Delian League/Athenian Empire

Question 1

Pre-Delian league – The Persian Empire

Answer 1

• The King of Persia – Darius I (550 – 486)
• The King of Persia – Xerxes (486 – 465)
• Building on a continually expanding empire.
• Taking over Europe was his objective.
• Persian Empire invaded Greece in 490 BC.

Question 2

Major battles of the Persian wars

Answer 2

• Battle of Marathon – 490 BC Battle between the Persians (Darius I) and the Athenians- GREEK VICTORY
• Battle of Thermopylae – 480 BC- Battle between the Spartan and Persians (Xerxes)- PERSIAN VICTORY
• Battle of Salamis – 480 BC - Sea Battle between the Athenians and Persians (Xerxes)- GREEK VICTORY

Question 3

What did the Greeks have to do next?

Answer 3

• 478BC Greek states needed to consolidate power against the Persians.
• Hellenic League preceded this, Sparta had been in control.
• Sparta happy to give up power due to their own domestic concerns.Other states happy to allow Athens to take control
• Athenians held in high regard after Salamis
• Had a large experienced navy
• Sparta and Athens on friendly terms at this time
• Therefore Athens given hegemonia.

Question 4

Athens begins to grow…

Answer 4

1. After the Persian Wars, Athens had the most powerful Naval force in Greece.
2. Sparta still had the most powerful land force.
3. Sparta did not want the Athenians to rebuild their fortifications but Athens ignored this and rebuilt them.
4. Relationship between Athens and Sparta now very strained.

Question 5

Key Dates

Answer 5

479-478 BC:
- Persians left Greece.
- Athens emerged as leading naval power, Sparta as military land power.
- Conflicts arose between the Spartans and Athenians. Sparta did not wish Athens to rebuild her fortifications; Athens ignored Sparta and rebuilt them any way.
- After this incident relations between Athens and Sparta were strained.

Question 6

Key Dates

Answer 6

478 BC
The Delian League Formed

• The Persian Mopping Up- Two Greek expeditions led by Sparta:
  1. Led by the king Leotychidas of Sparta against Northern Greece where support for the Persians had been at its strongest. Failure, Spartan king found guilty of corruption.

2. Led by Spartan Regent Pausanias. Brought Cyprus into Greek control. Byzantium captured. Pausanias’ behaviour annoyed the other Greek states, Athens was asked to take command. Beginning of Athens becoming a major power.

Question 7

Original Administration before the transition into a private Athenian empire:

Answer 7

• Athens had a leading role, but originally the other members governed themselves and had a vote in the decisions related to the league.
• Athens as the executive leader had a separate vote, which equalled in strength the combined decision of the other member states.
• Again it was a voluntary alliance, but on its creation member states swore an oath that it would last forever.

Question 8

Taking an oath:

Answer 8

1. Oaths very much more significant in the ancient world than they are today.
2. People connected Oaths with their relationships with the gods.
3. All the voluntary states had to take oath of allegiance to the League that was life-long.
4. They threw iron into the sea as a symbol of the seriousness and weight of their oath.

Question 9

aims of the league: Against Persian invasion

Answer 9

• The league had three broad aims or mission statements:
  1. The official aim was to compensate themselves for their losses by ravaging the territory of the King of Persia (Thucydides).
  2. To liberate all Greek states under Persian control.
  3. To protect Ionia and mainland Greece from Persian attack.
• Therefore it was both an offensive and defensive alliance.
  Athens quickly became the leading state, due to its willingness to lead and its effective navy.

