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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=T8ySExBDrC0&feature=relat
ed
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.
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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGRgzFLcMMQ

Zoroaster believed in one god, the freedom of
humans, and the triumph of good.
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.

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-atmarathon
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*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*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.com/thepersian-empire-against-alexander-thegreat--292/