. Armament: a spear, a short sword, a round shield, a Corinthian type helmet, a bronze shell (cuirass).

Allied opinion was divided. Most, obeying the will of circumstances, went to their cities. Only 300 Spartans of King Leonidas remained, 700 Thespians under the command of Demophilus, son of Diadrom, and 400 Thebans under the command of Leontiades, son of Eurymachus. The number of soldiers in the detachments is indicated at the beginning of the battle, but for 2 days of fighting the Greeks suffered significant losses. Thespia and Thebes are cities in Boeotia, through which the path of the Persian army inevitably had to run, so that the detachments of these cities defended their native land at Thermopylae. Herodotus wrote his historical work at the time of the enmity between Thebes and Athens, so he did not miss the opportunity to expose the Thebans as traitors to Hellas and reports that the Theban detachment was held by Leonidas against their will as hostages. This version of Herodotus is refuted by both the fate of the detachment and the logic of war.

According to Diodorus, only 500 soldiers remained at the disposal of Leonidas on the 3rd day.

Herodotus reports that not only 300 Spartan hoplites took part in the battle, but also helots (state serfs in Sparta), whom the Spartans used as lightly armed warriors and servants, but with whom they did not share glory. According to Herodotus, at the battle of Plataea, there were 7 helots for each Spartan hoplite; the ratio at Thermopylae is not known, but apparently was about the same, judging by the number of dead Greeks.

Not counting on victory, but only on a glorious death, the remaining Greeks fought in the distance from their former place, where the passage widens. Even there, the Persians could not turn around and died in masses in a crush or being thrown off a steep bank. The Spartans' spears were broken, they smashed the enemies with short Spartan swords in close hand-to-hand combat. Leonidas fell in battle, Abrok and Hyperanthos, brothers of King Xerxes, died among the Persians. Noticing the approach from the rear of the Persian detachment led by Ephialtes, the Greeks retreated to the wall, and then, having passed it, took up a position on a hill at the exit from the passage. According to Herodotus, during the retreat, the Thebans separated and surrendered, thus saving their lives at the cost of branding into slavery.

The Spartans and Thespians took the last stand. The Persians shot the last heroes with bows and threw stones at them. According to Herodotus, the Spartans Dienek, the brothers Alpheus and Maron, and the Thespian Dithyramb distinguished themselves with valor.

Sources

The only source of these events is the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. But he made several inaccuracies. For example, he writes that the Persians gathered a huge army of millions of people, but this is not true. It would simply not be profitable for the Persians to take such a large army with them because they need a very large amount of food. In addition, most of such an army would be mercenary, and mercenary soldiers must also be paid. Therefore, Xerxes took with him a not very large, but well-trained army, consisting exclusively of Persians and Scythians.

He describes the Persian state as a barbarian state that lives only at the expense of wars. But this is not true, because Persia is many times larger than Greece, and it received most of the territory not by wars, but through diplomacy. But even in war, the Persians used strategy and tactics, not force.

He also writes that the Persian army marched through Greece, killing everyone they met on their way and burning entire cities. This is not true either. The Persians did little harm to cities or people. They simply fought off the Greek troops that blocked their path. The target of the Persian army was Athens. The Greeks burned the capital of the Persians - Sardis, and the Persians - Athens.

Although Herodotus and all other Greeks believe that Greece won the war, this is not entirely true, since the Persian army did what they wanted, that is, they burned Athens and returned to Persia with some losses.

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Wars (conflicts) that took place in the period from 500 to 449 years. BC, between the Achaemenid (dynasty) Persia and the ancient Greek city-states (polises) that defended their independence. Then they subsided, then they resumed, they were not permanent. One of the longest fights ever.

Reason for war

1. Help by warships provided by Athens and Eretria (on the island of Euboea) for 500 rebellious cities, against Persian domination, Greek policies in Asia Minor. Sparta refused to help, and Athens sent a small fleet of 20 warships, 5 of them from the city of Eretria.

