Persia Attacks the Greeks Chapter 4 / Section 3 Persia Attacks the Greeks

The Persian Empire (pgs. 132 & 133) Persians were warriors and nomads who lived in Persia, the southwestern area of what is today Iran. Cyrus the Great, who ruled from 559 B.C. – 530 B.C., united the Persians building an empire larger than any yet seen in the world.

The Persian Empire conquered northern Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Syria, Canaan, Egypt, western India, the Phoenician cities, and the northeast region of Greece. The Persian Empire grew to about the size of the continental United States.

Cyrus the Great King Cyrus was said to be a merciful ruler who not only allowed many of the nations he conquered to practice their various religious beliefs - an unprecedented tolerance - but that he even actively assisted captive peoples, including the Jews, to return to their lands of origin. The Cyrus cylinder is considered the world’s first declaration of human rights. On October 29th 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great liberated the city of Babylon, freed the Jews from Babylon and issued the world's first charter of human rights. Cyrus ruled with policies of religious tolerance and he did not enslave the people of kingdoms he conquered. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8ySExBDrC0&feature=related

Persian Government Darius (duh*ry*uhs) came to power in 521 B.C. and reorganized the government. The empire under Darius was divided into 20 provinces called satrapies (say*truh*peez), each with a ruler known as a satrap (say*trap). The Persian military consisted of full-time, paid soldiers known as Immortals.

The Persian Religion The religion in Persia was called Zoroastrianism (zohr*uh*was*tree*uh*nih*zuhm). Its founder, Zoroaster, was born in 660 B.C. and began preaching after seeing visions as a young man. Zoroaster believed in one god, the freedom of humans, and the triumph of good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGRgzFLcMMQ

The Persian Wars (pgs. 134 – 137) The Battle of Marathon Persians and Greeks often clashed and King Darius decided to stop the Greeks from interfering in his empire. In 490 B.C., a Persian fleet (group of warships under one command) of 20,000 soldiers landed on the plain (large area of level or rolling treeless country) of Marathon. At first, the Athenians held back and did not attack because they only had 10,000 soldiers compared to the Persians’ 20,000 soldiers.

Tired of waiting, the Persian commander decided to sail south and attack Athens directly. He loaded his horsemen first, the strongest part of his army. As soon as the cavalry was out of sight, the Greeks attacked and defeated the Persian foot soldiers.

Pheidippides collapsed from exhaustion and died. According to legend, the Athenians sent the messenger Pheidippides (fy*dip*uh*deez) 25 miles to Athens with news of their victory. Pheidippides collapsed from exhaustion and died. Modern marathon races are named for this famous run and are just over 26 miles long. http://www.history.com/videos/kill-zone-battle-of-thermopylae#battles-bc-battle-at-marathon

Another Persian Attack After Darius’s death, his son Xerxes (zuhrk*seez) became king and vowed revenge against the Athenians. In 480 B.C. he launched a new invasion of Greece with 180,000 troops and thousands of warships. Sparta and Athens joined forces to defend against Xerxes’s attack, along with about 30 other Greek city- states.

Sparta sent the most soldiers, and their king, Leonidas ( lee. ah. nuh Sparta sent the most soldiers, and their king, Leonidas ( lee*ah*nuh*duhs) served as commander. The Athenian general Themistocles (thuh*mihs* tuh*kleez) came up with a plan to defeat the Persians. Themistocles thought the best strategy would be to attack the Persians’ ships and cut off supplies to its army.

The Greeks fought the Persians at Thermopylae (thehr. mah. puh The Greeks fought the Persians at Thermopylae (thehr*mah*puh*lee), a narrow pass through the mountains. About 7,000 Greeks held off the Persians there for two days. A traitor, thinking he would get a reward, directed the Persians to a mountain path that led them around the Greeks.

Leonidas sent most of his troops to safety. Leonidas and about 300 Spartans stayed behind and fought to the death. The Greeks lost the battle, but their valiant stand allowed the safe retreat of the Greek army and time for Athens to assemble 200 ships to use in attacking the Persians. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj810hUDVUQ

This Greek fleet, whose ships were smaller and faster, attacked the Persians in the strait of Salamis (sa*luh*muhs) and destroyed almost the entire Persian fleet. The Persians continued their march to Athens, but finding the it deserted, burned the city. In 479 B.C., Greek city-states came together to form the largest Greek army ever assembled. The Greek army crushed the Persians at Plataea (pluh*tee*uh) and the Persians retreated to Asia Minor.

The Fall of the Persian Empire The Persians were weakened by war. After Darius and Xerxes, Persian kings raised taxes and spent money lavishly on the royal court. Sons of kings were constantly plotting to take over the throne. As a result, six of the nine rulers after Darius were murdered. By 330 B.C., the last Persian king was dead and a young Greek named Alexander the Great, ruled over his lands.

http://www. documentary24 http://www.documentary24.com/the-persian-empire-against-alexander-the-great--292/