Because of this the Greek fleet had to retreat to the island of Salamis, along with the population of Athens and the remaining army. [21] This embassy may have been an attempt to reach some kind of peace agreement, and it has even been suggested that the failure of these hypothetical negotiations led to the Athenian decision to support the Egyptian revolt. The Persian Empire and an alliance of Greek city-states led first by Sparta and then Athens. [86], The task force sailed on to Euboea, and to the first major target, Eretria. [135] However, the Peloponnesian cities made fall-back plans to defend the Isthmus of Corinth should it come to it, while the women and children of Athens were evacuated to the Peloponnesian city of Troezen. Furthermore, Athens had already demonstrated their superiority at sea at the Eurymedon and Salamis-in-Cyprus, so any legal limitations for the Persian fleet were nothing more than "de jure" recognition of military realities. [57][58] Other coastal regions of the Persian Empire would contribute ships throughout the course of the wars. At the heart of the rebellion was the dissatisfaction of the Greek cities of Asia Minor with the tyrants appointed by Persia to rule them, along with opposition to the individual actions of two Milesian tyrants, Histiaeus and Aristagoras. In exchange for limiting the movement of Persian troops in one region of the realm, Artaxerxes secured a promise from the Athenians to stay out of his entire realm. It is remembered in part because it pitted an underdog, Greece, against a massive empire, Persia. One may also ask, what was the significant effect of the Greco Persian Wars? [46], In the Greco-Persian wars both sides made use of spear-armed infantry and light missile troops. [149] The Allied fleet thus remained off the coast of Salamis into September, despite the imminent arrival of the Persians. Opinion amongst modern historians is also split; for instance, Fine accepts the concept of the Peace of Callias,[21] whereas Sealey effectively rejects it. [95] Demaratus would from then on act as an advisor to Darius, and later Xerxes, on Greek affairs, and accompanied Xerxes during the second Persian invasion. [184], The aftermath of the siege was to prove troublesome for Pausanias. 513 BCE. [97] Since this was to be a full-scale invasion, it needed longterm planning, stockpiling and conscription. This dual strategy was adopted by the congress. The wars also led to the unity between the Greeks. [62][63] The mission was a debacle,[64] and sensing his imminent removal as tyrant, Aristagoras chose to incite the whole of Ionia into rebellion against the Persian king Darius the Great. [21] Even during the 4th century BC, the idea of the treaty was controversial, and two authors from that period, Callisthenes and Theopompus, appear to reject its existence.[198]. [196], If the wars of the Delian League shifted the balance of power between Greece and Persia in favour of the Greeks, then the subsequent half-century of internecine conflict in Greece did much to restore the balance of power to Persia. The Persians took the Ionians’ farmland and harbors. [65] However, on their return journey to Ionia, they were followed by Persian troops, and decisively beaten at the Battle of Ephesus. However, the League's involvement in the Egyptian revolt by Inaros II against Artaxerxes I (from 460–454 BC) resulted in a disastrous Greek defeat, and further campaigning was suspended. When the envoys came to Sardis and spoke as they had been bidden, Artaphrenes son of Hystaspes, viceroy of Sardis, asked them, "What men are you, and where dwell you, who desire alliance with the Persians?" Their role was to protect the back ranks of the formation. [176] The Athenians therefore were able to lay a siege around Sestos. Stalemate ensued for five days, before the Persians decided to continue onward to Athens, and began to load their troops back onto the ships. Athens, and other Greek cities, sent aid, but were quickly forced to back down after defeat in 494 BCE. This was the beginning of the Ionian Revolt, which would last until 493 BC, progressively drawing more regions of Asia Minor into the conflict. The route to southern Greece (Boeotia, Attica and the Peloponnesus) would require the army of Xerxes to travel through the narrow pass of Thermopylae. This would prove to be the source of much trouble for the Greeks and Persians alike. While fighting the Lydians, Cyrus had sent messages to the Ionians asking them to revolt against Lydian rule, which the Ionians had refused to do. Sparta led city-states in the Peloponnesian League. Only 70 of the nearly 700 Greek city-states sent representatives. [43], In the years following their conquest, the Persians found the Ionians difficult to rule. [21] If these views are correct, it would remove one major obstacle to the acceptance of the treaty's existence. [118], In 483 BC, a vast new seam of silver was found in the Athenian mines at Laurium. There was also perhaps a feeling that securing long-term security for the Asian Greeks would prove impossible. [128] This confederation had powers both to send envoys to ask for assistance and to dispatch troops from the member states to defensive points after joint consultation. [195] This campaign marked the end of hostilities between the Delian League and Persia, and therefore the end of the Greco-Persian Wars. Despite their successes, however, the spoils of war caused greater inner conflict within the Hellenic world. Xerxes reorganized the troops into tactical units replacing the national formations used earlier for the march. Click to see full answer Correspondingly, what was the main cause of the Persian wars? Correspondingly, who won the Greco Persian War? [11] The prevailing modern view is that Herodotus did a remarkable job in his Historia, but that some of his specific details (particularly troop numbers and dates) should be viewed with skepticism. The Spartans were supposedly of the view that, with the liberation of mainland Greece and the Greek cities of Asia Minor, the war's purpose had already been reached. Continued resistance to weapons inspections led to bombing raids against Iraq, and trade sanctions imposed on Iraq remained in place, albeit with an emphasis on military-related goods until the second Gulf conflict. [73] This double defeat effectively ended the revolt, and the Carians surrendered to the Persians as a result. [154] His general Mardonius volunteered to remain in Greece and complete the conquest with a hand-picked group of troops, while Xerxes retreated to Asia with the bulk of the army. [131], Having crossed into Europe in April 480 BC, the Persian army began its march to Greece, taking 3 months to travel unopposed from the Hellespont to Therme. Earlier, in 546 B.C.E., the Persians had conquered the wealthy Greek settlements in Ionia, a small coastal region bordering the Aegean Sea, in Asia Minor. Nevertheless, the Athenians preferred to remain democratic despite the danger from Persia, and the ambassadors were disavowed and censured upon their return to Athens.