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The Persian Wars


            King Croesus of Lydia conquered Ionia of Greece, which was the birthplace of the Persian Wars. When Cyrus of Persia usurped the throne of Ionia around 547 BC, he favored a rule of tyrants for the Ionians. This would help out Persia in that it provided easier tribute and control. Strangely enough, the Ionians did not revolt until around 499 BC. Darius was king at the time and trouble began to stir as the tyrants yearned for a democracy. The Ionians, with the aid of the Athenians and Eretrians, razed Sardis, the old Lydian capital and the main government center. Nevertheless, it was likely that the Ionia's aid neglected them because around 494 BC, the Persians defeated the Ionian Navy, ending the rebellion. Darius vowed for revenge on the Athenians and thus, began the Persian Wars.
             Around 590 BC, Darius directed a Persian fleet of about 25,000 men or more to arrive at a land northeast of Athens, Marathon. Surprisingly, the Persians met up with neatly arranged phalanxes of 10,000 Athenian soldiers. The Athenians immediately charged with no hesitation since they were pompous and efficient when it came to land combat. The Persians, in contrast, wore light armor and were not efficient land combaters. After several hours, the Persians finally retreated. The Persians had a casualty of 6,400 and amazingly, the Greeks had a casualty of only 192.
             In 480 BC, Darius passed away leaving his heir, Xerxes, to be head of throne. He wanted to finish off the war by conquering the rest of Greece but that wouldn't come too easily. Xerxes tried to penetrate Athens once again. The Greeks were torn at the time, so Xerxes had little resistance as he and his army marched their way down the eastern coast of Greece. They arrived at a narrow mountain passage at Thermopylae where 7,000 Greeks and 300 Spartans were waiting for them. The battle went on for three days before a Greek traitor told the Persians of a secret passageway around the cliffs.


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