Where did the Greco-Persian wars take place in Greece? Greco-Persian Wars: chronology, causes

The Greco-Persian Wars are the period of the most significant battles in the history of Ancient Greece, which played a large role in the formation of the state. As a result of half a century of military conflict, there was a redistribution of power on the continent: the once powerful Persian power fell into decline, while Ancient Greece entered its period of greatest prosperity.

General characteristics of the period

The Greco-Persian Wars were a protracted military conflict involving two independent states, Greece and Persia, during the reign of the Achaemenids. This was not a single battle, but a series of wars that lasted from 500 to 449 BC. e., and included both land campaigns and sea expeditions.

This historical period of time is called fateful, since the large-scale expansion of Persia to the west could have had great consequences for the entire ancient world.

Rice. 1. Army of Persia.

The main reason for the Greco-Persian wars was the desire of the Persian kings to gain world domination. Possessing a huge army, inexhaustible resources and impressive territory, Persia planned to conquer Greece, thereby gaining free access to the Aegean Sea.

Tired of enduring the oppression of the Persian tyrant Darius I, in 500 BC. e. the inhabitants of Miletus raised an uprising, which quickly found a response in other cities. The large Greek cities of Eretria and Athens provided assistance to the rebels, but after several victories the Greeks were defeated.

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The enraged Darius vowed not only to take revenge on the Euebians and Athenians, but also to completely subjugate rebellious Greece. Many cities immediately expressed their submission to the Persian king, and only the inhabitants of Sparta and Athens resolutely refused to bow their heads to the despot.

Major battles of the Greco-Persian Wars

The Greco-Persian wars were not constant, and only a few major battles went down in history.

• Battle of Marathon (490 BC) . In 490 BC. e. The Persian flotilla approached Attica from the north, and the army landed near the small settlement of Marathon. The locals immediately received reinforcements from the Athenians, but the Persians were far outnumbered.

Despite the significant superiority in troops, the Greeks, thanks to the military tactics of the commander Miltiades, were able to win a brilliant victory over the Persian army. This success incredibly inspired the Greeks, who destroyed the stereotype of the invincibility of the Persians.

According to legend, one of the warriors, trying to bring the good news of victory to the Athenians as quickly as possible, ran from Marathon to Athens. Without stopping for a minute, he ran a total of 42 km 195 m. Having notified the people of the defeat of the Persians, he fell lifeless to the ground. Since then, athletics has introduced a running competition over this distance, which is called marathon running.

• Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC). The next battle took place only 10 years later. By this time, the Greeks were able to build an impressive fleet thanks to the discovery of a rich silver mine in Attica.

A new campaign in Greece was led by the new king Xerxes. The Persian army was advancing on Hellas from the north by land, and a huge flotilla was heading along the sea coast.

The decisive battle took place at Thermopylae. For two days, the Persians, who far outnumbered the Greek troops under the command of the Spartan king Leonidas, could not break through. However, as a result of the betrayal of one of the Greeks, enemy troops found themselves in the rear.

Leonidas gave the order for everyone to leave the battlefield, and he himself remained with 300 Spartans to die in an unequal battle. Later, in memory of the heroic deed of Leonidas, a statue of a lion was erected in the Thermopylae Gorge.

Rice. 2. Battle of Thermopylchus.

• Battle of Salamis (480 BC). After the victory at Thermopylae, the Persian army went to Athens. This time the Greeks had all their hope in a fleet of approximately 400 light and maneuverable ships. The battle in the Salaman Strait was incredibly fierce: the Greeks fought desperately for their freedom, the lives of their wives, children, and parents. Defeat for them meant eternal slavery, and this gave them strength. As a result, the Greeks won a brilliant victory, and Xerxes with the remnants of the fleet retreated to Asia Minor, but part of his army still remained in Greece.

Rice. 3. Ancient Greek fleet.

• Battle of Plataea (479 BC). In 479 BC. e. A major battle took place near the small town of Plataea. The Greek victory in this battle marked the beginning of the final expulsion of the Persians from Greece and the conclusion of peace in 449 BC. e.

The Greco-Persian Wars had great consequences for both states. The unbridled expansion of the Achaemenids was stopped for the first time, and the ancient Greek state entered the era of its highest cultural achievements.

Table “Greco-Persian Wars”

"Greco-Persian Wars"

The Greco-Persian Wars, which united the Greeks in the face of a single enemy, became not only a turning point in the history of Hellas. This was the first clash between East and West, two civilizations, two worldviews, two ways of existence of human society. In contrast to the despotic Persian Empire, where all subjects were subordinate to the king who reigned supreme over them, the main principle of the existence of numerous independent Greek city-states was freedom: the freedom of the polis and the personal freedom of every citizen, for which every Hellenic was ready to sacrifice without hesitation with your life.

If by the beginning of the 5th century BC. e. the political system of Sparta did not undergo significant changes, then Athens, which until recently lived under the tyranny of the Peisistratids, thanks to the laws of Cleisthenes, became a democratic state with reliable legal mechanisms for preserving the power of the people. Already at that time, Greece and especially Attica, due to population growth, could not provide themselves with food and were heavily dependent on the import of grain from the three main agricultural regions: Egypt, Pontus (the steppes of Southern Ukraine) and Sicily, which were hitherto controlled by the Hellenes. Now the aggressive campaigns of the Persians cut off the Balkan Greeks from the first two sources of grain, leaving them only Sicily. This caused discontent in Athens and was the main reason why this city supported the Ionian revolt against the Persians.

Back at the end of the 6th century BC. e. immediately after the unsuccessful campaign in Scythia and the conquest of Macedonia, Darius I ordered the satrap of Lydia Artaphernes to equip a reconnaissance expedition to Hellas led by the courtier, doctor, and Greek Demokedos. However, Democedes, who was once forbidden by the king to return home to Greece, took advantage of this campaign to escape to his homeland. The Persians themselves, having lost their guide and leader, turned home. The king was informed that there was no point in conquering mountainous, infertile lands inhabited by warlike and freedom-loving inhabitants. It is unknown how Darius I perceived this news, since the Athenians left him no choice: they themselves attacked the Persians and thereby forced them to fight with Greece.

Having suppressed the uprising in Ionia, Darius I sent envoys to Balkan Greece demanding land and water. The Athenians threw the Persian ambassadors into the abyss, and the Spartans drowned them in a well. By that time, an alliance of city states led by Sparta had formed in Hellas, which did not want to submit to the Persians and were jointly preparing for war. The Persians, having received refusals in a number of cities, began to prepare for a punitive operation against Athens and Eretria. In 492 BC. e. Darius I sent an army and fleet under the command of his relative Mardonius against the rebellious Greeks. The Persians safely crossed the Bosporus and, having passed through Thrace, were greeted in a friendly manner by the Macedonian king Alexander I (498-454 BC), who intended, thanks to the conquerors, to expand his possessions in Greece. But when the Persian fleet rounded the southern coast of Chalkidiki, it was caught in a terrible storm off Cape Athos and was almost completely destroyed by the elements.

In 490 BC. e. Darius I organized a new campaign against Greece. The troops under the command of Datis and Artaphernes embarked on 600 ships and sailed to the island of Euboea. The guide of the Persians was the tyrant Hippias, son of Peisistratus, expelled from Athens, to whom the king promised to return power over Attica after the overthrow of democracy. After a six-day siege, the Persians took the city of Eretria, located on this island, and sent its entire population into the interior of Persia. Now it was Athens' turn. The Persian fleet arrived on the shores of Attica and landed an army in the Marathon Valley. This place, especially convenient for the action of the main striking force of the Persians - the cavalry, was chosen on the advice of Hippias.

The Athenians sent to Sparta for help and, having appointed Miltiades as a strategist, began to advance an army to the village of Marathon. The former tyrant of the Athenian colony of Chersonese of Thracia, Miltiades, took part in the campaign of Darius I against Scythia and supported the Scythian proposal to destroy the bridge over the Danube in order to destroy the Persian army in the Ukrainian steppes. He served the Persians for a long time, knew their methods of warfare very well, and was even married to a Persian woman. Then Miltiades quarreled with Darius I, was forced to flee Chersonesus and was now eager to take revenge on the Persians. Meanwhile, Sparta, the head of the anti-Persian alliance, citing the holiday in honor of Apollo, refused to help Athens, which it saw as a rival to its dominant position in Hellas. Only the small city of Plataea kept its allied obligations, sending several hundred warriors to Marathon.

On the morning of September 13, Miltiades lined up 11 thousand Greeks in a phalanx with their backs to the hills, which protected them from being outflanked by the enemy cavalry. 20 thousand Persian soldiers stood in front of them. No one ever defeated the Persians; everyone knew that this was impossible, that the Persian army was invincible. There were half as many Greeks, but they fought on their native soil. Before the battle began, the Persians, confident of their victory, loaded the cavalry onto ships and sent the fleet along the peninsula to Athens. Self-confidence destroyed the Persians. By sending the cavalry, they lost their main advantage. Having attacked the enemy infantry, the Athenians crushed its ranks, and for the first time in history the invincible Persians fled. Leaving 6,400 dead on the battlefield, they rushed to their ships. Miltiades lost only 192 soldiers. However, it was too early to celebrate the victory - the Persian fleet, rounding the peninsula, was approaching defenseless Athens. Immediately after the battle, all the Athenians, and not just the messenger, as the legend says, ran in full armor along the Marathon road to Athens, which was 40 km away from the battlefield. When the ships sailed to Piraeus the next day, the Persians saw the Athenian army arrayed in battle order and turned home.