[60]. Asia Minor had been brought back into the Persian fold, but Darius had vowed to punish Athens and Eretria for their support for the revolt. [174] The Peloponnesians sailed home, but the Athenians remained to attack the Chersonesos, still held by the Persians. Further, he suggests that Theopompus was actually referring to a treaty that had allegedly been negotiated with Persia in 423 BC. ^ ii: Archaeological evidence for the Panionion before the 6th century BC is very weak, and possibly this temple was a relatively late development. [26][27] Modern historians generally accept this migration as historic (but separate from the later colonization of the Mediterranean by the Greeks). The Ionians refused to capitulate and called upon Sparta for assistance, which she provided, in 396–395 BC. [168] Their morale boosted, the Allied marines fought and won a decisive victory at the Battle of Mycale that same day, destroying the remnants of the Persian fleet, crippling Xerxes's sea power, and marking the ascendancy of the Greek fleet. [151] There, the Persian numbers became a hindrance, as ships struggled to maneuver and became disorganised. After this battle, the Persians took an essentially passive role in the conflict, anxious not to risk battle if possible. 15 Related Question Answers Found Why was the Persian War important? As a result of the allied Greek success, a large contingent of the Persian fleet was destroyed and all Persian garrisons were expelled from Europe, marking an end of Persia’s advance westward into the continent. From the Persian perspective, such terms would not be so humiliating as they might at first seem. answer choices . Backed by Persian military might, these tyrants did not need the support of the population, and could thus rule absolutely. [32][33], The cities of Ionia remained independent until they were conquered by the Lydians of western Asia Minor. After the failure of the first invasion, Darius began raising a huge new army with which he intended to subjugate Greece completely. Nevertheless, this was remarkable for the disjointed Greek world, especially since many of the city-states present were still technically at war with one another. On the final day of the battle, the remaining Allies sallied forth from the wall to meet the Persians in the wider part of the pass to slaughter as many Persians as they could, but eventually they were all killed or captured. Cyrus was a grandson of Astyages and was supported by part of the Median aristocracy. [134] At this point, a second strategy was suggested by Themistocles to the allies. and last until 479 B.C. [169] Whilst many modern historians doubt that Mycale took place on the same day as Plataea, the battle may well only have occurred once the Allies received news of the events unfolding in Greece. [20] In his biographies, he draws directly from many ancient histories that have not survived, and thus often preserves details of the period that are omitted in Herodotus and Thucydides's accounts. Towards the end of the conflict with Persia, the process by which the Delian League became the Athenian Empire reached its conclusion. They banded together to form leagues, or groups of allies, for protection. [49][54] The heavy armour usually included a breastplate or a linothorax, greaves, a helmet, and a large round, concave shield (the aspis or hoplon). This period, sometimes referred to as the pentekontaetia (πεντηκονταετία, the Fifty Years) by ancient writers, was a period of relative peace and prosperity within Greece. [122], The Spartan king Demaratus had been stripped of his kingship in 491 BC, and replaced with his cousin Leotychides. Greek armies placed the emphasis on heavier infantry, while Persian armies favoured lighter troop types. [126], In 481 BC, Xerxes sent ambassadors to city states throughout Greece, asking for food, land, and water as tokens of their submission to Persia. This in turn allowed the Persian army to march unimpeded south all the way to Athens. [45] On the eve of the Greco-Persian wars, it is probable that the Ionian population had become discontented and was ready for rebellion. Darius began by sending envoys to the Greek city-states, asking them to pledge their loyalty to the Persian Empire, in 490 BCE. [99], The Persians had the sympathy of several Greek city-states, including Argos, which had pledged to defect when the Persians reached their borders. Start studying History - Greco-Persian Wars. [200] The ancient sources therefore disagree as to whether there was an official peace or not, and, if there was, when it was agreed. The Ionian Revolt. It was instigated by Aristagoras, economic burdens, and a feeling of being treated unfairly by the Empire. This in turn allowed the, Although the Athenians were outnumbered, two. [48][53] The 'hoplites' were foot soldiers usually drawn from the members of the middle-classes (in Athens called the zeugites), who could afford the equipment necessary to fight in this manner. [28][29] There are, however, those who believe the Ionian migration cannot be explained as simply as the classical Greeks claimed. The Persians then burnt the city and temples of the Naxians. [30] These settlers were from three tribal groups: the Aeolians, Dorians and Ionians. [212] Athens, however, sided with the Persians, which led in turn to another large-scale conflict in Greece, the Corinthian War. Being informed by the envoys, he gave them an answer whereof the substance was, that if the Athenians gave king Darius earth and water, then he would make alliance with them; but if not, his command was that they should begone. [91] Herodotus records that 6,400 Persian bodies were counted on the battlefield; the Athenians lost only 192 men. [112][113][114] Other recent works on the Persian Wars reject this number, viewing 1,207 as more of a reference to the combined Greek fleet in the Iliad.