Causes of the war

1. The undisguised aggression of the Persian state, they thought that the Greeks were weak

2. The natural need for the protection of the Greeks

Main steps

1. 500 - 494 BC. - uprising of the city of Miletus and other Greek cities on the west coast in Ionia in M. Asia against the Persian yoke

2. 492 - 490 - the first invasion of Persian troops led by DariusI on the territory of the Balkan Greece (peninsula). It ended with the defeat of Darius at Marathon(492 - 490)

3. 480 - 479 - hike XerxesI to Greece - the climax of the Greco-Persian wars

4. 478 - 459 - actions Delian military naval union of Athens against the Persians (Delos - a Greek island in the Aegean Sea). Change in the nature of hostilities, the transfer of the strategic initiative to the Greeks, the liberation of the Greek cities of the islands of the Aegean Sea and M. Asia from the Persians, the strengthening of Athenian military power

5. 459 - 449 - military expansion (expedition) of Athens and its allies to Egypt and the end of the Greco-Persian Wars.

1. The uprising of the city of Miletus(500 - 494)

The reasons

1. Toughening of the Persian policy under Darius 1 to the Greek cities

2. Intervention in the internal affairs of the Greeks. The desire for centralization of management

3. Greek cities are subject to taxes and duties

4. Plans of the Persian elite to conquer the Greek cities

5. Darius 1 preferred to trade with the Phoenicians, which led to damage to the interests of the Greeks

The Persian protégé Aristagoras resigned as a tyrant, restored polis institutions, called on the inhabitants to revolt, asked for help from Sparta and Athens.

Reasons for the defeat

1. The rebels have very small forces. Small military-economic potential of 2 dozen cities. Persia was a world power. Incommensurable forces

2. There was no help from the Balkan policies

What did the uprising

1. It took the Persians a lot of effort and time

2. The Greeks dealt tangible blows to the Persians for 6 years

2. Invasion of DariusI(492 - 490)

1st hike

1. Equipping an expeditionary corps of 30 thousand people and 600 ships. At the head was the son-in-law of the king, the diplomat Mardonius. The capture of the northern coast of the Aegean Sea began, the subjugation of some Greek cities, Fr. Thasos and the Macedonian king Alexander.

2. The ships were caught in a storm, the destruction of troops up to 20 thousand people. Withdrawal of the remnants of the army to M. Asia. Removal of Mardonius from command.

2nd hike

1. Formation of an army of up to 20 thousand people and ships. The nephew of Darius and an experienced military leader became the leader.

2. Diplomatic preparation of the Persians before the campaign. The demand of the Persians for the obedience of the Greek cities, everyone agreed, but Athens and Sparta refused. Preparations for the war of Athens and Sparta.

3. The capture of the island of Euboea by the Persians, the destruction of the city of Eretria. The landing of troops near the place of Marathon, 42 km from Athens.

4. Athens did not initially have a unified agreement in the war. Some wanted to attack, others wanted to defend Athens. Nomination of a talented military leader Miltiada, strategist.

The clash of two different military systems: the Greek phalanx of the people's militia with heavily armed hoplites and the Persian loose formation, archers and cavalry.

The meaning of the Marathon victory

1. Moral - political, showed:

The superiority of the Greek military organization

The strength of small Greek policies

2. It became clear to Persia that it would not be possible to conquer the Greeks just like that, it was necessary to mobilize all the forces of the Persian state.

3. Campaign of XerxesI(480 - 479) (son of Darius. Darius died in 486)

1. Preparation for war. Drawing up an army from all over the country, building a fleet. Conducting diplomatic negotiations, bribing dishonest Greeks and bosses. Procurement of equipment and supplies, creation of warehouses. Development of a war plan and laying the route.

The composition of the Persian army: 120 - 150 thousand people and 1200 ships.

How did the Greeks prepare for the repulse?

1. Aggravation of the internal political struggle in each policy.

480 year- the beginning of the invasion of Xerxes in Hellas

4. Actions of the Delian military maritime union of Athens against the Persians(478 - 459) (Delos - Greek island in the Aegean Sea)

Union of Greek cities and islands under the leadership of Athens. The meetings took place on the island of Deloss in the sanctuary of Apollo, where the general treasury was kept, later on the treasury, as Pericles, the Athenian politician and strategist, disposed of his own. Sparta did not participate, moved away from them. The alliance was sent to fight against Persia.

