Transcript The Persian Empire and Persian Wars

The Persian Empire and Persian
Wars
Persia vs. Greece
The Extent of the Persian Empire
The Religions
of Persia
• Zoroastrianism
– Zoroaster, a Persian prophet
– Struggle between evil and good, all
are involved
– Monotheistic: Ahura Mazda
– Popular amongst Roman military
• Judaism
Remember Cyrus?
• Developed a vast Persian Empire
• First emperor of Persia
• Conquered the Ionian Greeks
Cyrus’ Legacies
• Religious Tolerance
–Cyrus honored local religious customs
–Welcomed Jews to return to Jerusalem
• Civility
–Armies did not loot conquests
–Kind toward conquered peoples
After Cyrus…
• Darius seizes throne
in 522 BCE
–Crushed revolts
–Expands empire into
Greece, farther into
Egypt, farther north
into central Europe
Key Player: Darius
• Under Darius – Ionian Greeks rebelled
against Persia to gain independence
• Athens helped the Ionian Greeks by
sending aid
• Persia stopped the Ionian rebels and
wanted revenge on Athens for interfering
with their personal business
Ionians lived here →
• As we read the selection, “The Persian Wars”,
think about the causes of the wars, the
important leaders and battles, and the effects
of the wars. You’ll be creating a comic strip of
them afterwards!
The First Persian War: 491-490
BCE
Killing the messenger
Hoplite
Phalanx
Pheidippides running from Marathon
The Second Persian War 480-479
BCE
Xerxes
King Leonidas of Sparta at the battle of
Thermopylae
•
Thermopylae
/
Salamis
Thermopylae – Key land battle fought between the Greeks and Persians during
the 2nd Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C. At a narrow mountain pass, 7,000
Greeks, including 300 Spartans, blocked the Persian army led by Xerxes. The
Greeks stopped the Persian advance for 3 days. Only a traitor’s informing the
Persians about a secret path around the pass ended their brave stand. Fearing
defeat, the Spartans held the Persians back while the other Greek forces
retreated. The Spartans’ valiant sacrifice – all were killed – made a great
impression on all Greeks.
• Salamis – Decisive Naval battle of the 2nd Persian invasion of Greece.
Themistocles, an Athenian leader, convinced the Athenians to abandon their city
and fight at sea near the island of Salamis, a few miles southwest. After setting
fire to Athens, Xerxes sent his warships to block both ends of the channel.
However, the channel was very narrow, and the Persian ships had difficulty
turning. Smaller Greek ships armed with battering rams attacked, puncturing the
hulls of many Persian warships, destroying a third of the Persian fleet.
C. 5, S. 2, Q. 3: Why were the Spartan soldiers willing to sacrifice themselves
at Thermopylae?
Battle of Salamis
Battle of Plataea
The Aftermath: Effects of the War
• Both Athens and Sparta claim credit for
victory over Persia = led to problems
• Sparta was still very weak after
Thermopylae
• Athens emerges as the most powerful citystate (bully)
• Athens creates the Delian League (alliance
with other city states to protect themselves
if Persia ever returns)
• Athens rebuilds their city-state better than
ever, and they experience a GOLDEN AGE.
Last Stand of the 300
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8MF6I
9Tw4
– Start at 1:10