After the victory at Marathon, Miltiades suggested that the Athenians punish those cities that sided with the Persians. The rich island of Paros was chosen as the object of revenge, whose inhabitants sent their triremes along with the Persians to Marathon. Miltiades, who had with the Parians personal accounts, since at one time they slandered him before the Persians, he equipped 70 ships with the money of the policy and arrived on the island, but could not take the city, received a wound in the thigh and returned to Athens, where he was convicted of embezzlement of public money. His wound became inflamed and the hero of Marathon died in prison from gangrene. His son Kimon settled accounts with the state for him. The Greeks who died at Marathon were buried under a mound, which has survived to this day. For many centuries, there was a legend according to which every night on the Marathon field one could see the shadows of the fighters who, at sunset, leave their graves to continue their battle.

King Darius I did not consider himself defeated at Marathon. The Persians themselves viewed the trip to Greece as an ordinary punitive expedition. Therefore, they were in no hurry to take revenge on the Hellenes. In addition, the uprising in Egypt forced Darius I to postpone a new campaign in Hellas for a while. In 486 BC. e. the king died, leaving the throne to his son Xerxes. Unlike his father, Xerxes was distinguished by religious intolerance and considered the conquest of the Balkan Greeks a matter of honor.

After many years of preparation, in 480 BC. e. King Xerxes, having gathered more than 200 thousand soldiers from all the countries under his control, set out on a campaign against the Greeks.

The war with Persia brought into the political arena of the Athenian state two prominent figures opposing each other - Themistocles and Aristides, who came from the noblest families of the polis. If Themistocles loved power, then Aristides loved Athens, but the salvation of his native city required a brave and decisive figure who would not constantly look back.

Themistocles was the first to understand that the future of Athens depended on a strong navy. On his initiative, the townspeople built the port of Piraeus, which was later connected by walls to Athens. B 483 BC e. Rich deposits of silver were discovered in Attica. Themistocles was able to convince the Athenians to spend the silver mined at the Lavrion mines on building a fleet. If at the beginning of the 5th century BC. e. Athens had only 20 ships, but before the invasion of the hordes of Xerxes, the city had 200 ships and turned into the most powerful maritime power in Greece. This played a decisive role in the fight against the Persians. Aristides, who opposed the fleet building program, was ostracized, that is, expelled from Athens.

Before the start of the campaign, Xerxes sent envoys to all Greek city-states, except Athens and Sparta, demanding land and water. Argos, Boeotia and Thessaly expressed submission to Persia, in addition, King Demaratus, expelled from Sparta, fled to the Persians. In these states, power belonged to groups that were interested in trade with the Persians. As a rule, such sentiments were characteristic of noble families. The peasants and artisans were anti-Persian, because they feared that if Xerxes won, they would lose influence in the state. In Athens and Sparta, the war was considered fair and united all layers of citizens of the polis. Representatives of the Greek city-states, who decided to resist the invasion from Asia to the end, gathered in 481 BC. e. in Corinth, where they formed an alliance led by Sparta. At this meeting, it was decided to meet the Persians on the border of Central and Northern Greece at Thermopylae, where the mountains came close to the seashore, creating a narrow passage convenient for defense, where it was planned to send an army of seven thousand, including 300 Spartans under the command of King Leonidas. Meanwhile, the Persians completed the construction of a canal bypassing Cape Athos and entered Greece. Mardonius led the land forces, while Xerxes took command of the fleet.

When in August 480 BC. e. the hordes of Xerxes approached Thermopylae, 7 thousand Greek hoplites were waiting for them at the pass; The Hellenic fleet, numbering 380 ships, was waiting for the enemy at the northeastern tip of Euboea, near the sacred grove of Artemis. The Greeks could hold the narrow Thermopylae pass indefinitely, but a traitor was found who led the Persians along a secret mountain path bypassing the Hellenic positions. This road was guarded by a thousand hoplites from Phocia, who were taken by surprise and destroyed. Having learned about this, King Leonidas ordered the Greeks to retreat to the south, leaving only a rearguard of 300 Spartans and several hundred Thebans and Thespians, who were supposed to hold the passage until the end. Having learned about the small number of Leonidas’s soldiers, Xerxes invited them to surrender, because in front of them stood an armada so large that it could block the sun for the Spartans with its arrows. King Leonidas replied: “We will fight in the shadows.” The Greeks fought to the last, putting the enemy to flight four times, but by the end of the day all the defenders of Thermopylae were killed. Many Persians died in this battle, including two brothers of Xerxes.

While Leonidas' warriors defended Thermopylae, the Greek fleet fought with Persian ships at Cape Artemisium. But, having learned about the death of the Spartans, the Hellenic ships retreated to the south - the road to Attica was open and there was no point in holding the enemy north of Euboea. Meanwhile, Themistocles evacuated the entire population of Athens to the island of Salamis, and the allied troops occupied the narrow Isthmian Isthmus, which connected the Peloponnese with Attica. The Persians captured and completely destroyed defenseless Athens, which was defended by several hundred old men who had secluded themselves on the Acropolis, and occupied all of Attica. However, the Persians could not move further while they had the Greek fleet in their rear. In the autumn of 480 BC. e. took place naval battle at Salamis, which decided the outcome of the campaign. Aristides also took part in this battle, and thanks to the amnesty declared by Themistocles, he was able to return to his homeland. On September 27, 380 Greek warships under the command of the Spartan Eurybiades met Xerxes' fleet, which consisted of 1,000 ships, most of which belonged to the Phoenicians and Egyptians. According to Themistocles' plan, the Hellenes lined up their ships in two lines, while the Persians lined up in three lines with small intervals, which made it difficult for them to maneuver during the battle. Having lighter and more mobile ships, the Greeks attacked the enemy, crushed their formations and put them to flight. Xerxes lost over 200 ships, while Euribiades lost only 30. After this, the Persian fleet returned to Asia, but a land army under the command of Mardonius was left in Greece. However, unable to feed his army in deserted and scorched Attica, Mardonius retreated to winter quarters in Thessaly. Here his army was replenished with Thessalians and Macedonians, increasing to 300 thousand people.

In the spring of 479 BC. e. The Persians again invaded Attica. On September 26, the troops of Mardonius clashed with the Greeks near the city of Plataea. The Hellenic troops were commanded by the Spartan Pausanias, but Aristides led the battle. The Persian army of the Persians was completely defeated by three times smaller forces of the Greeks, and Mardonius himself fell on the battlefield.

On the same day, the Greek fleet, which landed troops in Ionia, defeated the Persians at Cape Mycale near Miletus. The next year, the ships of the Hellenes approached the Bosphorus, and the army of Pausanias, punishing Thebes, which served as a stronghold for Mardonia, moving north through Macedonia and Thrace, reached Byzantium. After this, the Spartans returned to their homeland, and the Athenians, along with other allied states, continued fighting against the Persians. Now that the danger of a Persian invasion of Europe had been eliminated once and for all, the Greeks again went on the offensive. They regained control over the straits connecting the Aegean Sea with the Black Sea and began punitive operations against those policies that supported Xerxes.

In 477 BC. e. with the consent of Sparta, allied command of the sea was transferred to Athens. Since the main fighting was carried out by the fleet, this was fair. In addition, the Spartans did not want their army to remain abroad for too long. Thus, the Athenian Maritime Union was formed in Byzantium, which included coastal and island policies, each of which had to field a certain number of ships or buy off this obligation with a large monetary contribution for the construction of ships by the Athenians themselves. The treasury of the alliance was located on the island of Delos, where the second name of this alliance came from - Delian. The commander of the Athenian fleet, the incorruptible Aristides, was unanimously elected as the manager of the allied money. Membership in the Athenian Maritime League was officially voluntary, but cities liberated from Persian garrisons were forced into it. In addition, the Athenians cruelly punished any attempts to leave the alliance. In fact, with the help of the Delian League, Athens began to extend its power to other city-states, gradually displacing Sparta from the first roles in pan-Greek politics.

New times have made unnecessary and sometimes dangerous politicians, through whose efforts Greece was saved from invasion from Asia. In 477 BC. e. Aristides retired, although he still played an important role in Athenian politics. Themistocles, who immediately after the expulsion of the Persians from Greece, despite the opposition of Sparta, was able to rebuild the walls around Athens and begin the restoration of the city, gradually lost his influence and in 471 BC. e. was ostracized. After this, he went first to Argos and then to the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes, who made him ruler of Magnesia. A more terrible fate awaited Pausanias. The famous commander, who commanded an army of 100 thousand, reluctantly obeyed the Spartan ephors, considering himself superior to them. He began to wear luxurious Persian clothes, surrounded himself with a real court in the Eastern style, for which he was accused of high treason and connections with the Persians. Fleeing from trial, in 467 BC. e. Pausanias secluded himself in the sanctuary of Athena. But the Spartans walled him up in the temple and doomed him to martyrdom from hunger and thirst.

In Athens, Aristides made his successor the son of Miltiades Cimon, who became famous as a successful commander. Under his command, the allied army and navy captured the coast of Thrace and several islands in the Aegean Sea. In 469 BC. e. in Ionia, Cimon's troops inflicted a major defeat on the Persians at the mouth of the Eurydemont River. After this, the Persian fleet no longer dared to appear in the Aegean Sea, and the Delian League extended its influence to Ionian Greece.