Athens was made an impregnable fortress, surrounded by walls, 5 km long. Themistocles was popular in Athens, but the aristocracy was unhappy with him and he was ostracized. Themistocles took refuge in Persia with King Xerxes.

There was a triple battle at the mouth of the river Eurymedon (469(468)):

1. The Athenians attacked the fleet of Persia. 150 ships destroyed and 200 captured.

2. Landing of the infantry (hoplites) on the shore and the battle with the Persians. The Athenians won the battle.

3. Battle with 80 Phoenician ships at sea. The Athenians won the battle.

All this was led by Cimon, the son of Miltiades, the conqueror of the Persians at Marathon.

5. Military expansion (expedition) of Athens and their allies to Egypt and the completion of the Greco-Persian wars (459 - 449)

1. 455 - 454 years - the battle of the Athenians at the capital of Egypt, Memphis. Support for the rebellious Egyptians against the yoke of Persia. The Athenians lost.

2. 454 - transfer of the allied treasury from about. Delos to Athens. Athens becomes a power from the Delian League.

3. 450 - 449 years - the battle of the Athenian fleet with the Persian fleet near the Cypriot city of Salamis, the capture of a number of cities.

4. Unexpectedly, Cimon dies and the aristocrat Callius makes an alliance with Persia. Persia lost its possessions in the Aegean Sea, the Hellespont and the Bosporus, and recognized political independence for the policies of Asia Minor.

Conclusion: As a result of the Greco-Persian wars, the territorial expansion of the Achaemenid Empire was stopped, the ancient Greek civilization entered a period of prosperity and its highest cultural achievements.

It began at the end of the 6th century BC. e. and continued until 338 BC. e. This was the period of the highest prosperity of the Greek cities (polises). However, the heyday was preceded by a severe test. In history, it is referred to as the Greco-Persian wars. The war lasted intermittently from 500 to 449 BC. e. It rallied the Greek city-states and ended with a complete victory over the huge Persian power.

Beginning of the Greco-Persian War

In the VI century BC. e. Persia turned into a powerful and warlike state ruled by the Achaemenid dynasty. In a short time, the Persians conquered Media, Lydia, Egypt, Babylonia. In Asia Minor, they established dominance over the Greek policies located there. After that, King Darius I turned his gaze to the Balkan Peninsula. There, the rich cities of Hellas were buried in the greenery of gardens.

The first great campaign against the Greeks was organized by the Persians in 492 BC. e. But it ended unsuccessfully for the invaders. After crossing the Hellespont, the Persian fleet was swept away by a storm. Nearly 300 ships were lost. The commander of the Persian army, the commander Mardonius, ordered to return back.

As for the Greek cities, in the face of a military threat, they forgot their feuds and united to defend their homeland. Sparta became the core of the military alliance. The command of the united army was also taken over by the Spartan kings. Since war was expected both on land and at sea, many new warships were built. Athens made a great contribution to the construction of ships.

Marathon runner hurries to announce Greek victory

Meanwhile, the Persians in 490 BC. e. organized a second trip. This time, such commanders as Artaphernes and Datis stood at the head of the army. The invaders crossed the Aegean Sea and landed on the eastern coast of Attica.

Here on the Marathon plain in 490 BC. e. The famous Battle of Marathon took place. On the Greek side, the Athenians and Plataeans took part in it. They were commanded by the commander Miltiades.

The Greek army defeated the Persians, and a messenger was sent to Athens with the good news. He ran 40 km without stopping, ran into the city street, informed his fellow citizens that the Greek army had won, and fell to the ground dead. Since those distant times, runners have been competing on marathon distance.

The main stage of the Greco-Persian War

After the victory at the Marathon, the cities of Hellas received a 10-year respite. It was during this period that a strong navy was built, which later played a big role in the victory over the Persians.

