Download Evaluate the causes of conflict between the

Evaluate the causes of conflict between the Greeks and the Persians in this
period.
The conflict between the Greeks and the Persians in the first half of the Fifth Century was
a consequence of the expansion of the Persian Empire into Asia Minor and the Aegean, and
the desire of the conquered Greek states there to regain their independence. It was also a
clash of two competing civilisations: Persia, which demanded absolute loyalty to the Great
King, and Greece, which was experimenting with radical democracy. With such radically
different views of polity, it was all but inevitable that war would ensue.
In 546 BC, Cyrus the Great conquered Asia Minor and incorporated the Ionian city states
into the Persian Empire. As was the Persian custom, he put local tyrants in power in these
cities, to rule on his behalf. These Greek tyrants were not always popular with their subjects,
and needed Persian support to remain in power. In 522, Darius succeeded to the throne,
and set about conquering Thrace and Macedonia. This brought the Persian Empire to the
very gates of mainland Greece. Given the value the Persian ruling class placed on conquest,
it seems likely that Darius would have wanted to prove himself by incorporating the Greek
city states into his empire. Such a task would also have seemed relatively simple, given the
relative sizes of Greece and Persia.
Darius was also motivated by the desire to crush all opposition to his authority. By 500,
the Ionian cities had become very unhappy with Persian rule. Although governed by tyrants
prior to the incorporation into the Empire, these cites had been independent entities and
had grown rich from trade. Now, their leaders had to serve the interests of Persia, which
meant paying taxes to both the local satrap and the Great King, and providing ships and
soldiers to the Persian army. While the tyrants themselves might have been willing to bear
this burden, many of their subjects were not. The seeds of rebellion were beginning to
germinate, posing a threat to both the tyrants and their Persian masters.
The Ionian Revolt began in 500 BC on the island of Naxos, when the oligarchs who ran the
island were expelled by democrats. These oligarchs fled to Miletus, where they requested
help from the local tyrant, Aristagoras. Aristagoras persuaded the Persian satrap
Artaphernes to send a fleet of ships to Naxos to restore the oligarchs to power, however the
invasion failed after a four month siege. Fearing Artaphernes would now punish him for
failing to subdue Naxos, Aristagoras led a revolt against the Persians.
Aristagoras went to Athens to try to persuade it to join the rebellion. Herodotus tells us
that Athens agreed because Artaphernes (the Persian satrap) was demanding that it accept
the return of its former tyrant, Hippias, who had taken refuge in Persia since his overthrow
in 512 BC. Historians have also suggested that Athens resented Persia’s control of the
Hellespont, as this was interfering with its Black Sea trade.
The Ionian cities now began driving out their tyrants and establishing systems of
democracy. Then, together with a force from Athens they marched on the local Persian
capital, Sardis, and burnt it to the ground. On their way back to the coast they met with a
Persian force and were defeated.
Despite this setback, the revolt continued until 494 BC, when the Persians captured
Miletus, then defeated the Greek fleet at the Battle of Lade. The revolt might have been
over, but the factors that had fuelled it remained. As B.J. Bury has pointed out, democracy
was seen by the Persians as a direct challenge to their empire, as the Ionian tyrants would
never have rebelled against Persian rule.
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Darius now ordered his son-in-law Mardonius to recapture the Ionian cities, then to
reimpose control over Thrace and Macedonia. Herodotus says that he intended Mardonius
to continue on and conquer Greece but that this was prevented by a disaster at sea.
Herodotus also tells us that Darius was furious about the destruction of Sardis, and vowed
to exact revenge on Athens. He might also have had other reasons for the invasion of
Greece. In 507 BC Athenian envoys had visited Sardis to propose an alliance between Athens
and Persia. Some historians believe Darius might have got the impression that Athens was
already a supplicant state, and therefore viewed its participation in the attack on Sardis as
treason.
Whatever the case, Darius launched an invasion of Greece in 490, but it was stopped at
Marathon, thanks to the leadership of Athens and Miltiades. Had the Great King been willing
to accept defeat, it might have meant an end to the conflict with Greece. However, the
humiliating nature of that defeat meant Darius was determined to seek revenge.
Darius died before he could put his plan into effect, and it was inherited by his son Xerxes.
However, Herodotus suggests that Xerxes was ill-disposed to invading Greece and needed to
be talked around by his cousin Mardonius. The latter persuaded him of the need to avenge
the defeat at Marathon, both to restore Persia’s dignity and to assure any would-be rebels
that punishment would be swift and harsh if they challenged the power of the Great King.
He also tantalised Xerxes with the prospect of obtaining wealth and glory by expanding his
dominion.
Sadly for Xerxes, this second invasion shared the same fate as the first, though this time
the Great King had to accept much of the blame himself, given the mistakes he made at
Salamis. That slight to his dignity meant he could not easily put the conflict with Greece
behind him, so a long period of mutual enmity ensued.
In 468 Xerxes gathered a force of ships and soldiers, in the hope of recapturing Asia Minor.
However, the Delian League commander Cimon attacked this force before Xerxes’
Phoenician ships could arrive. In the ensuing battle, the Persians’ ships were destroyed and
their land force scattered. Cimon then sailed south and destroyed the Phoenician fleet.
Xerxes’ hopes of another invasion were dashed, and he was forced to sign a peace treaty in
which he promised to keep his ships away from Asia Minor.
The conflict between Greece and Persia simmered on for another two decades, till Xerxes’
son Artaxerxes was forced to sign the Peace of Callias in 448, following a devastating naval
defeat. The two civilisations fought no more wars until 334, when Alexander the Great
invaded Persia and put an end to the Achaemenid Empire.
Hence, the conflict between Greece and Persia was a consequence of two clashing
civilisations – the one intent on expansion and the enforcement of tyranny, the other
resolute in defence of its homeland and its experiment with democracy.
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