Question 10

financing the league

Answer 10

• The headquarters and Treasury of the league were originally kept on the island of Delos.
• It was chosen because it was a sanctuary site and therefore neutral, also because it was midway between Athens and Asia Minor and it had a good harbour.
• Some states would provide money, some ships
• Regular system of contributions. Allies requested that Aristides be in charge of this. He drew up a list of contributions which was considered fair and based on states’ ability to pay.
• To be collected and supervised by hellenotomiae (treasurers)
• Those providing ships were in control of and responsible for them.
• Expected to serve in the League’s fleet for a portion of the year.
• This was expensive – dangers of casualties of men & ships, therefore many states eventually preferred to give money instead.
• Money contributions (phoros) paid directly into the League’s treasury at Delos

Question 11

Athens’ position

Answer 11

• Permanent leader (hegemon)
• Executive powers: Aristides assessed tribute
• 10 Athenian officials collected and supervised tribute
• Cimon was the leader of the fleet
• Contributed the largest number of ships and men.
• NO EVIDENCE THAT THE AIM WAS TO DEVELOP IMPERIAL POWER

Question 12

When did Athens become an imperial leader?

Answer 12

• No specific date
• Between the years of 472 – 449 BC
• From the point of view of the allies, it would have been at different times.
• It would have depended on whether or not Athens had to use force against them.

Question 13

Transition to empire

Answer 13

472 BC
- The forcing of Carystus to join the Delian league to prevent them from forming an alliance with Persia.
- To make war on a state that wished to remain neutral and to deprive it of its independence was a clear sign of imperial behaviour from Athens.

469 BC
The revolt and conquest of Naxos:
- Naxos was a member state who wished to leave the alliance and revolted against the league of states led by Athens. Athens besieged and defeated Naxos.
- It lost its independence and may have had to surrender its fleet and become a tribute paying member state at this point. The league supported this as once a member state had joined their contributions were compulsory not voluntary.

468 BC
- Two major naval victories won by League, increased Athens naval power, skills and confidence. Major victory over the Persians at Eurymedon, from here on the Persians are no longer a threat.
- At this point many members switched from paying contributions of ships to providing money; this meant that many states had little naval power themselves whereas Athens was increasing hers all the time in numbers of ships and experience.

Question 14

Transition to empire

Answer 14

468 BC
- With the victory at Eurymedon there no longer seemed to be a Persian threat and many of the league members wanted to disband the league.
- However the Athenians, influenced by Pericles, had other ideas. Pericles was responsible for the final developments of Athenian democracy and he actively encouraged the Athenians to build an empire.

465 BC
- In 465 the island of Thasos decided it wanted to leave the league. The Athenians disagreed and decided to besiege the island. The siege lasted two years ending with the Athenians victorious.
- The Thasians were punished severely – their navy was confiscated, the city walls demolished, their mint was closed and land owned by the Thasians on the mainland was taken over by the Athenians, they were forced to pay a large fine and an annual tribute/tax to Athens.

457 BC
- Aegina was an island 15 miles off the coast of Attica which Athens had never really got on with. In 456 relations deteriorated into a war and a siege. The siege lasted two years with the Athenians again emerging victorious.
- The Aeginatans were forced to hand over their fleet, join the Delian League as a subject state and pay an annual tribute of 30 talents, which was the largest single contribution of any of the subject states.
Allied forces were used in battles that only suited Athens e.g. against Boeotia and Aegina.

456 BC
- A Libyan Prince, Inaros, asked the League for help in a rebellion against Persian rule in Egypt. Athens welcomed the chance to attack the Persians and sent a large part of her fleet to help the rebellion.
- Some initial success but largely a disaster- Athens lost practically her whole navy. Athens was beaten back. Athenians probably lost because their forces were divided, they were fighting in Greece also.

456 BC
- As a result of the defeat in Egypt, Athens decided to move the League Treasury from Delos to Athens, where it would be ‘safer’ and where they could have easier access to it.
- Many of the states were still paying money into the League, but they were no longer voluntary contributions, rather they were called Tributes to Athens. A tribute could be a sum of money or quotas of ships provided as demanded by Athens.