Another military expansion began in 480 BC. e. The Persian army was led by King Xerxes himself (486-465 BC), who was the son of Darius I. The aggressor army was huge. In addition to the Persians, it also included military units of the conquered countries. The ancient historian Herodotus, from whose words we know all the details about the Greco-Persian wars, estimated the hordes of Xerxes at 100 thousand soldiers. These are foot soldiers, horsemen, and crews of war chariots.

Under the command of the Persian king was also a huge navy. Ships for him were built by the Egyptians and Phoenicians. All this land and sea armada struck terror into the hearts of the ancient Greeks. Those policies that were on the coast of Asia Minor expressed their obedience and allocated combat detachments to participate in the campaign against the inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula. But Artemisia, who reigned in Caria, herself appeared to Xerxes and added 5 warships to his fleet.

A mighty army crossed the Hellespont and ended up in the northern Balkan lands. The frightened local peoples did not resist, and the Persians moved along the coast to Greece. By sea, they were accompanied by a fleet, keeping close to the coast.

With a quick march, the invaders passed Thrace, left Macedonia behind, crossed northern Greece and found themselves near the narrow mountain pass of Thermopylae. Behind him opened the lands of Central Greece.

Three hundred Spartans die defending their homeland

The feat of three hundred Spartans

By that time, the Greeks had not yet managed to assemble an allied army. Near the passage concentrated only 5 thousand soldiers. They were commanded by the Spartan king Leonidas. All these warriors did not flinch in front of the enemy hordes, but decided to fight to the end. They built a wall of stones, blocking Thermopylae, and took up defense behind it.

Xerxes ordered to set up camp next to the passage and sent scouts. They reported that the Persian army was opposed by only a few thousand soldiers. This news made the king laugh. He sent envoys who told the handful of defenders to lay down their arms. To this, King Leonidas replied: "Come and take it."

The ambassadors, wishing to frighten the impudent Spartan, said: "Our arrows and darts will block your sun." At these words, Leonid grinned and replied: "Well, then we will fight in the shadows."

The Persians launched an assault on Thermopylae. But all their attacks were repulsed. The narrow passage did not allow the invaders to turn around in full force. The whole land in front of the wall erected by the Greeks was littered with the dead bodies of the aggressors. This infuriated Xerxes, but he could not do anything with the people who defended their homeland.

It is shown how the Persians enter the rear of the Greeks along a mountain path.

Help came unexpectedly. There was a traitor in Leonid's army. His name was Ephialtes. He made his way to the Persian camp on the third day of the fighting and reported that he knew about a narrow mountain path along which Thermopylae could be bypassed. The traitor volunteered to show the trail for a large monetary reward.

The Persian king gladly agreed and sent with Ephialtes the best warriors, who were called "immortals". This detachment went to the rear of the Greeks. And when King Leonid saw the Persians descending from the mountains in the rear of his army, he immediately gave the command to retreat. The Greek army left, and the king himself remained with a small detachment of Spartan warriors. There were only 300 of them. These people continued to defend Thermopylae, and all died in an unequal battle. Together with them, Tsar Leonid gave his life for freedom and homeland. Subsequently, the Greeks erected a monument with the figure of a lion at this place.

Further course of hostilities

After the capture of Thermopylae, the Persian army ended up in Central Greece. The allied Greek army retreated to the Isthmus of Corinth, thus protecting the Peloponnese and Sparta. As for Athens, they were abandoned by both the troops and the locals. The latter moved to the island of Salamis and from there watched their city burn, set on fire by the invaders.

The war, meanwhile, continued, and the Allied forces placed all their hope in the fleet. The Greek commanders decided to give battle to the enemy fleet in the Salamis Strait. They knew about all the shoals and undercurrents, so they successfully positioned their ships.

The plan of the naval battle in the Salamis Strait

The Persian ships were heavy, and, having entered the strait, they began to run aground. Therefore, they turned out to be extremely vulnerable to the lighter and nimble Greek ships. As a result, the Persian fleet was defeated. The defeat of the flotilla took place in front of Xerxes, who watched the battle from a high hill.

In this battle, Queen Artemisia distinguished herself. Her ships skillfully resisted the Greek ones. And the ship, on which the queen herself was, rammed several Greek triremes and safely escaped from persecution. Xerxes, watching this, exclaimed: "My men have become women, and women have become men."

