Persia Flashcards

1
Q

Who was Cyrus II?

A

King of Persia between 559-530BCE.
“Cyrus The Great”

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2
Q

What places did Cyrus conquer?

A

Cyrus conquered Medes, Lydians, Babylonians and brought the Levant and cities of Ionian to the Persian Empire.

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3
Q

Who was Cambyses II?

A

Cambyses II was the son of Cyrus and the King of Persia between 530-522 BCE.

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4
Q

What places did Cambyses attempt to conquer?

A

Cambyses successfully conquered Egypt, but failed to conquer Carthage, Ethiopia and Ammonians.

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5
Q

Who was Darius I?

A

King of Persia after Cambyses’ death. Reigned between 522 and 486BCE.
“The Merchant”

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6
Q

What places did Darius conquer?

A

Darius conquered the Indus Valley, Thrace and many Greek Islands. He failed in conquering Athens.

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7
Q

Who was Xerxes I?

A

Xerxes I was the son of Darius and the King of Persia between 486 and 465BCE.

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8
Q

Where did Xerxes attempt to conquer?

A

Xerxes attempted in conquering Athens, for a second time and failed.

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9
Q

How did Cyrus conquer the Sardis?

A

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.

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10
Q

How did Cyrus conquer Babylon?

A

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.

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11
Q

What happened when Cyrus attempted to attack the Massagetae?

A

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.

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12
Q

Who was Croesus?

A

Croesus was the King of Lydia before Cyrus conquered Lydia, however after it was conquered, Croesus became an advisor to Cyrus and Cambyses II

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13
Q

Who was Tomyris?

A

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’.

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14
Q

Who was Herotodus?

A

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.

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15
Q

Who was the Battle of Marathon between?

A

Persia and Athens

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16
Q

What happened at the Battle of Marathon?

A

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).

17
Q

Who led the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon?

18
Q

Who led the Persians at the Battle of Marathon?

A

Darius and Datis

19
Q

Who was the Battle of Thermopylae between?

A

Persia vs Sparta + Greek states

20
Q

What happened at the Battle of Thermopylae?

A

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.

21
Q

Who led the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae?

22
Q

Who led the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae?

23
Q

Who was the Battle of Salamis between?

A

Persia vs Athens + Greek states

24
Q

What happened at the Battle of Salamis?

A

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

25
Q

Who led the Persians at the Battle of Salamis?

26
Q

Who led the Athenians at the Battle of Salamis?

A

Themistocles

27
Q

How Darius became King of Persia

A

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

28
Q

The Bisitun Inscription

A

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

29
Q

Darius’ changes to the Empire:

A

Introduced satraps to govern province

Standardized currency and taxation

Built Persepolis and improved Susa

Constructed the Royal Road to improve communication

30
Q

The Scythian Campaign

A

Darius’ campaign against the Scythians failed due to their hit-and-run tactics, lack of fixed settlements, and use of scorched-earth strategies

31
Q

The Ionian Revolt

A

Ionia rebelled against Persian rule with Athenian support but was crushed at the Battle of Lade in 494 BCE

32
Q

The Battle of Marathon

A

Darius’ forces, led by Datis and Artaphernes, were defeated by the Athenians under Miltiades in 490 BCE due to Athenian tactics and terrain advantage

33
Q

Why Darius and Xerxes invaded Greece

A

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.

34
Q

How Xerxes became King

A

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.

35
Q

Xerxes’ building programmes

A

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.

36
Q

How Xerxes dealt with revolts

A

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.