449 BC
Peace of Callias:
- In 449 a peace treaty was negotiated between the Persians and the Greeks- Callias an Athenian negotiator gave his name to the treaty. The terms of the treaty were as follows:

• Persia agreed not to come within three days march of Asia Minor.
• Not to send warships into the Aegean and Propontis.
• The Greeks in Asia Minor were to be autonomous (self- governing).
• Athens agreed not to attack Persian territory.
• Athens agreed to give up claims to Cyprus and Egypt.

Question 15

how did Athens gain so much power?

Answer 15

• The behaviour of the allies resulted in Athens gaining power and an empire:
  1. The allies became more and more reluctant to provide the man power required for their own defence against the Persians.
  2. Therefore instead of increasing their own experience and strength they provided money for Athens.
  3. Thus Athens built up her navy and experience, whilst the allies effectively got weaker.
  4. The allies relied on and looked to Athens for protection, thus giving Athens power over them.
  5. If any allies tried to leave they were easily forced back into the league/empire by the might of the Athenian navy.

Question 16

How did Athens rule its Empire?

Answer 16

• Athens gradually gained control over the Delian League and made it into its own private empire; however it would only maintain this control for a period of about fifty years.
• To understand why Athens lost its empire we must look at two things:
  1. The pressures of the war with Sparta
  2. The administration of the empire by Athens.

Question 17

Pressures of the Peloponnesian War

Answer 17

• Athens was at war with Sparta for almost thirty years, which put a huge financial and military pressure on Athens.
• As a result relations with its empire suffered.
• At around 460BC Athens had three military concerns the Spartans, the Persians and the loyalty of the allies.
• Athens increased its tribute demands upon its allies and continued to pursue an aggressive imperialistic policy.
• Much of the empire was unhappy at the prospect of fighting other Greeks and hatred of Athens built up

Question 18

Aspects to know for the Delian League

Answer 18

1. Taxation and Tribute
2. Attacking Fellow Greeks
3. Garrisons Installed
4. Oaths of Loyalty
5. Trials in Athenian Law Courts Pressures of the
6. Athenian Settlements/Cleruchies Peloponnesian War with
7. The Destruction of Melos Sparta
8. Democracies Installed
9. Coinage
10. pressures of the Peloponnesian War with Sparta

Question 19

1. Taxation and Tribute

Answer 19

• Taxation and Tribute - Athens ensured her continued growth on monetary and naval strength through her use of the empire. She ensured they paid tribute to them each year in March.
• Tribute was a sum of money that the allies of Athens had to pay to Athens. It was a form of taxation.
• The money was sent to Athens treasury and the Athenians felt they could use it as they saw fit.
• The amounts set heavily varied and could be increased as Athens saw fit.
• The funds collected were used for the payment of state officials and jurors, for the maintenance of the fleet and payment of the rowers and soldiers, for the building of temples and to help pay for festivals.
• Aristophanes describes imperial revenue coming not only from tribute but also from court fees, mine rents, market and harbour dues.

Question 20

2. Attacking Fellow Greeks

Answer 20

-Attacking fellow greeks During these years Athens attacked Aegina for her own reasons. Aegina was forced to pay the largest single contribution of any subject in the League (30 talents) - this must have created fear and resentment among the allies.

• Thasos
• Three years after the Battle of Eurymedon, in 465, the island of Thasos decided to leave the League.
• The Athenians sent ships to besiege the island, and the islanders asked the Spartans to help them.
• Unfortunately for them the Spartans could not come, as a recent severe earthquake had destroyed part of Sparta and encouraged the helots of Messenia, whom the Spartans used as slaves, to rebel against the Spartans. (In fact this rebellion was so serious that the Spartans actually had to ask other Greek states to help them deal with it.)

Thasos
- The siege of Thasos lasted for two years, and when it ended the Athenians punished the people very harshly: they confiscated the Thasian navy, demolished their city walls, closed their mint and seized control of land owned by the Thasians on the nearby mainland.
- They also forced the Thasians to pay a large fine (known as an “indemnity”) and thereafter pay an annual tax (called a “tribute”) directly to the Athenians.
- Clearly the Athenians believed that the Delian League, once an alliance of equals, was now an empire over which they, the Athenians, had control.