The victorious outcome of the Battle of Salamis inspired the entire allied Greek army. As for the Persians, having lost the bulk of the fleet, they were in danger of being cut off from their bases located in Asia Minor.

All this prompted Xerxes to leave the army and return to Persia. For himself, he left the commander Mardonius. That in 479 BC. e. lost the battle of Plataea. At the same time, Mardonius himself died. And almost immediately after this defeat, the Persian fleet suffered another defeat at Cape Mycale. These two serious victories became a turning point, and the Greeks began to inflict one defeat after another on the Persians.

Greek and Persian ships

The final stage of hostilities

Victories were victories, and the Greco-Persian wars continued for another 30 long years. But the theater of operations moved to the zone of the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor. There, the Greek troops won several serious victories. They captured the coastal part of Thrace, several islands in the Aegean Sea, as well as the city of Byzantium.

In 469 BC. e. The Persians suffered another major defeat near the Eurymedon River. But even after that, the fighting continued for another 20 years. They then faded, then intensified, while in the battle near the city of Salamis in Cyprus in 449 BC. e. Greek troops did not win a major victory.

After that, the opponents signed the Treaty of Callia. According to him, the Persian kingdom lost its possessions in the Bosporus (Northern Black Sea), the Hellespont and the Aegean Sea. In addition, all Greek cities in Asia Minor gained independence. Thus ended a long war that had lasted half a century. The most powerful power in the west of Eurasia has recognized itself defeated. And the winner was a small, but freedom-loving people who inhabited the fertile lands of the Balkan Peninsula.

After the Greco-Persian wars, the Greek policies flourished. Among them, Athens stood out. Democracy ruled in this city. People's assemblies began to play a decisive role, at which ordinary people began to decide the most important political issues.

People have been at war since time immemorial. Some peoples tried to conquer other, weaker ones. This uncontrollable thirst for blood, profit, power over others led to the emergence of entire eras that can only tell about wars. Everyone knows that Hellenic Greece and Persia are the real cradles of Western and Eastern civilization, but not everyone is aware of the fact that both of these cultural titans fought among themselves at the turn of the 5th - 6th centuries BC. In addition to devastation and losses, the Greco-Persian War brought heroes to the world.

The conflict was truly a turning point in the entire history of the ancient world. Many facts are unclear to this day, but the tireless work of scientists will certainly bear fruit. At this stage, we can only slightly lift the veil of secrecy over this truly terrifying, but at the same time mind-boggling historical event. All sources known today have been inherited by us from scientists and travelers who lived at that time. The authenticity of the Greco-Persian War is unconditional, but it is simply impossible to imagine the scale, since the two most powerful powers of that time fought.

Brief description of the period

The Greco-Persian Wars is a collective concept of one period, during which there was a military conflict between independent city-states, Greece and Persia, under the Achaemenid dynasty. We are not talking about a single military skirmish of a prolonged nature, but about a whole series of wars that were fought from 500 to 449 BC. Actions of this magnitude were caused primarily by the conflict of interests between Greece and the Persian state.

The Greco-Persian wars include all the armed campaigns of the Persians against the states of the Balkan Peninsula. As a result of the war, the large-scale expansion of Persia to the west was stopped. Many modern scientists call this period fateful. It is difficult to imagine the further development of events if the East had conquered the West.

It is impossible to describe the Greco-Persian wars briefly. This historical period needs a detailed study. To do this, you need to turn to the sources of the time.

main sources

The history of the Greco-Persian wars is rich in events and personalities. The information that has come down to us allows us to accurately recreate the picture of the events of those years. Almost everything that historians of our days know about the Greco-Persian war comes from ancient Greek treatises. Without those statements that were taken from the works of the scientists of Ancient Greece, people would not be able to receive even a small fraction of the knowledge available to them today.

The most important source is a book called "History" written by Herodotus of Halicarnassus. Its author traveled half the world, while collecting various data about the peoples and other historical events of the era in which he lived. Herodotus tells the story of the Greco-Persian War, from the conquest of Ionia to the defeat of Sesta in 479 BC. The description of all the events makes it possible to literally see all the battles of the Greco-Persian wars. However, this source has one significant disadvantage: the author was not a witness to all those events. He simply recounted what other people told him. As we understand, with this approach it is very difficult to distinguish lies from the truth.