In 465 BC. e. a strong earthquake occurred in Sparta, during which it was destroyed a large number of buildings and many Spartans died. The helots took advantage of this and rebelled. Although the rebels were unable to take Sparta, they gained a foothold on Mount Ifoma in Messenia and fought off all attempts to dislodge them from there. The continued existence of Sparta was under threat, and in 463 BC. e. she turned to Athens for help. Supporters in Athens democratic party, led by Ephialtes, citing Themistocles, proposed not to send troops to help the Spartans, since their weakening was beneficial to the alliance. But Cimon was able to convince the Athenians to send an army to Sparta and he himself led the expedition.

This was the end of his political career: when, upon the arrival of Cimon’s troops, Mount Itoma could not be taken, the Spartans accused the Athenians of conspiring with the helots and asked them to leave. Upon returning home, Cimon was ostracized, and power passed into the hands of Ephialtes.

Through the efforts of Ephialtes in 462 BC. e. In Athens, a constitutional reform was carried out, which negated the political role of the Areopagus, the supreme court, consisting of representatives of the nobility, which could overturn the decisions of the people's assembly (ekklesia). Now the Areopagus could only try for serious criminal offenses, and all his political functions were transferred to the Council of Five Hundred - supreme body people's assembly. Ephialtes intended to continue democratization political system Athens, but in 461 BC. e. he was killed. The killer was never found, and Ephialtes’ place was taken by his associate Pericles.

In 465 BC. e. Xerxes and his eldest son were killed as a result palace coup. After a period of unrest and civil strife in 464 BC. e. Artaxerxes came to power and tried to save the collapsing empire. Four years later, a rebellion broke out in Lower Egypt, which was immediately supported by Athens. The Delian League sent troops and a fleet to the Nile Delta, led by Cimon, who had returned from exile. The expedition to Egypt ended unsuccessfully: the Persians surrounded the Greeks on one of the islands in the delta and, after an 18-month siege, forced them to surrender. At the same time, the Persians defeated the Greek flotilla sent to help the Egyptians. More successfully for Athens, the fighting unfolded in Cyprus, occupied by the Phoenicians. In 450 BC. e. The Persian fleet was defeated at the Battle of Salamis in Cyprus, but shortly before this Cimon died during the siege of the Cypriot city of Kitia.

Artaxerxes, realizing the futility of continuing the war, sent a proposal to the Greeks to hold peace negotiations. In 449 BC. e. The Greek embassy, ​​headed by the Athenian Callias, arrived in Susa and signed a peace treaty. According to the Peace of Qadli, Persia pledged not to send its fleet to the Aegean Sea and the straits, recognized the independence of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor, and withdrew its garrisons to a distance of three days' march from the Ionian coast. Athens formally recognized itself as vassals of the Persian king and pledged not to attack Cyprus or help the rebels in Egypt.

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During the reign of Cyrus II, the Persians conquered the Greek cities of the Asia Minor coast. Under Cambyses Darius I, the Persians continued their expansion to the west - Cyprus, Samos, Lemnos, and Chios were subjugated. In the 6th century BC. Athens and Sparta made their first contacts with Persia. As a result of Darius I's campaign in Europe, the Persians gained a foothold in Thrace. The Greek cities of the northern Aegean were conquered, Macedonia, bordering the Greek region of Thessaly, became a vassal of Persia. The empire's possessions were getting close to the Greek city-states, and it was obvious to far-sighted people that war was inevitable.

In 500 BC. The Greek city-states of Ionia (the western coast of Asia Minor) rebelled against Persian power. The revolt was led by the tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras. He demonstratively refused tyrannical power. Other policies eliminated the power of tyrants and formed a general council.

European Greeks remained aloof from the uprising. Only Athens and Eretria sent small squadrons, which did not take any real part in the hostilities and soon sailed back.

The united Ionian army burned Sardis. But the Persians attacked and defeated the returning Greek army. After this, the Ionians did not attempt to advance on land. In 498 BC. The Greek cities of Cyprus joined the uprising. In the decisive battle, the Greek Cypriots were defeated, and after that the Persians took their cities one after another. In 497 BC. The Carians joined the uprising.

In 494 BC. The Persians decided to capture Miletus, the center of the uprising. They defeated the combined Ionian fleet at the Battle of Lada. This was followed by the siege of Miletus. The population of the captured city was captured into slavery and deported. After the fall of Miletus, the Persians pacified the remaining rebellious regions.

Marathon Battle

The sending of squadrons by Athens and Eretria to help the Ionians was a reason to declare war on them. In 492 BC. Mardonius entered Europe with an army, but the death of the fleet at Athos and a difficult battle with the Thracians stopped the advance.

In 491 BC. Darius I sent representatives to Greece demanding submission. A number of island policies complied. In Athens and Sparta, ambassadors were executed. In 490 BC. The Persian squadron moved against the Greeks. The Greek islands in the Aegean were captured - Naxos, Delos, Kariskos and Eretria. After this, the Persians landed at Marathon.

Under the leadership of Miltiades, the Athenians set out and defeated the Persian landing force. After the defeat, Darius I began to make preparations for a new, larger campaign.

Preparing the Greeks for war. Hellenic Union

The Greeks began to prepare for war. Athens created a battle fleet of 200 triremes. On the eve of the new invasion, Greek representatives gathered in Sparta. It was decided to stop internecine wars. Supreme command of the combined land army and navy was transferred to Sparta. The contingent of each policy had its own commander.

Each state in the Hellenic Union had one or more representatives. But each policy had only one vote in the general council. The council met on the Isthmus of Corinth.

Invasion of Xerxes 480-478 BC

In 480 BC. The Persians, under the command of the new king Xerxes, set out for Greece by land and sea. At first, the Greeks fortified the Tempeian Gorge between Thessaly and Macedonia, but retreated from there.

The Greeks fortified themselves in the Thermopylae Passage, and the fleet at Cape Artemisium. The Persians broke through Thermopylae, and the fleet retreated after several battles. Athens evacuated its population to the island of Salamis in the Peloponnesian city of Troezen. Athens itself was occupied and destroyed.

This was followed by the victory of the united Greek fleet at Salamis. After the defeat of the fleet, Xerxes with the main forces retreated from Greece. The commander Mardonius remained with part of the land army.

In the campaign of 479 BC. A united Greek army under the command of the Spartan commander Pausanias defeated the Persians and their allies from the Boeotian city of Thebes at Plataea. At the same time, the Greek fleet and army defeated the Persians in the battle of Cape Mykala in Asia Minor.

Delian League and subsequent campaigns against Persia

In 478, the Greeks conquered Byzantium from the Persians in the Hellespont Strait. After this, Sparta left the war. The center of the new union was the island of Delos. The leader was the polis of Athena. The union included the Greek city-states of the islands, northern Aegean, and Asia Minor. In 454 BC. the union treasury was moved from Delos to Athens, which became the new center of the union. Since that time, it has been customary to talk about the Athenian Maritime Union.

Over the next thirty years, Greek troops drove the Persians out of Europe and the Aegean islands. The main successes of the Allies were associated with the activities of the Athenian strategist Cimon. Around 469 BC The troops of the Delian League defeated the Persians on land and sea at the mouth of the Eurymedon River.

In 449 BC. After the death of Cimon, peace was concluded between the Delian League and Persia. The Achaemenid Empire recognized the independence of the Greek cities of Asia Minor. The Persians were to not approach the coast of Asia Minor closer than one day's march of a horseman, and not to bring the fleet into the Aegean Sea.

Result

During the long struggle with the Persian Empire, the Greeks were able to stop the conquerors and demonstrate the effectiveness of their state and military system.

The main result of the war was the emergence of a new military force in the Aegean - the Athenian Maritime Union. He grew up in the Hellenic League, created to repel the invasion of Xerxes. But Athens was able to take a leading position in it by 454 BC. make the union an instrument of your influence.

This made Athens a polis equal in power to Sparta with its Peloponnesian League. Already in 460-445 BC. The Lesser Peloponnesian War took place. Start new war, caused by the ambitions of the ascendant Athens, it was only a matter of time.

In the middle of the 6th century BC, the Persian monarchy was formed in the Asian East, which acted as the heir to the earlier Iranian state - Media - and soon became very extensive. The founder of the Persian state, Cyrus the Elder, began to make conquests in all directions. In 546 BC, he conquered the Lydian kingdom (546), which then occupied almost all of Asia Minor and owned almost all the Greek colonies of this peninsula. Although Cyrus treated the Hellenes well, the situation of many Greek cities worsened: the Persians forced them to pay heavy tribute. Babylonia and Egypt were soon subjugated to the Persian kingdom. His rulers were not going to stop the wars in the west. Soon they captured part of the Aegean islands and Thrace. In 512, King Darius I made a campaign through the Balkans against the Scythians of the Northern Black Sea region.

Greco-Persian Wars. Map

Ionian revolt 499–494 (briefly)

In 499, the Milesian tyrant Aristagoras, fearing the wrath of Darius, persuaded the neighboring Greek cities (mostly Ionian) to rebel against the Persians (499). This uprising was initially accompanied by resounding successes. The Greeks took and burned Sardis, the center of Persian control of Asia Minor. The performance began to grow. The Greeks, who entered the war with the Persians, expected help from the mainland, primarily from Sparta, but did not receive it. The Athenians alone sent 20 ships in support, and the small Euboean city of Eretria - five. The Ionians could not fight alone against the superior forces of the Persians. In 497 the Persians defeated them in Cyprus, and in 494 - at the island of Lada, near Miletus. The uprising was suppressed, and the Greeks were subjected to severe punishment. The tribute from their cities was increased everywhere.

