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The Greek World
Greece and Persia
Persia Becomes an Empire

The Persians fought other peoples of
Southwest Asia in early history. The
Medes would rule over them for about 150
years until 550 BC when Cyrus II led a
revolt.
Cyrus the Great

The revolt was
successful and
brought independence
for Persia and marked
the beginning of the
Persian Empire. Cyrus
would go on to
conquer much of
Southwest Asia
including nearly all of
Asia Minor.
Cyrus the Great

Several Greek cities
were included in the
conquest. He also
took Mesopotamia and
then moved east to
Central Asia to Syr
Darya. When Cyrus
died in 529 BC, He
ruled the largest
empire the world had
seen to that date.
Cyrus the Great

Cyrus let the
people he
conquered keep
their own customs,
thinking this may
make them less
likely to rebel – it
worked! Few will
rebel and his
empire remained
strong.
The Persian Army

Cyrus’s army was
strong because it
was well organized
and loyal. The
heart of the army
were the
Immortals, 10,000
elite soldiers
chosen for their
bravery.
Persian Army

The army also had
a powerful cavalry
– units of horse
soldiers. Cyrus
used the cavalary
to charge the
opposition and
shoot them with
arrows, weakening
them for the
Immortals attack.
Persian Empire Grows Stronger

The empire would
continue to grow
under Cyrus’s son,
Chambyses rule –
Egypt for example.
However, rebellion
in the empire did
come and
Chambyses would
die during the
revolt.
Darius the Organizer

Chambyses death left
Persia without a
chosen leader. Soon,
a young prince named
Darius I would claim
the throne, killing all
of his rivals for power.
Darius would restore
order and work to
improve Persian
society and expand
the empire.
Political Organization

Darius divided the empire into 20
provinces. He then chose governors or
satraps to rule for him. The satraps
collected taxes, served as judges and
quashed rebellion in their provinces.
Although the satraps had great power,
Darius was the main guy. His officials
visited the provinces to ensure the satraps
remained loyal. He was the king of kings!
Persian Society

Darius made many improvements to
Persian society. He built roads to connect
all parts of the empire and improve
communication. The Royal Road was
1700 miles long.
Persian Society

He built a new capital, Persepolis, to reflect the
glory of his empire. He filled the city with great
works of art. A new religion, Zoroastrianism,
taught that there were 2 forces, one good and
one evil, fighting for control of the universe.
Persian Expansion

Darius wanted to
expand the empire
and conquered the
entire Indus Valley.
He wanted to move
west to Europe,
however, a
rebellion would
interfere with his
plans.
The Persians Fight Greece

In 499 BC, several
Greek cities in Asia
Minor, will rebel
against Persian rule.
A few city states in
mainland Greece sent
soldiers to help. The
Persians put down the
revolt, but Darius was
mad. He swore to get
revenge on the Greeks
that sent help.
Battle of Marathon

Nine years after the
Greek rebellion,
Darius invaded
Greece. The army
sailed to the plains of
Marathon near Athens.
This invasion started a
series of war that
would become known
as the Persian Wars.
Battle of Marathon

The Athenian army
had only 11,000 and
the Persians had
15,000 – however, the
Greeks would win the
battle due to superior
weapons and clever
leaders. Legend says
a messenger ran from
Marathon to Athens, a
distance of just over
26 miles to bring news
of the victory – he
would then fall to the
ground and die.
The Second Invasion of Greece

Ten years after the
Battle of Marathon,
Darius’s son, Xerxes I,
tried to conquer
Greece again. In 480
BC he sent both the
Persian army and
navy. The Athenians
would be joined by
the Spartans, the
strongest army in
Greece.
The Second Invasion

The Spartans sent
1400 soldiers to
Thermopylae, a
narrow mountain pass
to slow the Persians.
They held them for 3
days. The Persians
had a traitorous Greek
soldier to lead them
through a different
pass. The large
Persian force attacked
from behind and
defeated the
Spartans.
The Second Invasion

After defeating the
Spartans, they
would head to
Athens and burn it
down. Still, the
Athenians defeated
the Persian navy at
the narrow strait of
Salamis using a
clever ploy.
Salamis

The strait was so
narrow and the
Persians had so
many ships, they
found it almost
impossible to
navigate and the
smaller Athenian
boats sank the
Persians easily.
Sail No More


Soon after the Battle of Salamis, an army
of soldiers from all over Greece defeated
the Persians at Plataea, thus ending the
Persian Wars and sending the Persians
home.
For the Persians, it was a small bump as
their empire remained strong for over a
century. For the Greeks, it was a triumph
as they saved their homeland.
To Sum Up …

Exit: Why did Persia want Greece?

Stay tuned next time for The Greek Gods