After the death of Herodotus, Thucycides of Athens continues the work. He began to describe events from the point where his predecessor left off, and ended with the end of the Peloponnesian War. The historical brainchild of Thucydides is called “History of the Peloponnesian War”. In addition to the scientists presented, other historians of antiquity can be distinguished: these are Diodorus Siculus and Ctesias. Thanks to the memoirs and works of these people, we can analyze the main events of the Greco-Persian wars.

What contributed to the start of the war

Today, a large number of factors can be distinguished that literally brought the Greco-Persian wars to the land of Ancient Hellas. The reasons for these events are perfectly described in the works of Herodotus, who is also called the "father of history." According to the data provided by him, during the Dark Ages, colonies were formed on the shores of Asia Minor. These small cities were mainly inhabited by the tribes of the Aeolians, Ionians and Dorians. A number of formed colonies had complete independence. In addition, a special cultural union was concluded between them. Such cooperation of a closed type right on the shores of Asia Minor did not exist on its own for long. The union turned out to be so shaky that in a few years King Croesus conquered all the cities.

Persian and Greek conflict

The reign of the self-proclaimed king did not last long. Soon the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, Cyrus II, conquered the newly formed state.

From that time on, the cities fell under the complete control of the Persians. But a series of military conflicts begins a little later, at least that's what Herodotus tells. The Greco-Persian wars, in his opinion, begin in 513 BC, when Darius I organizes his campaign in Europe. Destroying Greek Thrace, his troops clashed with the Scythian army, which they never managed to defeat.

The strongest political conflict broke out between the Persians and Athens. This center of ancient Greek culture endured the attacks of the tyrant Hippias for a very long time. When he was finally driven out, a new threat came - the Persians. Once under their rule, many Athenians showed discontent, reinforced by the order of the Persian commander, according to which Hippias returned to Athens. It was from this moment that the Greco-Persian wars began.

Campaign of Mardonius

The chronology of the Greco-Persian wars dates back to the moment when Mardonius, son-in-law of Darius, moved straight to Greece, through Macedonia and Thrace. However, the dreams of this ambitious commander were not destined to come true. The fleet, consisting of more than 300 ships, was completely crushed on the rocks by a storm, and the ground forces were attacked by barbarian brigs. Of all the planned territories, only Macedonia was conquered.

Artapherna Company

After the monstrous failure of Mardonius, the commander Artaphernes took command with the support of his close friend Datis. The main purpose of the trip was the following:

1. Subjugation of Athens.

2. The defeat of Eretria on the island of Euboea.

Darius also ordered the inhabitants of these cities to be brought to him as slaves, which would symbolize the complete conquest of Greece. The primary goals of the campaign were achieved. In addition to Eretria, Naxos was conquered. But the losses of the Persian army were colossal, because the Greeks resisted with all their might, thereby exhausting the enemy.

Marathon battle

The Greco-Persian wars, the main battles of which were quite epic, inscribed the names of some generals in history. For example, Miltiades - this talented commander and strategist was able to brilliantly use the small number of advantages that the Athenians had during the Battle of Marathon. Miltiades was the initiator of the battle between the Persians and the Greeks. Under his command, the Greek army dealt a massive blow to the enemy positions. Most of the Persian army was thrown into the sea, the rest was killed.

In order not to completely lose the campaign, the army of Artaphernes begins to advance by ships along Attica in order to conquer Athens, while there are not enough forces in the city to defend. At the same time, the Greek army, immediately after a long battle, undertook a march towards the capital of all Greece. These actions have borne fruit. Miltiades with the whole army managed to return to the city before the Persians. The exhausted army of Artaphernes retreated from Greek soil, because further battle was pointless. Prominent Athenian politicians prophesied that the Greeks would lose all Greco-Persian wars. The battle of Marathon completely changed their minds. Darius' campaign ended in complete failure.

