The Persian War was the first large-scale international war in Europe and Asia in the history of the world. The war lasted for nearly half a century, and as a result, the Greek city-state and system survived, while the Persian Empire was devastated.
The Greek-Persian War is the abbreviation of the Greek-Persian War. It is a large-scale direct conflict and hegemony war between the western world headed by Greece and the eastern world headed by Persia in classical times. Persian War is one of the most influential wars in the history of ancient world. This war was recorded by Herodotus, the father of western historiography, in his masterpiece "History of the Greek-Persian War". The Sino-Persian War is of great significance to the development of the western world and even the whole ancient history.
1, the background of Persian war
The Persian War probably took place in the 6th century to 5th century BC. In the middle of 6th century BC, Persia, as a powerful empire, annexed Asia Minor, and the Greek city-states in this region were forced to pay tribute to Persian King Ju Lushi. In 500 BC, there was a city-state in Asia Minor called Miletus, which revolted and then asked Athens for help. In 494 BC, Perth completely returned to the rule of Asia Minor. At that time, King Darius I of Persia hated the Athenians and decided to take revenge.
2. The direct cause of the Greek-Persian war
The direct cause of Persian-Persian war is Persian oppression of the Greeks in Asia Minor and its resistance, as well as the intervention of Athens and other city-states. The deep-seated reason is that Persia wants to rule the whole Greek world and has the ambition to expand its territory.
3. War process
The first stage is the early stage of the war. From 492 BC to 479 BC. This period is mainly the stage of Persian attack and Greek defense. The second stage is the later period of the war. From 479 BC to 449 BC, this period was a period of counter-offensive by the Greeks. The two sides of the war reached an impasse.
As early as 492 BC, after the Persians conquered Macedonia, they were attacked by Thracians, and finally Persia retreated. In 490 BC, Persia invaded the Greek world again by land and sea, and then attacked Eritrea. In the same year, the joint forces of Athens and Pilate defeated the two wings of the Persian army in the famous marathon plain, and then the Athenian army returned to attack the middle road of Persia, which eventually led to the defeat of Persia. There were 6,400 deaths in Persia and only 192 casualties in Athens. So this campaign is a very famous marathon in history.
In order to tell the residents of Athens this important news, the Athenian army sent a soldier named Ferdinand, who was the general of Athens at that time. This soldier went to complete this task. This is the rapid speed of ice and rain from marathon to Athens central square. Then, when we arrived, we said to the long-awaited people of Athens in the square, "Let's cheer, we won." Then he fell to the ground and died heroically.
In 480 BC, a total of 7,200 Greek allied troops led by Sparta fought a bloody battle with Persian troops at a pass called Wenquanguan in central Greece for two days. The Persian army, led by a farmer in Biotia, returned to the side of the Greek Coalition forces, which led to a large-scale retreat of the Greek Coalition forces, but at this time only the Spartans stayed. Spartans, led by commander-in-chief Leonidas, only 300 Spartans fought against tens of thousands of Persian troops, and all the last 300 Spartans were killed. This movement is the famous hot spring pass movement.
After the Battle of Wenquanguan, the Greek allied forces retreated to Collins Isthmus to defend southern Greece, and the navy assembled in Salami Bay near Attica to fight a decisive battle with the Persian army. In the end, the Greek navy won. This battle is a very famous naval battle in Salami Bay. Through this campaign, the Greek Coalition forces destroyed the main force of the Persian navy and broke a plan for Persia to go hand in hand with land. It also greatly enhanced the confidence of the Greeks in fighting Persia. After this battle, the whole battle situation has changed.
In 479 BC,110,000 Greek allied forces and15,000 Persian troops just fought a very big battle in Platia, central Greece, and finally the Persian army was defeated. This is the battle of Platia. Persia's threat to Greece was temporarily eased. A very important thing happened in 478 BC. Sparta, the city-state that originally joined the Greek Coalition forces, suddenly withdrew from the war. As a result, Athens gained the command of the Greek Coalition forces. Then Athens took this opportunity to establish the Tyrol Union and continue to lead the war.
In 449 BC, Athens and Persia were both struggling to completely defeat each other, so they had to shake hands and make peace. Finally, the agreement signed by the two sides: 1 stipulates that Persia will first give up its hegemony over the Aegean Sea. Allow the Greek city-states of Asia Minor to be independent and recognize the sphere of influence of Athens. 2. In return, Athens did not interfere in the rule of other Persian territories. And no longer interfere in Egyptian affairs. This negotiation is also called "Caribbean peace". So the Greek-Persian war actually ended with the victory of the Greek Coalition forces, especially Athens. This is the whole process of Persian war.
4, the victory of the Greek coalition:
At the beginning of the war, the Greeks fought for their freedom and independence. The fighting was fierce. On the contrary, Persian armies were mostly oppressed peoples in conquered areas, so they were forced or hired to join the army. This Persian army is relatively passive in its operations. The Greek Coalition forces are superior to the Persian army in morale. 2. In several big battles, the Greek generals had obvious advantages in on-the-spot command and disposal. The heavy weapons of Greek soldiers are more suitable for group fighting than the light weapons of Persian army. 3. Bosh Army Labor Expedition. The weather is bad and the supply is insufficient.
5. The historical significance of the Persian War.
For the Persian Empire, this was the turning point of Persia from prosperity to decline. This war deprived the Persian Empire of its ability to expand. Hippo also created a lot of money for some Greek city-states to use slave labor. The demand of labor resources and society has made Greece's economy and politics increasingly prosperous and reached its peak. This greatly changed the political relations between Greek city-states. Previously, the dominance of the Spartan family was broken. After the war, Athens gradually became the hegemon of the Greek world. It created conditions for the development of Greek city-state politics nearby. It has promoted the further improvement of Greek democratic politics. It dealt a heavy blow to oligarchs and nobles.