Persian archers (possibly from the corps immortals). Frieze of the palace of King Darius in Susa

Greco-Persian Wars under Darius (briefly)

Intervention in the struggle between Eretria and Athens gave the Persian king Darius the long-desired reason to start a war against Greece proper. Small, but economically developed and civilized Hellas had to face a huge Asian power, which, however, was at a much lower stage of development and was united from within not by a conscious sense of citizenship, but by brute force. The Persian army was huge in number, but the military art of the East was far inferior to the Greek. In the upcoming war, the Greeks were also inspired by national patriotism, which the peoples conquered by the Persians did not have.

Greek phalanx from the Battle of Marathon

In 492 BC, Darius's son-in-law Mardonius marched with a large army and a strong fleet to Greece through Thrace and Macedonia. But his squadron lost 300 ships near Athos from a terrible storm, and the ground army suffered significant losses from the Thracian tribes. This time the Persians limited themselves to the conquest of Macedonia, and decided to repeat the campaign against Greece some time later.

In 491, Darius, threatening war, sent the Greeks a demand for “land and water” (that is, submission). Some of the Greek cities and regions considered it best to submit, but in Athens and Sparta the Persian ambassadors were killed. In the face of terrible danger, the patriotic states of Greece formed a military alliance led by Sparta.

In 490, Darius' second campaign against Greece began. The Persian commanders Datis and Artaphernes with a squadron of 600 ships sailed across the Aegean Sea and destroyed the city of Eretria on Euboea, which had previously helped the Ionian uprising. Then the Persians landed on the northern coast of Attica, near the village of Marathon, intending to go from there to Athens, located 42 kilometers away.

Battle of Marathon

Themistocles and Aristides in Athens (briefly)

It was clear that the Persians would resume the war. In anticipation of this, the leader of the Athenian democrats, Themistocles, insisted on the construction of a large fleet. Themistocles' plan required large expenditures. The Athenian aristocrats, led by Aristides, considered it an adventure, but Themistocles managed to carry out his project in a heated political struggle. Aristide was sent into temporary exile. Instead of the previous cramped Athenian harbor - Phalerum - a large new one was built - Piraeus - for the fleet increased by Themistocles from 50 to 200 ships.

Greco-Persian Wars under Xerxes (briefly)

Darius I died in 486, and his cruel and eccentric son Xerxes ascended the Persian throne. He began to prepare for a new war with Greece, collecting, according to Herodotus, more than 5 million troops (actually 100-200 thousand?) (see article Army of Xerxes). The military forces of the Greeks were much smaller, and not all Greek states were included in the patriotic union that decided to resist the Asians - some agreed to submit to the Persians. The Persian fleet consisted of 1,200 ships, the Greek - less than 300 (almost half of them were Athenian).

Xerxes' army: Chaldean infantry, Babylonian archer, Assyrian infantry (from left to right)

This event marked a turning point in the Greco-Persian War. Xerxes, having maintained superiority on land, now lost it at sea and was afraid that the Greek fleet would cut off his return path. The Persian king abandoned the plan to fall to the Isthmus. He left for Asia, leaving satrap Mardonius with 300 thousand (?) troops in Thessaly to continue the war.

1. Reasons for the Greco-Persian warriors. Their periodization. The formation of Greek city-states, accompanied by violent socio-political upheavals, was completed by the end of the 6th century. BC e. The internal situation in Balkan Greece has stabilized, economic life has revived in numerous policies, and the political situation middle layers of citizenship, conditions were created for the development of culture.

However, at the end of the 6th century. Don. e. Greek city-states began to be threatened by the neighboring powerful Achaemenid power. The huge Persian monarchy recovered from serious upheavals and internecine wars that broke out after the death of Cambyses. Through a series of economic and military-administrative reforms, Darius I managed to strengthen the internal and external position of the Persian Empire, which became at the end of the 6th century. BC e. into a world power.

Having captured the Greek cities of Asia Minor and the islands of the eastern Aegean Sea, the Persian ruling elite began to develop plans to conquer the policies of Balkan Greece. For a world power that had colossal military-economic potential for that time, unlimited financial resources, and a huge trained army, the conquest of small, and also warring, Greek city-states seemed an easy task and at the same time a tempting goal. The Greek city-states were developed trade and craft cities, fairly populated, with a high culture and therefore could bring various benefits to the Persian treasury and the ruling elite. In addition, the capture of Balkan Greece was important from a strategic point of view, since it gave the entire Eastern Mediterranean into the hands of the great king.

The Persians posed a threat to the Balkan city states, their very existence, their outlined path of development as city-state organisms with an intensive economy, an active political life of citizens, and a unique lifestyle and culture.

So, the aggression of the Persian power, fueled by the apparent weakness of the victim, on the one hand, and the natural need to protect the very foundations of their existence on the part of the Greeks - these are the most profound reasons for the Greco-Persian wars that shook the Eastern Mediterranean in the first half of the 5th century. BC e. and had a huge impact on the development of Greek society and its culture.

That is why the imminent war of the Greek city-states with the Persian power was considered not as an ordinary military clash, but as a struggle between two worlds. During the Greco-Persian wars, the fate of the Greek city-states was decided. This predetermined the severity of military clashes, led to the mobilization of all military-economic resources, and all social and political institutions of the warring parties were subjected to severe testing on the battlefields.

The war between the Greeks and Persia dates back to 500-449. BC e., i.e. this is one of the longest military clashes in world history. Usually in scientific literature it is customary to call the struggle of the Greeks with the Persian power Greco-Persian

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wars because military operations were not carried out continuously, but the order of military campaigns, more or less long, disintegrated. There are five such military campaigns:

1. 500-494 BC BC - the uprising of Miletus and the Greek cities of Asia Minor against the Persian yoke.

2. 492-490 BC BC - the first invasion of Persian troops into the territory of Balkan Greece.

3. 480-479 BC BC - Xerxes' campaign against Greece - the culmination of the Greco-Persian wars.

4. 478-459 BC BC - a change in the nature of military operations, the transfer of strategic initiative to the Greeks, the liberation of the Greek cities of the islands of the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor from the Persians. Strengthening Athenian military power.

5. 459-449 BC BC - military expedition of Athens and its allies to Egypt and the end of the Greco-Persian wars.

2. The uprising of Miletus and the Greek cities of Asia Minor. The Greek cities of Asia Minor were captured by the Persian king Cyrus back in the 40-30s of the 6th century. BC e., and at first the Persians adhered to a relatively soft policy towards the Greeks, did not burden them with taxes, interfered little in internal life, and encouraged their trade with the cities of Asia Minor and other areas of the vast Persian state. However, under Darius there was a tightening of Persian policy towards Greek cities. The desire to centralize control led to constant interference in the internal affairs of the Greeks; in many cities, power was transferred to Persian henchmen - tyrants subordinate to the satrap of Asia Minor. Cities were subject to taxes and duties. Darius I showed a clear preference for Phoenician traders, which caused serious damage to the interests of the Greeks. In the Greek cities of Asia Minor, dissatisfaction with Persian domination accumulated, which was further fueled by the plans of the Persian elite to conquer the Balkan city-states.

Miletus, the largest Greek city in Asia Minor, was the first to rebel against the Persians. In 500 BC. e. the Persian protege Aristagoras, relying on increased anti-Persian sentiments, considered it possible to lead the patriotic forces. He abdicated the power of the tyrant, restored the functioning of the city's institutions and called on the inhabitants of Miletus to an armed uprising against the Persians. Other Ionian cities followed the example of Miletus, expelling the royal proteges - the tyrants - and the Persian garrisons where they were. The rebel cities entered into an alliance to conduct a joint fight against the Persians. Messengers were sent to all cities of Asia Minor with an offer to join the uprising. This call was supported by all the cities of Asia Minor from Byzantium and Chalcedon to Pamphylia and Cyprus. Aristagoras, who at first found himself at the head of the uprising, went to Balkan Greece for help. However, here his mission turned out to be practically fruitless: Sparta refused to help, and only Athens sent a small squadron of 20 warships (five ships were sent by the city of Eretria).

The rebel cities created a unified command. Militia of the rebel cities in the summer of 498 BC. e. attacked Sardis, the residence of the satrap of Asia Minor, destroyed the city, although he could not take the Acropolis, where the satrap Artaphrenes took refuge with a garrison. The following year, the allied Greek fleet defeated the Phoenician squadron near Cyprus. The uprising grew and began to pose a serious threat to Persian rule throughout Asia Minor. Darius understood the danger of the situation and took the most decisive measures. Dozens were transferred to Asia Minor

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additional military contingents, which, together with the garrisons existing in Asia Minor, were united into two large armies, which began to fight the rebel cities on the extreme flanks of the uprising. First, the Greek cities of Cyprus and the southern part of Asia Minor were brought into submission, then the rebel states in the Black Sea straits (Byzantium, Chalcedon, Abydos, Lampsacus, etc.). The ring around the center of the Greek uprising of Ionia and Miletus gradually tightened. The union of the rebels, itself quite loose organizationally, began to disintegrate. The Persians did not spare gold and generous promises for those who would leave the ranks of the rebels, and their “agitation” had a certain success. The Persians managed to inflict a painful defeat on the Greeks near the city of Ephesus. By 495 BC. e. The Persians assembled a huge fleet of Phoenician ships (there were about 600 of them) and inflicted a severe defeat on the allied fleet, assembled to protect Miletus, at the island of Lada. The center of the uprising, Miletus, was besieged by the Persians, and after almost a year-long siege it was taken in 494 BC. e. and brutally destroyed, the inhabitants were killed or sold into slavery. Soon all the other rebel Greek cities were brought into submission.