Break the war and build a fleet

The Athenians understood that the outcome of the Greco-Persian wars would depend on many factors. One of these was the presence of the fleet. The fact that the Persians would continue the war was not even questioned. The famous politician and skillful strategist Themistocles proposed to strengthen his fleet by increasing its numbers. The idea was received ambiguously, especially by Aristides and his followers. Nevertheless, the threat of the Persians had a far greater effect on the minds of the people than the danger of losing a small amount of money. Aristides was driven out and the fleet increased from 50 to 200 ships. From that moment on, the Greeks could count not only on survival, but also on victory in the war with Persia.

Beginning of Xerxes' campaign

After the death of Darius I (in 486 BC), his son, the cruel and reckless Xerxes, ascends the Persian throne. He was able to gather a huge army, which had no analogues in Asia Minor. In his historical writings, Herodotus tells us about the size of this army: about 5 million soldiers. Modern scholars are skeptical of these figures, insisting that the number of the Xercian army did not exceed 300,000 soldiers. But the greatest danger came not from the soldiers themselves, but from a fleet of 1,200 ships. Such sea power really brought real horror to the Athenians, who had nothing at all: 300 ships.

Battle of Thermopylae

The offensive of the army of Xerxes began in the area of ​​​​the Thermopylae passage, which separated northern Greece from the middle one. It was in this place that the famous story of three hundred Spartans, led by King Leonidas, began. These warriors bravely defended the passage, inflicting heavy losses on the Persian army. The geography of the area was on the side of the Greeks. The size of Xerxes' army did not matter, because the passage was rather small. But in the end, the Persians made their way, having previously killed all the Spartans. However, the strength of the Persian army was irretrievably undermined.

Naval battles

The loss of Leonidas forced the Athenians to leave their city. All the inhabitants crossed over to the Peloponnese and Enigma. The forces of the Persian army were running out, so it did not pose a particular danger. Plus, the Spartans perfectly fortified on the Isthmus Isthmus, which significantly blocked the path of Xerxes. But the Persian fleet still threatened the Greek army.

The aforementioned strategist Themistocles put an end to this threat. He literally forced Xerxes to accept battle at sea with his entire bulky fleet. This decision was fatal. The Battle of Salamis ended Persian expansion.

All further actions on the part of the Greek army were aimed at the complete destruction of the Persians. The Greeks slowly drove the enemy out of the expanses of Thrace, took away half of Cyprus, as well as such cities as Chersonesus, Rhodes, Hellespont.

The Greco-Persian Wars ended with the signing of the Potassium Peace in 449 BC.

Results

Thanks to the tactics, fortitude and courage of the Greeks, the Persians lost all their possessions in the Aegean Sea, as well as on the coasts of the Bosphorus and the Hellespont. After the events of the war, the spirit and self-consciousness of the Greeks increased markedly. The fact that Athenian democracy contributed greatly to the victories caused massive democratic movements throughout Greece. From that moment on, the culture of the East began to gradually fade against the backdrop of the great West.

Greco-Persian Wars: table of events

Conclusion

So, the Greco-Persian wars were considered in the article. A summary of all events allows you to get acquainted in detail with this difficult period in the history of ancient Greece. This turning point shows the power and inviolability of Western culture. A new era began when the Greco-Persian wars ended. Causes, major events, persons and other facts still cause a lot of controversy among scientists of our time. Who knows what other incredible information is concealed during the period of the great war between the West and the East.

The wars began with the uprising of the Ionian Greek cities (on the western coast of Asia Minor) under Persian rule in 499 BC. Sparta refused the call of the Ionians for help, but the Athenians, who feared that their former tyrant Hippias (he was then in Asia Minor and nurtured plans to return) would not receive support from the Persians, decided to intervene and sent 20 ships. Together with the Eretrians from the neighboring island of Attica, Euboea, the Athenians helped the rebels capture and burn the capital of the Persian satrapy Sardis in 498 BC, but this detachment was soon withdrawn, and by 494 BC. the uprising was crushed (however, the rebels managed to achieve some concessions).

