BC490-471 Darius and Xerxes of Persia
In the twenty years from 490-471 BC Darius I of Persia (pictured) had been previously defeated by the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon in 491 BC by a Greek army led by the Athenian general Miltiades.
Darius I died in 486 BC and was succeeded by his son, Xerxes.
Xerxes I, sent a much more powerful force by land. After being delayed by the Spartan King Leonidas I at Thermopylae, Xerxes advanced into Attica, where he captured and burned Athens. But the Athenians had evacuated the city by sea, and under Themistocles they defeated the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC.
A year later, the Greeks, under the Spartan Pausanius, defeated the Persian army at Plataea.
The Athenian fleet then turned to chasing the Persians out of the Aegean Sea, and in 478 BC they captured Byzantium. Athens had enrolled all the island states and some mainland allies into an alliance, called the Delian League, to fight the Persians. The Spartans, although they had taken part in the war, withdrew into isolation after it, allowing Athens to establish unchallenged naval and commercial power.
By 480 BC, Gelo, the tyrant of Greek Syracuse, backed by support from other Greek city-states, was attempting to unite the island under his rule. This threat could not be ignored, and Carthage in alliance with Persia, declared war on Greece.
Carthage fielded its largest military force under the leadership of general Hamilcar. En route to Sicily, Hamilcar suffered losses due to poor weather. Landing at Panormus (Palermo), he was then defeated by Gelo at the Battle of Himera and died. This loss severely weakened Carthage, and the old government of entrenched nobility was ousted, replaced by the Carthaginian Republic.
Darius I died in 486 BC and was succeeded by his son, Xerxes.
Xerxes I, sent a much more powerful force by land. After being delayed by the Spartan King Leonidas I at Thermopylae, Xerxes advanced into Attica, where he captured and burned Athens. But the Athenians had evacuated the city by sea, and under Themistocles they defeated the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC.
A year later, the Greeks, under the Spartan Pausanius, defeated the Persian army at Plataea.
The Athenian fleet then turned to chasing the Persians out of the Aegean Sea, and in 478 BC they captured Byzantium. Athens had enrolled all the island states and some mainland allies into an alliance, called the Delian League, to fight the Persians. The Spartans, although they had taken part in the war, withdrew into isolation after it, allowing Athens to establish unchallenged naval and commercial power.
By 480 BC, Gelo, the tyrant of Greek Syracuse, backed by support from other Greek city-states, was attempting to unite the island under his rule. This threat could not be ignored, and Carthage in alliance with Persia, declared war on Greece.
Carthage fielded its largest military force under the leadership of general Hamilcar. En route to Sicily, Hamilcar suffered losses due to poor weather. Landing at Panormus (Palermo), he was then defeated by Gelo at the Battle of Himera and died. This loss severely weakened Carthage, and the old government of entrenched nobility was ousted, replaced by the Carthaginian Republic.
Labels: carthage, darius, gelo, hamilcar barca, leonidas, marathon, miltiades, persia, plataea, salamis, themistocles, thermopylae, xerxes
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