The uprising was doomed to failure from the very beginning, since the military-economic potential of two dozen cities and the world power was disproportionate, and there was no help from the Balkan states. However, suppressing the uprising required a lot of effort and time from Darius. For almost six years, the Greeks waged an unequal struggle with the Persians, inflicting painful blows on them.

3. The first Persian invasions of Balkan Greece (492-490 BC). After the suppression of the uprising of the cities of Asia Minor, Darius I considered the moment favorable for the implementation of his long-standing strategic plans to conquer the policies of Balkan Greece. He had a significant army, which had just won a victory over the rebel Greeks, had the strategic initiative, and had such a “legitimate” pretext for the invasion as the punishment of Athens and Eretria, which helped the Ionians. On the contrary, fear and confusion reigned in the Balkan states.

A strong expeditionary force of about 30 thousand people and a large fleet of about 600 ships were formed in Asia Minor. The king's son-in-law, a talented military leader and diplomat, Mardonius, was placed at the head of this army. The goal of Mardonius's campaign was the conquest of Greek cities in the straits and on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea, the subjugation of the Thracian tribes, Macedonia and, if the situation turned out to be favorable, the invasion of the territory of Greece itself and the capture of Athens. Mardonius also sought to strengthen his rear, in particular to prevent the possibility of a new uprising in Asia Minor. By his order, the tyrants who had compromised themselves in the eyes of the population were deposed, and policing authorities were restored in the cities.

In 492 BC. e. Mardonius sent his army across the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles), which began to capture the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. The fleet with supplies, equipment and food accompanied the ground army. The Persians managed to subjugate the coastal Greek cities, the southern Thracian tribes, the island of Thasos, and the Macedonian king Alexander also expressed his submission. However, near Cape Athos, the Persian fleet was caught in a storm and was destroyed on the coastal cliffs. According to Herodotus, 300 ships and about 20 thousand people perished.

Having suffered such losses, Mardonius was forced to withdraw the remnants of his army to Asia Minor. Despite the failure of the campaign of 492 BC. e. in general, for which Mardonius was removed from command, the Persians succeeded

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to gain a foothold in the northern part of the Aegean and create a springboard for the future.

The failure of the first campaign did not change Darius’s plans, and he again began to prepare for the invasion of Greece. A new selected army of up to 20 thousand people and a large fleet were formed. It was headed by the experienced military leader Datis and the king’s nephew Artaphrens. Their advisor was the former tyrant Hippias, expelled from Athens, who knew well local conditions and has its supporters in Athens. The Persians took into account the complexity of the roundabout movement around the northern coast of the Aegean Sea and made a bold, albeit risky decision - to transport the army by ship directly from Asia Minor to Attica and immediately defeat Athens. This decision was risky, since it was very dangerous to transport large masses of infantry and especially cavalry on small-capacity and slow-moving ships. Overloaded ships could easily become prey to even light sea waves and attacks by enemy ships.

Military preparations were preceded by diplomatic preparations. In 491 BC. e. Persian ambassadors were sent to all policies of Balkan Greece demanding complete submission (the demand for “land and water”) or at least neutrality in a future war. Many Greek city states of the islands (for example, the islands of Aegina), Thessaly, Boeotia submitted to this demand, Argos declared its neutrality, but the most powerful Greek states, Sparta and Athens, categorically rejected the demands. The Spartans threw the ambassadors into a well, offering to take “earth and water” there themselves, and the Athenians overthrew the ambassadors from a cliff. The killing of the ambassadors made it impossible to conduct any negotiations. The Greeks were preparing for war.

After waiting for calm weather, Datis and Artaphrenes, using extreme caution, transported their army to the island of Euboea, where they captured and destroyed Eretria, and enslaved its inhabitants. After the conquest of Euboea, the Persians landed in the northeastern part of Attica - near the town of Marathon, located 42 km from Athens.

In all likelihood, the plan of military action against Athens was drawn up on the advice of Hippias. On the wide Marathon plain, the Persians could calmly and comfortably position their army and use excellent cavalry. Having a well-fortified camp, the Persians could easily devastate all of Attica. From Marathon it was possible to attack Athens by land, and a large Persian fleet could round Cape Sunium and attack Athens by sea. It was precisely this combined attack of the fleet from the sea and the land army from the depths that brought the Persians success in the capture of Miletus in 494 BC. e.

The situation was aggravated by the fact that Hippias had his supporters in Athens itself, who campaigned in favor of the Persians. In addition, there was no agreement among the Athenian command regarding the plan for conducting military operations. Some strategists adhered to a wait-and-see passive tactic and proposed limiting themselves to the defense of Athens. To top it all off, the Athenians were denied immediate assistance by Sparta, since a religious festival was taking place there on those days.

In these extreme circumstances, the talented commander Miltiades came to the fore. At the end of the 6th century. BC e. he was the ruler of Chersonese of Thracia, often clashed with the Persians and knew well the features of the Persian military organization, its strengths and weaknesses. In 490 BC. e. Miltiades was one of the strategists and proposed a plan for conducting military operations that ultimately led the Athenians to victory. Miltiades wanted to get ahead of the Persians and impose his rule on them.

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offensive tactics. He convinced his fellow strategists not to sit out in weakly fortified Athens, but to lead the entire army to Marathon and fight a decisive battle there. September 12, 490 BC e. The famous Battle of Marathon took place, which went down in the history of ancient military art.

On the Marathon Plain, two different systems of military organization collided: the ancient Greek phalanx, consisting of a formation of heavily armed hoplite infantry, and the loose formation of the Persians. The best in the Persian army were the renowned cavalry and skilled archers.

Using the features of the terrain, Miltiades built a phalanx (11 thousand people in total) not as was usually done among the Greeks, 1000-1200 soldiers along the front and 8 ranks deep, but stretched it by reducing the density of the ranks in the center so that so that the flanks rested on the neighboring hills, which protected the Greeks from encirclement and attack by the Persian cavalry. To give greater maneuverability, the phalanx was divided into three parts: the left flank, the center and the right flank, which could act independently.

In order to neutralize the actions of the Persian riflemen, the Greeks ran the last 100 m before approaching the enemy. The battle developed according to the plan proposed by the commander: the Persian cavalry could not bypass the Greek flanks and practically took little part in the battle. During the battle, the Persians managed to push back the weakened center of the Athenians, but on the flanks the Greeks, having overthrown the Persians, turned around and hit the center. The victory was complete, over 6,000 enemy soldiers remained on the battlefield, and the Athenians lost 192 hoplites.

Immediately after the battle, a speedboat was sent to the city of Athens with the joyful news of the long-awaited victory. He ran to the agora and shouted “Victory!” fell to the ground dead. In memory of this episode, a marathon distance of 42 km 192 m was established at the Olympic Games - the distance from the battle site to the Athenian agora.

Taking advantage of the presence of the entire Athenian army far from Athens, the Persians made an attempt to capture the unarmed city from the sea, transporting soldiers on ships, but Miltiades foresaw this move. Immediately after the victory at Marathon, the Athenian army returned to Athens by forced march before the Persian fleet arrived there. The Persian squadron stood in the roadstead for some time and, realizing the futility of the siege, went to the shores of Asia Minor. Thus, this Persian attack on Balkan Greece also ended in complete failure.

The Athenian victory at Marathon had enormous moral and political significance. It showed the superiority of the Greek military organization and the strength of small Greek city-states. The famous Persian army, which also had an almost double superiority in strength, was completely defeated by the civilian militia. It became clear to the Persian king that the conquest of Hellas would require the mobilization of enormous funds and great effort from all the forces of the Persian state.

4. Campaign of Xerxes. Darius I, realizing that his military-political prestige had suffered a severe blow, began preparations with renewed energy for a new invasion of Greece. However, his death in 486 BC. e., and then the uprisings that broke out in Babylonia and Egypt prevented the new king, the son of Darius, Xerxes from completing these preparations. But, having restored relative calm in his vast power by 483 BC. e., Xerxes energetically began direct military and diplomatic preparations for a decisive campaign against Greece. From all over the empire, military contingents were drawn to Asia Minor, a fleet was built, equipment, food and supplies were prepared. Since transportation

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For a huge army, the direct route through the Aegean Sea was impossible, they approved the “Mardonius route” - a longer but reliable detour along the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. Here, on lands conquered by Mardonius, including Macedonia, which recognized the Persian protectorate, supply warehouses were built great army. To protect yourself from the accidents of sailing along Cape Athos, which is replete with whirlpools and reefs (it was here that a large Persian fleet was lost in 492 BC), a 2-kilometer canal was dug at the base of the Akte Peninsula for the passage of ships.

Careful diplomatic preparations for the campaign were carried out. Sparing no gold for bribery, the Ners gained support from a number of aristocratic policies of Thessaly and Boeotia. Argos declared its neutrality, which was beneficial to the Persians. To prevent possible assistance from the policies of Magna Graecia, Xerxes agreed with Carthage to intensify military operations in Sicily, which shackled the forces of the Western Greeks.