Aegina
- The island of Aegina lies about 15 miles south-west of Attica.
- Its inhabitants had never got on particularly well with the Athenians, and in 456, after a war and siege lasting about two years, the Athenians captured the island.
- The Aeginetans were forced to hand over their fleet, join the Delian League as a subject state and pay an annual tribute of 30 talents, which was the largest single contribution of any of the subject states. (This incident was in fact part of a more widespread war which Athens was involved in against other states including Sparta on the Greek mainland. The Athenians were hoping to build a land empire to combine with their maritime empire, but their hopes ended in failure.)

Question 21

3. Garrisons Installed:

Answer 21

• Athens installed garrison in rebellious cities. They were sent to keep the natives in control but to also protect any Athenian inspectors or commissioners.

Question 22

Oaths of Loyalty

Answer 22

• Allies were made to swear oaths of loyalty to Athens.
• In 447 the island of Euboea revolted against Athens. The rebellion was quickly suppressed and the citizens of the Euboean city of Chalcis were forced to swear an oath of allegiance to Athens, including the following statements:
• I will not revolt against the Athenian people;
• I will pay tribute to the Athenians;
• I will aid the Athenians if anyone wrongs them;
• I will be obedient to the Athenian people.

Clearly, the League of equal members no longer existed.

Question 23

5. Trials in Athenian Law Courts

Answer 23

• As time went by Athens demanded that many trials concerning allies should be referred to Athenian law courts. This caused resentment for the following reasons:
• The allies became discontented at a further loss of their independence.
• They would have had to pay to travel to Athens, pay court fees, lodging and food.
• They would have also had to face a potentially biased Athenian jury and would have little knowledge of the Athenian legal system.

Question 24

6. Athenian Settlements/Cleruchies

Answer 24

• Pericles’ policy of creating cleruchies or settlements of Athenian citizens throughout the empire strengthened its hold, but it was by far the most unpopular with the allies.
• The bitterness was greatest in the islands. (This was where the amount of good land was limited.) The best land was taken by the Athenians, dispossessing a local population who faced poverty as a result.

Question 25

7. The Destruction of Melos

Answer 25

• In 416 Athenians showed how harsh they were prepared to be as an imperial master.
• In this year Athens decided to force the island of Melos to join the league.
• The islanders resisted but were destroyed. All adult males were put to death and the women and children were sold as slaves.
• The Athenians then established another unpopular cleruchy.
• Athenians believed they could do what they wanted because they were more powerful as the source below proves.

Question 26

8. Democracies Installed

Answer 26

• Most of the allied states of the Delian League were still under the rule of tyrants and oligarchies. Athens, as we know, was being run as a democratic state.
• If the allied-states did not give Athens any trouble then they would be allowed to continue with their own form of local government.
• However, if the allied state caused problems for Athens, then the Athenians went in and forced the democracy onto the allied state.
• Many of the allied states were not setup to work with a democracy and resented the loss of their independence and self-governance.

Question 27

9. Coinage

Answer 27

• Athens made Athenian coinage the official currency throughout the League/ Empire.
• Two reasons for doing this were:
• It made the administration and collection of Tribute much easier for the Athenians, and it also reinforced the fact that these cities were under the control of Athens and answered to her.
• By taking away the coinage of a city you were in away taking away part of their individual identity and independence

Question 28

Pericles’ Building Programme

Answer 28

• After the Peace of Callias many citizens, who had earned their wages in the navy were no longer required to be in service. As a result Pericles needed to create a policy which would provide these citizens with employment.
• His rebuilding programme was created officially as a declaration to use tribute money to rebuild the all the temples that had been destroyed by the Persians.
• However this only applied to Athens and her acropolis (which originally had not been rebuilt to act as a constant reminder of the threat of invasion).
• Pericles justified his building programme in the following way:

1. To Glorify Athens- he argued that Athens was now a great city and that it needed a magnificent acropolis to advertise their strength and success to the rest of the Greek world.
2. To ensure that the non-military citizens should not be debarred from the benefits of empire. Pericles justified the use of the money by saying that it would create massive employment and therefore the citizens of Athens would directly benefit

Question 29

The Thoughts of the Allies?

