Persia Flashcards
Who was Cyrus II?
King of Persia between 559-530BCE.
“Cyrus The Great”
What places did Cyrus conquer?
Cyrus conquered Medes, Lydians, Babylonians and brought the Levant and cities of Ionian to the Persian Empire.
Who was Cambyses II?
Cambyses II was the son of Cyrus and the King of Persia between 530-522 BCE.
What places did Cambyses attempt to conquer?
Cambyses successfully conquered Egypt, but failed to conquer Carthage, Ethiopia and Ammonians.
Who was Darius I?
King of Persia after Cambyses’ death. Reigned between 522 and 486BCE.
“The Merchant”
What places did Darius conquer?
Darius conquered the Indus Valley, Thrace and many Greek Islands. He failed in conquering Athens.
Who was Xerxes I?
Xerxes I was the son of Darius and the King of Persia between 486 and 465BCE.
Where did Xerxes attempt to conquer?
Xerxes attempted in conquering Athens, for a second time and failed.
How did Cyrus conquer the Sardis?
Cyrus conquered Sardis, the capital of Lydia, by placing it under siege after Cyrus won a battle by placing camels in the front line. Sardis asked Sparta for help, but before they could arrive, Cyrrus had conquered the City by sending his soldiers over the city’s walls.
How did Cyrus conquer Babylon?
Cyrus conquered Babylon, a strong city, by winning a battle in front of the city’s gates, and placing it under siege. Afterwards, during a festival in the city, he dug waterways into the river flowing into the city, and made it shallow enough for his soldies to walk in, letting them ambush the Babylonians.
What happened when Cyrus attempted to attack the Massagetae?
After being warned by Croesus to not grow cocky, Cyrus decided to attack the Massagaetae.
Firstly, he tricked the Massagetae who only drunk milk, into getting drunk and captured the son of Tomyris, who killed himself after his capture.
This lead to a pitched battle between the Massagetae and the Persians, leading to the Persians being defeated and Cyrus being killed on the battlefield.
Who was Croesus?
Croesus was the King of Lydia before Cyrus conquered Lydia, however after it was conquered, Croesus became an advisor to Cyrus and Cambyses II
Who was Tomyris?
Tomyris was the Queen of the Massagetae who warned Cyrus to not confront her. After his death, she placed his head in a ‘bag of blood’.
Who was Herotodus?
Herotodus was a Greek historian who wrote about the causes and course of the wars between the Greeks and the Persians from 499-479 BCE. He is the main suriving source on the Persian Kings.
Who was the Battle of Marathon between?
Persia and Athens
What happened at the Battle of Marathon?
Miltiades told the Athenian Phalynx to charge at the Persians, they then surrounded the Persians and won.
192 Athens died, opposed to 6,400 Persians (ATH).
Who led the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon?
Miltiades
Who led the Persians at the Battle of Marathon?
Darius and Datis
Who was the Battle of Thermopylae between?
Persia vs Sparta + Greek states
What happened at the Battle of Thermopylae?
There was a narrow passage where Persians had to pass through, where Sparta could easily derfend and hold the Persians back, this continued for a couple days, until Ephilates betrayed the Greeks and told the Persians about a secret passage, allowing them to flank the Greeks.
Who led the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae?
Xerxes
Who led the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae?
Leonidus
Who was the Battle of Salamis between?
Persia vs Athens + Greek states
What happened at the Battle of Salamis?
Themistocles lured the Persian fleet out by pretending to retreat, as the Persians did not understand the currents, and when the tide turned, the Greeks attacked, as all the Persian boats were clumped together, leading to a Greek victory
Who led the Persians at the Battle of Salamis?
Xerxes
Who led the Athenians at the Battle of Salamis?
Themistocles
How Darius became King of Persia
Darius became king after Cambyses II’s death and the overthrow of the false Smerdis (Gaumata). He and six nobles conspired against Gaumata, claiming he was an imposter. The Bisitun Inscription records Darius’ legitimacy as Ahura Mazda’s chosen king
The Bisitun Inscription
A multilingual inscription carved into a cliff, serving as propaganda to justify Darius’ rule. It describes how he defeated Gaumata and crushed revolts against his rule
Darius’ changes to the Empire:
Introduced satraps to govern province
Standardized currency and taxation
Built Persepolis and improved Susa
Constructed the Royal Road to improve communication
The Scythian Campaign
Darius’ campaign against the Scythians failed due to their hit-and-run tactics, lack of fixed settlements, and use of scorched-earth strategies
The Ionian Revolt
Ionia rebelled against Persian rule with Athenian support but was crushed at the Battle of Lade in 494 BCE
The Battle of Marathon
Darius’ forces, led by Datis and Artaphernes, were defeated by the Athenians under Miltiades in 490 BCE due to Athenian tactics and terrain advantage
Why Darius and Xerxes invaded Greece
Darius aimed to punish Athens and Eretria for supporting the Ionian Revolt.
Xerxes inherited his father’s campaign and sought to expand Persian control.
Persia aimed to secure its western borders and assert dominance over Greece.
How Xerxes became King
Xerxes was chosen as Darius’ successor due to his lineage through Atossa, daughter of Cyrus.
Other claimants existed, but Xerxes secured support from key Persian elites.
His ascension followed Persian traditions of royal succession.
Xerxes’ building programmes
Commissioned grand structures in Persepolis, emphasizing Persian wealth and power.
Built extensive roads and bridges, including the pontoon bridge across the Hellespont.
Focused on monumental architecture to showcase Persian supremacy.
How Xerxes dealt with revolts
Crushed revolts in Egypt and Babylon to maintain control.
Demonstrated harsh measures against rebels to deter further uprisings.
Reaffirmed Persian authority through military and administrative actions.
Xerxes’ Preparations to Invade Greece:
Xerxes amassed a vast army and constructed a pontoon bridge across the Hellespont to facilitate his invasion of Greece.
He also built a canal through Mount Athos to allow his navy to bypass the dangerous coastline.
Battle of Thermopylae and Its Consequences:
A small Greek force, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, held off the Persian army at the narrow pass of Thermopylae.
Despite their valiant stand, the Greeks were eventually defeated, but the battle delayed the Persian advance and allowed other Greek states to prepare for subsequent engagements.
Battle of Salamis and Its Consequences:
The Greek fleet, under Themistocles, lured the Persian navy into the narrow straits of Salamis, where the larger Persian ships were at a disadvantage.
The Greek victory at Salamis was a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars, significantly weakening Persian naval power and boosting Greek morale.
Battle of Eurymedon and Its Consequences:
In 466 BCE, the Athenian fleet, commanded by Cimon, defeated a combined Persian and Phoenician fleet at the Battle of Eurymedon.
This victory solidified Athenian dominance in the eastern Mediterranean and marked the decline of Persian naval influence in the region.