By 481 BC. e. preparations were completed, a huge Persian army numbering at least 150-200 thousand people (Herodotus, greatly exaggerating the strength of the Persians, calls a fantastic figure of 5.28 million people), a powerful fleet of 1200 ships of various classes were ready for the invasion. Giving special significance to the campaign, this largest army of antiquity was led by the king of kings, Xerxes himself. A terrible, deadly threat hung over Hellas.

In Greece, too, they were preparing for war, seeking the military-political unity of numerous and often warring policies and consolidation within the policies themselves, on the one hand, and the expulsion of pro-Persian elements and various opposition forces, on the other. Naturally, the military power of each city was increased, and various plans were developed to repel Persian aggression.

By 481 BC. e. in Balkan Greece, it was possible to stop civil strife and at the congress in Corinth a military alliance was concluded between 31 policies of Greece. The armed forces and navy were united, fielded in maximum numbers, and the Spartan kings were placed at the head of the united army and navy as the most experienced military leaders.

The political life of Athens at that time is best reflected in the sources. Athens was an irreconcilable enemy of the Persians, and the Persian kings were preparing for the invasion of Hellas under the pretext of taking the place of Athens. After the Marathon victory, the Athenians took decisive measures to combat pro-Persian elements, primarily supporters of the exiled tyrant Hippias, the Persians' closest adviser at the Battle of Marathon. Using the procedure of ostracism introduced by Cleisthenes, the Athenians expelled the most influential supporters of the Peisistratids (Hipparchus, son of Charmus, and Megacles, son of Hippocrates). On the issues of strengthening the military power of Athens, a struggle broke out between supporters in the People's Assembly political group led by Themistocles and another led by Aristides, a participant in the marathon battle. Themistocles called for strengthening the maritime power of Athens. He put forward a program for the construction of a strong navy consisting of 200 of the fastest ships - triremes, expansion of the Athenian harbor, construction of port buildings and constant training of ship crews. The implementation of Themistocles’ naval program involved offensive operations and active foreign policy of the Athenian state. To implement this program, it was planned to use income from the Lavria silver mines,

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increasing them through more active exploitation of mines. Themistocles' program had not only a military, but also a political aspect. Its implementation raised the political role of the lower strata of Athenian citizenship, representatives of the fourth property division according to Solon's class division - the fetes. The fetas did not have the means to purchase expensive hoplite equipment and could serve mainly in the navy. That is why Themistocles' program met with objections from the wealthy sections of Athenian landowners, whose interests were represented by Aristides. He sought to strengthen the hoplite army, build defensive fortifications around Athens and pursue a more passive foreign policy.

By the end of the 80s of the 5th century. BC e. Themistocles' group was victorious, his political opponent Aristides was ostracized, and Themistocles' naval program began to be vigorously implemented. Its successful implementation was facilitated by such a democratic reform of the Athenian political system as the introduction of lots in the selection of senior officials in Athens - the archons. If previously they were elected by open voting, the results of which the aristocracy could influence through dependent persons by bribery and other means, then after 487 BC. e. 500 candidates were elected from all 10 territorial philes, from whom nine highest magistrates-archons were selected by blind lot. However, striving to unite forces on the eve of the Persian invasion, the Athenians allowed all those ostracized to return to the city, including Aristides, who, forgetting past feuds, along with Themistocles, took an active part in the hostilities that soon unfolded.

The large Athenian fleet, consisting of the best ships of the time, controlled by trained crews, successfully complemented the magnificent Spartan heavily armed infantry. Together with the militias and ships of other allied policies, Hellas had impressive forces to repel the Persian invasion.

In the early spring of 480 BC. e. Xerxes' great campaign against Hellas began. The Persians crossed over two pontoon bridges across the Hellespont Strait, and the crossing was not without a curiosity: a strong current and wave destroyed one pontoon bridge. The angry Xerxes, as a typical eastern despot, who considers himself the ruler of not only people, but also the elements, ordered the waters of the Hellespont to be punished with scourges; to pacify him, shackles were thrown into the water. The bridge builders were beheaded. We had to build a new bridge.

Following a pre-prepared route, the Persians safely passed the entire Thracian coast and Macedonia. The Greeks initially intended to hold the defense at the narrow entrance to the Tempean Valley (Northern Thessaly) and even sent a 10,000-strong detachment there, but, fearing betrayal by the Thessalian aristocracy sympathetic to the Persians, they abandoned their defensive positions and retreated.

The narrow Thermopylae Gorge, along which the only road from Thessaly to Central Greece passed, was chosen as a new defensive line. Defensive structures were built here - a wall, towers (their remains were discovered by archaeologists). A combined detachment of 7.2 thousand hoplites headed here, including 300 Spartans led by their king Leonidas. At the same time, a strong Greek fleet of 270 triremes took up positions near the northern tip of the island of Euboea at Cape Artemisium. The defense of Thermopylae and the battle of Artemisium pursued limited goals: to test the combat readiness of the Persians, on the one hand, and on the other, to unite the alliance in a joint battle

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Greek cities and arouse hatred against the invaders. While there could be no talk of a decisive battle both on land and at sea - the forces of the Greeks were too insignificant compared to the army of Xerxes. The set goals were achieved. The defense of Thermopylae has become a symbol of the merciless and sacred struggle for Greek independence. In the battle episode at Thermopylae the best sides Greek military organization. For four days, a huge Persian army stormed the Greek positions, defended by a small detachment. Things got to the point that, frightened by the heroic actions of the Greeks, the Persian soldiers refused to go on the attack and, by order of the king, they were driven forward with whips. Xerxes was forced to bring his famous guard, the so-called “immortals,” into battle, which was done on very rare occasions. But the “immortals” could not knock the Greeks off their positions. Leonid turned out to be a brilliant tactician. He skillfully used local conditions and skillfully built his defenses. In battle, the Greeks used maneuvering, false retreats back, after which they again lined up in a phalanx and delivered crushing blows to the advancing enemies.

Xerxes was indignant, but it was all in vain. A paradoxical situation arose: the most prepared and largest Persian army could not do anything with the small Greek detachment. Xerxes was rescued by a Thessalian traitor. Behind a large sum he showed a workaround and led the Persians to the rear of the defenders of Thermopylae. Considering further defense pointless, Leonid, in order to save most the remaining soldiers, ordered them to retreat. Only the Spartans remained at the battle site, who were forbidden by law to retreat from the battlefield. Warriors from the cities of Thespiae and Thebes voluntarily joined them. After heroic resistance, they all fell in battle, and it became clear that in Hellas Xerxes would meet equally valiant defenders.

A monument was subsequently erected over the burial of the Spartans - a sitting lion, with words written by one of the best poets of that time, Simonides, engraved on the pedestal:

O traveler, tell all the citizens of Lacedaemon:

Here we lie in our graves, having faithfully fulfilled the law.

The heroic death of the defenders of Thermopylae in 480 BC. e. became a symbol of military courage in world history.

Simultaneously with the defense of Thermopylae, a naval battle broke out at Cape Artemisium. The battle lasted for three days, but neither side achieved success. After the death of Leonidas, the Greek fleet departed from Artemisium and, together with the ships of other policies, stood near Athens opposite the island of Salamis.

Having passed through the Thermopylae Gorges, the huge Persian army flooded Central Greece. Attica was sacked. Since the city of Athens did not have

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strong defensive structures and was not suitable for a long siege, its inhabitants were evacuated to the city of Troezen in Argolis and to the neighboring island of Salamis. The complex task of evacuating, accommodating and supplying refugees from Athens was taken over by the aristocratic Council of the Areopagus, whose influence on state affairs increased greatly. Abandoned by its inhabitants, Athens was captured by the Persians and set on fire.

Despite the capture of Central Greece, including Athens, the main military forces of the Greeks, the allied army and navy, were preserved. According to the original plans, the Greeks were supposed to defend the Isthmus of Corinth with their entire army, where powerful defensive structures were erected. That is why the Spartans insisted on transferring the allied fleet concentrated in the Strait of Salamis closer to the land army. However, the Athenian leaders and, above all, Themistocles proposed a different plan: to fight a decisive naval battle in the narrow Strait of Salamis, where fast and maneuverable Greek triremes would have an advantage over the enemy’s bulky and slow-moving ships. And a naval victory, according to the Athenians, could dramatically turn the fate of the entire war.

Xerxes himself, in turn, considered a decisive naval battle in this moment extremely desirable because he had an almost double superiority in the number of ships; he considered their Phoenician crews to be quite experienced in maritime affairs. In addition, the Greek fleet was separated from the ground forces, while the Persian ships interacted closely with the main army.

In an effort to persuade the Spartans to a decisive battle, Themistocles used the following trick. A spy was sent to the Persian camp, who conveyed supposedly secret information to Xerxes about the impending departure of the Greek fleet from Salamis. Believing these reports, and they could correspond to reality, Xerxes ordered to occupy the exits from the Strait of Salamis and thereby block the Greek fleet. The battle became inevitable. It happened on September 28, 480. As Themistocles predicted, fast and maneuverable Greek ships, perfectly oriented in the shallow waters of the narrow strait, broke the stubborn resistance of the Persians and destroyed almost their entire huge fleet.

In helpless rage, Xerxes watched from the shore the destruction of his ships. The destruction of the Persian fleet dramatically changed the military situation. Greek ships could now cut off all communications with Asia Minor, destroy pontoon

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bridges across the Hellespont and put the land army in a difficult situation. Therefore, Xerxes changes plans for the military campaign. With a significant part of the army and the remnants of the fleet, he returns to Asia. A selected corps, led by the experienced Mardonius, remained in Central Greece.