Answer 29

The Allies/Empire:

• This was very unpopular with the empire. Pericles was criticised by the allies because he used the money from the League/Empire to build the Parthenon and acropolis. Their complaints were as follows:

1. The money was supposed to be used for the defence of the empire against the Persians. For building ships, weapons and paying soldiers wages.
2. He was criticised for using the money to dress Athens up “like a prostitute.”

Question 30

Pericles Responds:

Answer 30

• Pericles justified the use of this money by saying that Athens had earned the use of this money by protecting and risking their lives for the other members.
• He also suggested that the Athenians could do what they wished with the money so long as the islands were protected.
• He also said that they did not need any more ships built.
• He also said it created economic benefits for the citizens of Athens.
• Again he said that a city as a great as Athens should be glorified.

Question 31

Advantages for the Athenians

Answer 31

• The annual collection of ‘tribute’ provided them with a regular supply of money.
• They used the money to maintain the fleet and pay the rowers and soldiers.
• They also used the tribute go pay for their festivals.
• Cleruchies (settlements of Athenian citizens), allowed the poor a chance to achieve a better life for themselves and gain a higher status.
• They used the money to glorify Athens, rebuilding the acropolis and the Parthenon.
• They used the money to pay jurors.

Question 32

Disadvantages for Athenians

Answer 32

• They took on the risk and responsibility of dealing with all Persian threats.
• Athenians had to deal with the constant conflicts that arose with the disgruntled members of the empire.
• Loss of men. Quite considerable numbers of Athenian citizens lost their lives in the protection and liberation of other Greeks.
• As they grew in power and arrogance, they became isolated and hated in Greece.

Question 33

Advantages for Allies

Answer 33

• They gained peace and protection against Persian aggression.
• Democratic governments were installed.
• Prosperity resulting from increased trade.

Question 34

Disadvantages for allies

Answer 34

• Loss of independence in home and foreign affairs.
• Economic dependence on Athens.
• Athenian garrisons often installed to keep an eye on disaffected states.
• Athenian toughness at any hint of rebellion. Unreasonable tribute demands, destruction of fortifications, confiscation of land, mass executions.
• Cleruchies (settlements of Athenian citizens) were very unpopular; they often took the best land. Many people thrown of land and left impoverished.
• Forced to travel to Athens for all legal matters.
• Coinage – Athens made Athenian coinage the official currency throughout the League/ Empire.

Question 35

An overview

Answer 35

• In general, most of the allies accepted the situation knowing that as long as they behaved themselves, accepted a democratic government and paid their tribute on time the Athenians would leave them alone.
• However, the loss of members’ independence in domestic and foreign affairs, their economic dependence on Athens and her high handed behaviour all resulted in her being viewed as a tyrant by the empire.

Question 36

Overall Success of the Athenian Empire

Answer 36

• Athens Empire was not a successful venture it only lasted 50 years and for many historians this quick breakdown is a result of a combination of factors.
• For example, Athens was overly harsh and an unfeeling ruler of the allies. This combined with a lack of advantages for many to stay connected to Athens’ bred resentment within the empire.
• Although Athens made some attempt to connect the empire in a similar way to the Romans, these were not successful i.e. coinage and cleruchies.
• Of course Athens was almost continually in conflict with Sparta whilst she was in possession of this empire, one of the most stressful and strained periods of Athens history.
• This pressure and major setbacks put huge financial and mental strain on Athens and this in turn affected her treatment of the allies.
• Finally there was little feeling of loyalty or of owing Athens, thus when the allies were given the chance to revolt against Athens on the side of Sparta they did so.