As a retaliatory measure in 492 BC. Darius I, king of the powerful Persian Empire, sent his son-in-law Mardonius at the head of an army and navy through the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles) to Greece. At the foot of Mount Athos (the peninsula of Akta, protruding into the Aegean Sea from the north), the fleet was wrecked, and the ground army was forced to return.

Intending to punish Athens and Eretria for burning Sardis, in 490 BC. Darius sent a new fleet into the Aegean under the command of Datis and Artaphernes, who were accompanied by Hippias.

Marathon.

First, the Persians sailed to Eretria and, after a six-day siege, captured the city. In the meantime, the Athenians sent the runner Pheidippides to Sparta with a request for help, but the Spartans replied that, due to a religious festival, they would not be able to speak until the full moon. Then 10,000 heavily armed Athenian infantrymen, to whose aid only 1,000 Plataeans came, occupied a narrow valley overlooking the Marathon plain not far from the coast, where, as expected, the Persian fleet was to stop on the way to Athens.

The Athenian strategists chose Miltiades as commander-in-chief because he was familiar with the military tactics of the Persians, who expelled him in 493 BC. from Thrace. Now Miltiades waited, remaining in place, while the infantry and cavalry of the Persians (about 30 thousand people) landed on the shore. The Persians were protected by thin armor, they were armed with bows and short swords. When the arrows of the enemy began to hit the Greeks, Miltiades ordered them to attack - running, in order to remain as little as possible under a hail of arrows. The Persians, not ready for hand-to-hand combat, retreated to their ships, having suffered heavy losses (about 6400 people were killed), 192 people were killed among the Athenians and Plataeans. An attempt to attack Athens by surprise from the harbor of Falera ended in failure, and the Persians returned to Asia. The Athenians built a high mound in honor of the dead, which is still visible on the battlefield at Marathon. They then, following the advice of the prominent Athenian politician Themistocles, set about building a fleet. Themistocles calculated that Greece was too small to feed the army of the conquerors, and therefore, if the fleet providing communications was destroyed, the enemy army would have to leave.

Thermopylae and Salamis.

When Darius died, his son and successor Xerxes was unable to immediately march because of the rebellion in Egypt, but the Persians began to prepare a new invasion. Since they had to move again through the northern part of the Aegean Sea, food warehouses were built in Thrace, a canal was dug through the isthmus near Mount Athos, a floating bridge was built across the Hellespont (a crossing point from Asia to Europe); finally, a land army of about 100,000 men and a fleet of 1,000 ships were assembled.

This time Athens and Sparta marched together. Their strategy was to keep the Persian army in the north until both fleets were in battle. Therefore, the Spartan king Leonidas, with 6,000 Greeks, occupied the mountain pass of Thermopylae, while Themistocles, at the head of an allied fleet of about 300 ships, waited for the Persians at Cape Artemisium, the northern tip of Euboea.

In the summer of 480 BC Xerxes invaded Thessaly with his huge army. His warriors died by the thousands at Thermopylae, a narrow passage between the mountain range and the sea, until a Greek traitor showed them a secret path through the mountains. When Leonidas learned that the Persians were about to attack him from the rear, he released most of his Greek allies and fought to the death at the head of 300 Spartans and several hundred Thespians.

Meanwhile, a storm forced Themistocles to leave Artemisius. The Persians entered Athens and burned the city. However, two months earlier, most of the Athenians had been evacuated to Troezen in the Peloponnese. Themistocles and the Spartan commander Eurybiades deployed a fleet in the bay of the island of Salamis, adjacent to Athens. By cunning, as if avoiding battle, they lured the Persians into a narrow strait, where they destroyed the Persian fleet.

The final victory of the Greeks.

Xerxes had to retire to Asia, but he left an army of 80 thousand people in central Greece. The following year (at the end of August 479 BC), these forces, led by Mardonius, were destroyed at Plataea in southern Boeotia by a combined Greek army of 40 thousand people, commanded by the Spartan commander Pausanias. According to legend, on the same day the allied Greek fleet defeated the Persians at Mycale, a cape on the coast of Asia Minor, and the remnants of the Persian troops were defeated there on land. As a result, in the next two decades, most of the Greek population of Asia Minor was freed from Persian rule.