Mardonius withdrew his troops to Boeotia, friendly to the Persians, reorganized them and in the spring of the following 479 BC. e. recaptured and sacked Athens. A reserve army and navy were being prepared near Cape Micale, which were supposed to back up the actions of Mardonius. In 479 BC. e. The Greek allied command developed a plan for a combined attack and destruction of both the land army of Mardonius in Boeotia and the reserve base at Mycale. The allied Greek militia under the command of the talented Spartan commander Pausanias gathered in Boeotia and, near the city of Plataea, imposed a decisive battle on Mardonius (479 BC). The Battle of Plataea, one of the largest land battles of antiquity, is an example of the military art of Ancient Greece. Mardonius had a selected army of 70 thousand, the Greek allied militia was no less. During the battle, examples of military cunning, tactical talent and skillful maneuvering of large masses of infantry were demonstrated. Both commanders - Mardonius and Pausanias - lined up troops in fortified positions and each sought to lure the enemy out of the fortifications, forcing them to strike the first blow. Mardonius's cavalry managed to discover and fill up the Greeks' water supplies, intercept wagons with food, and thereby put their army in a difficult situation. Unable to remain in his fortified positions, Pausanias makes a risky and completely unexpected maneuver for the enemy. In the dead of night, he ordered his center, consisting of hoplites from the allied cities, to withdraw from their positions, retreat 20 km to Plataea and gain a foothold there. Then he began his retreat along different roads, but maintaining contact with each other, the right flank occupied by the Spartans, followed by the left flank occupied by the Athenians. In the morning, when the Persians discovered an empty Greek camp, Mardonius ordered his soldiers to withdraw from their positions and move to Plataea, and he himself, at the head of a select vanguard and cavalry, hastily rushed to pursue, as he believed, the enemy retreating in disarray. This is what Pausanias was waiting for. As soon as the first Persian horsemen appeared, the Spartans deployed their phalanx and met the Persian vanguard with all their might. At the decisive moment of the battle, the Athenians arrived and the Persians were scattered. Mardonius also fell in battle. When the rest of the Persian army approached, the Spartans and Athenians did not have much difficulty defeating the commandless army. The Persian rearguard under the command of Artabazus did not manage to approach the battlefield. Having learned about the complete defeat of the main part of the army, Artabazus hurried with his corps to Asia Minor. The Battle of Plataea ended with the complete defeat of the selected army of Mardonius. On the same day, an allied squadron led by the Spartan king Leotychides and the Athenian strategist Xanthippus attacked the Persian reserve base near Cape Mycale and, with a combined attack from sea and land, destroyed the strong Persian army and burned most of the Persian ships.

The battles of Plataea and Mycale were a brilliant conclusion to the intense struggle of the Greeks with the army of Xerxes. After her death, the great king no longer dreamed of conquering free Hellas; the military power of the Persian monarchy was so shaken that the king had to think about how to keep his state from collapse.

In the military actions of the Greek city-states with the Persian power there was a radical

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noah turn. The strategic initiative passed to the Greeks. Having repelled the attack on Balkan Greece, the Greeks set themselves new tasks: liberation of the cities of western Asia Minor and the straits from Persian domination.

5. Organization of the Delian Symmachy (the first Athenian maritime union). Liberation of the Greek city-states of Asia Minor and the straits from Persian domination. The repulsion of the Persian invasion became possible thanks to the unification of the Greek city-states and, above all, Sparta, Corinth and Athens. This unification of forces was caused by the mortal danger from Persia. But after the decisive victories of the Greeks in 480-479. BC e. and the elimination of the Persian threat, differences began to appear between the allies on a number of military-political issues. Sparta was not interested in long campaigns, especially those where the navy became the decisive force. The constant social danger from the helots, the lack of a fleet, and the orientation towards landowning aristocratic circles determined the limited nature of Sparta's foreign policy. Athens, on the contrary, was an energetic supporter of an active policy of conquest. The emerging predominance in the sociopolitical life of democratically minded trade and craft layers of citizenship, a large, well-equipped fleet, together with a strong hoplite militia, dictated a different policy.

Social and political disagreements were aggravated by a dispute over the fate of Asia Minor and island cities liberated from Persian rule. Sparta imposed a policy of harsh punishments, even to the point of relocating residents to other places, while the Athenians adhered to a soft policy, up to inclusion in the pan-Greek union as equal members. In the midst of these serious disagreements, Sparta weakened its activity and actually withdrew from the pan-Greek union created in Corinth in 481 BC. e. On the contrary, Athens became the center of attraction for the remaining members of this union; new members also sought to join it, mainly from among the liberated island and Asia Minor cities.

Interested in the further development of military operations and the complete displacement of the Persians from the Aegean region, the Greek cities, led by Athens, sent their representatives to the island of Delos and concluded a new alliance, which was called the Delian Military League (Symmachia). The Delian symmachy became a stronger unification of Greek cities because almost all allies shared the main goals of foreign policy, were interested in rapid economic development, and many of them had the same type of democratic structure. The strength of the Delian League is also explained by its thoughtful organization. The Allies had a common treasury and united armed forces: ground forces and navy. The main affairs of the union were decided by a council consisting of representatives of all the policies that were part of it. However, from the moment of the founding of the Delian League, Athens became strongly dominant in it. Athens was the richest and largest city in Greece; they bore the brunt of the war with the Persians, its politicians had great authority throughout Greece. It is not surprising that the allies very soon entrusted all affairs, treasury and armed forces to the Athenians. Instead of supplying the required number of ships and hoplites to the allied army, the allies preferred to contribute the appropriate sum of money, allowing the Athenians to spend it on maintaining additional contingents of Athenian hoplites and naval crews. Athens thus received at its disposal

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significant financial resources (460 talents) for the maintenance of an impressive fleet and land army (up to 200 triremes, 40 thousand crew and oarsmen, 10 thousand hoplites and 1 thousand horsemen). Therefore, the Delian Symmachy is usually called the First Athenian Maritime League.

Having secured the support of its allies, Athens began vigorous military operations against the Persians, who still remained in many points of the Aegean coast, on the islands and in the straits.

Sparta watched with alarm the strengthening of Athenian military power, and tensions between Sparta and Athens grew. In order to protect themselves from threats from land, the Athenians decided to create a new defensive system around Athens, making the city an impregnable fortress. Under the leadership of Themistocles, over the course of several years, a complex system of fortifications was built around Athens, which included a ring of city walls, the so-called long walls (about 5 km) protecting the road from Athens to the port of Piraeus, and, finally, fortifications around Piraeus. Thus, Athens could withstand any long siege, since the possibility of a safe and uninterrupted supply to the city from Piraeus was provided. After the construction of defensive structures, Themistocles' popularity increased even more and caused sharp discontent among the Athenian aristocracy, grouped around the Areopagus, and even some democrats, to whom Themistocles' enormous authority seemed incompatible with democratic principles. In 471 BC. e. Themistocles was ostracized and took refuge with the Persian king Xerxes, against whom he had so successfully fought in the recent past. In Athens, the political influence of Cimon, the son of Miltiades, the winner of the Persians at Marathon, increased.

In the 70s of the 5th century. BC e. The Athenians, under the leadership of Kimon, captured a number of islands of the Aegean Sea (the island of Skyros, etc.), firmly established themselves on the Thracian coast at the mouth of the Strymon River, where there were rich gold mines, in Byzantium and a number of other cities in the straits. Many cities of Ionia and Caria became part of the Delian Symmachy. The Aegean Sea basin was cleared of Persian garrisons and pirates and became a safe place for trade and navigation. Cimon and the Athenian allies made far-reaching plans to conquer cities in the southern part of Asia Minor. The elderly Xerxes made an attempt to stop the expansion of the Athenians. At the mouth of the Eurymedon River in Pamphylia, a large Persian fleet (about 350 ships) and a strong land army of several tens of thousands of people were concentrated. The Persians were waiting here for a Phoenician squadron of 80 ships, so that they could then begin a campaign against the Greeks in the Aegean Sea. This was a serious threat to Athenian dominance.

Cimon developed and carried out an operation unexpected by the enemy to destroy these large accumulating Persian forces. The entire Athenian fleet and land army were concentrated near Cnidus. To be placed on ships greatest number hoplites, their design was improved: a second deck was built, the upper deck was expanded with additional extensions. From Cnidus, the Athenians secretly transported their fleet and infantry to the city of Phaselis (on the border of Lycia and Pamphylia). From here, the Athenian ships unexpectedly attacked the main forces of the Persians. Taken by surprise, the Persians tried to evade the battle and withdrew their fleet to the mouth of the Eurymedon River, under the protection of their infantry standing on the shore, but, pursued by the Athenians, they were forced to fight. In the ensuing battle, the Persian fleet was defeated in full view of the infantry standing on the shore, 150 ships

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destroyed, and 200 captured by the victors.

Having sunk the enemy ships, Cimon landed the hoplites ashore, imposing a battle on the Persian ground forces. In a bloody battle that lasted many hours, in which many Athenians also died, the Persian army was completely defeated. The tireless Kimon leads the fleet into the open sea to meet the Phoenician squadron of 80 ships and destroys it. This triple victory of Cimon at Eurymedon (469-468 BC, the date is not precisely established) over a superior enemy is another brilliant example of Greek military art, skillful and complex maneuvering, and the destruction of the enemy army in parts. Rich booty and many valuables fell into the hands of the winners. With these funds, Cimon carried out a number of buildings in Athens, partially compensated for expensive military preparations, and 20 thousand prisoners were sold into slavery.

After Cimon's brilliant victory at Eurymedon, the power of Athens and its dominance in the Delian League increased. Attempts by two islands - Naxos (469 BC) and Thasos (465 BC) - to leave the union in protest against the strengthening of Athens were decisively suppressed. The Athenian squadrons sent tore down the walls of their city fortifications, the cities of the allies reimbursed the expenses incurred by the Athenians, they were forbidden to have their own fleet and were forced to pay additional sums to the allied treasury.

6. Increasing tension between Athens and Sparta. Athens military expedition to Egypt and completion Greco-Persian wars. The successes of Athens in the fight against the Persians in the 60s of the 5th century. BC e., the strengthening of the role of Athens in the Delian League was due to the growing political influence of the middle part of Athenian citizenship, that is, those layers that formed the social support of the democratic order. The Athenians provided direct and indirect support to democratic elements at the expense of aristocratic ones in many allied cities. Naturally, this development of events caused increasing discontent among aristocratic Sparta, which usually supported oligarchic institutions in Greece. 60s BC e. characterized by growing tensions between Athens and Sparta. It seemed that a military clash was inevitable. But it was prevented. The fact is that in 464 BC. e. A strong earthquake occurred in Sparta, which caused great destruction and confusion among the Spartans. The helots did not fail to take advantage of this. They rebelled, fortified themselves on Mount Itome and from there carried out devastating raids on the possessions of the Spartiates. Under these conditions, the Spartiates could not even think about any war with Athens. On the contrary, frightened, they turned to Athens for help. This appeal of Sparta to its political enemy is a shining example the common social positions of the aristocracy and democratic circles of citizenship of the Greek city-states in the face of social danger. The influential Areopagus and the agitation of the head of the Athenian aristocrats, the Laconophile Cimon, convinced the National Assembly to send a strong Athenian detachment to Sparta. However, when this detachment arrived in Laconia, the Spartiates managed to localize the uprising on their own and therefore sent the Athenian hoplites back. The Athenians considered this attitude towards their aid an insult, and this only worsened the hostility between Athens and Sparta. The failure of the campaign in Sparta led to the discreditation of Cimon himself, and he was soon expelled through ostracism. Taking advantage of the favorable situation, the leader of the democratic group in Athens, Ephialtes, decided to deal a decisive blow to the political prestige of the Areopagus, which had greatly increased during the Persian War. To

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to discredit this influential body politically, a number of members of the Areopagus were first brought to trial on charges of corruption, and in 462 BC. e. The Athenian national assembly passed a law according to which the Areopagus was deprived of political levers of power, and this stronghold of the Athenian aristocracy began to play its original role as the guardian of public morality and religious traditions, which also provided it with sufficient influence in society.

Democratization state life accompanied by an intensification of Athenian foreign policy. But all this led to a sharp aggravation of political relations with Sparta. Military conflict became inevitable when the Spartiates had largely suppressed the helot uprising. In 457 BC. e. A strong Spartan army of 11.5 thousand hoplites, together with their allies from Boeotia, inflicted a severe defeat on the 14 thousand-strong Athenian militia at Tanagra. But in the same year, in the repeated battle of Oenophyta, the new Athenian army defeated Sparta's allies, the Boeotians, and restored its political influence in Central Greece. Building on their success, the Athenians forced their longtime enemy, neighboring Aegina, to capitulate. Soon the Athenians captured Trezena, and the Athenian fleet cruised freely around the Peloponnese, attacking vulnerable points in the south and west (the so-called first, or Lesser, Peloponnesian War).

Athens and their allies carried out military operations not only against Sparta. Another important front was the fight against the Persians, which entered its final stage.

The defeat of the large Persian fleet and land army at Eurymedon not only brought the Greek cities of southern Asia Minor and Cyprus under Athenian influence, but also shook Persian dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean in general, where separatist movements in the satrapies revived. The situation was aggravated by the dynastic struggle. In 465 BC. e. As a result of palace intrigues, Xerxes and his eldest son were killed, and the youngest son Artaxerxes ascended the throne. Separatist forces in Egypt took advantage of the situation. In 460 BC. e. An uprising broke out, led by Inar, a representative of the Libyan aristocracy. The fall of such a rich satrapy as Egypt would put the Persian kingdom in a difficult situation and could mark the beginning of its political disintegration. The Athenians decide to provide generous assistance to Inar. In 459 BC. e. a well-equipped squadron of 200 ships and 20 thousand soldiers was sent to help the Egyptian rebels. The Athenian squadron entered the mouth of the Nile and rose to the capital of Egypt, Memphis. Interacting with Inarus, the Athenians inflicted several defeats on the Persian satrap and captured Memphis. However, in 455-454. BC e. the new Persian army sent to Egypt managed to defeat the rebels and then the Athenian fleet. The death of large Athenian forces in the swamps of the Delta greatly shook Athenian military power and political prestige. The Athenians feared uprisings and discontent among the allies. Under the pretext that the allied treasury, kept in the temple of Apollo on the island of Delos, could be captured by the Persians or pirates, the Athenians unilaterally transferred it to the treasury of the temple of Athena. From then on, the allied treasury began to be considered in fact as part of the Athenian treasury itself, and the allies from members equal to Athens were, to a certain extent, like subjects. That is why the fact of the transfer of the union treasury from Delos to Athens in 454 BC. e. is considered a milestone in the transformation of the Delian symmachy into the Athenian arche (power).

The restoration of Persian rule in Egypt and the defeat of the Athenians changed the political situation in the Eastern Mediterranean in Persia's favor. But

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the forces of Athens, which had full control of the enormous resources of the Athenian Maritime League, were still very large. The successful Cimon again (he was returned from exile) organizes an expeditionary army to support the Egyptian rebels and the Greek cities of Cyprus besieged by the Persians. In 450-449 BC e. military operations are concentrated in Cyprus. Cimon managed to defeat a strong royal fleet near the city of Salamis, capturing a number of Cypriot cities. In an effort to revive the separatist movement in Egypt, Kimon sent 60 warships there. But these plans were not destined to come true. During the siege of one of the Cypriot cities, Kimon died, and the Athenian squadron was recalled back. This recall meant that the Athenians were abandoning their claims to the Eastern Mediterranean, where the power of the Persian king was fully restored. 449 BC e. was the last year of the long Greco-Persian wars. Athenian aristocrat cousin Aristide and close relative Cimon (he was married to his sister), Callias, was sent to Cyprus to make peace with the Persians. The terms of the Peace of Callias (449 BC) ended the Greco-Persian Wars and sealed the Greek victory. The Persian king recognized the independence of all Greek city-states of Asia Minor, pledged not to conduct military operations against them, and not to send a military fleet into the Aegean Sea and the straits. The Greeks made commitments not to interfere in the affairs of the Eastern Mediterranean and Egypt.

Soon after the Peace of Callias, there was a lull in hostilities between Athens and Sparta, and in 446 BC. e. the so-called Lesser Peloponnesian War ended with thirty years of peace. After several decades of intense military clashes both in Greece itself and with the great Persian power, a more or less stable order was established in Hellas. Favorable opportunities for economic and cultural development have been created.

The Greco-Persian Wars ended in complete victory for the Greeks. What are the reasons for their victorious outcome? Why were small Greek city-states, which occupied an insignificant territory and, moreover, had a different socio-political organization, able to defeat a world power that had a powerful military-economic potential, united by the centralized power of the king and his administrative apparatus? Several such reasons can be given.

During the Greco-Persian wars, the Greek socio-economic and political systems, the polis organization of society, which presupposes an intensive income economy, a wealthy middle class of citizenship, and republican institutions, turned out to be more viable, more advanced, and progressive than the cumbersome Persian socio-political system. The activity of the internal political struggle in the Greek city-states in conditions of military danger, as it turned out, did not weaken the internal strength of city-state organisms, but gave it a more conscious and organized character, while under the cover of external blind submission to the power of the great king, there was hidden the deep separatism of individual satraps, which could appear at any moment.

An important reason for the victory of the Greeks was the achievement of unity of action between the leading policies at the decisive moment of military clashes, in particular the unification of the forces of Sparta, Corinth and Athens. The combined forces of the Greeks were militarily inferior to the Persians in the number of people and equipment, but they were superior to them in the quality of their organization. The tactics of a cohesive, well-trained phalanx that can skillfully ma-

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During the battle, the army, consisting of heavily armed hoplites clad in armor, turned out to be much higher than the scattered formation of the Persians. The Greek hoplite defended his homeland, his shrines, the land of his ancestors and therefore possessed significantly higher moral and combat qualities than the forced soldiers of the Persian king, who sometimes had to be driven into battle with whips. The deliberate death of the Spartans and other Greeks at Thermopylae is the best example of this. During the crisis moments of the war, the Greeks produced talented commanders and polygyes. Miltiades, Pausanias, Themistocles, Cimon enriched the ancient military art, creatively developing all the possibilities inherent in the Greek military organization.

The victory over the strongest enemy had a huge impact on the development of all areas of socio-economic, political and cultural life ancient Greeks, contributed to the highest flourishing of ancient Greek civilization in the V-IV centuries. BC e.