Persian king Xerxes I is one of the most famous characters of the ancient history of mankind.Actually, it was this ruler led his troops to Greece in the first half of the V century.It was he who fought with the Athenian hoplites in the battle of Marathon and the Spartans in the very widely promoted today in the popular literature and film Battle of Thermopylae.
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Persia at the beginning of the V century BC was young, but aggressive and already powerful empire, who managed to win a number of Eastern peoples.Among other areas, the Persian king Darius also mastered the Greek colonies, some of the policies in Asia Minor (modern Turkey).During the Persian rule among the Greek population of the Persian satrapies - so-called administrative territorial units of the Persian state - often revolts protesting against the new order of eastern invaders.It help these colonies of Athens in one of these revolts led to the beginning of the Greco-Persian conflict.
Battle of Marathon
first pitched battle of the Persian and Greek troops landing (Athenians and Plataeans) was the battle of Marathon, which took place in 490 BC.Thanks to the talent of the Greek general Miltiades, who skillfully used the system hoplites, their long spears, as well as the slope of the terrain (the Greeks oppress the Persians from the slope down), the Athenians won, stopping first invasion of the Persians in their country.Interestingly, this battle is related modern sports discipline "marathon", which is a distance of 42 km.It is so much antique messenger ran from the site of the battle to Athens to announce the victory of compatriots and drop dead.Preparing a massive invasion prevented the death of Darius.On the throne the Persian king Xerxes, the new I, continued his father's work.
Battle of Thermopylae and the three hundred Spartans
second invasion began in 480 BC.King Xerxes led a large army of 200 thousand. People (according to modern historians).Very quickly, it was conquered Macedonia and Thrace, and then the invasion from the north Boeotia, Attica and the Peloponnese.Even the coalition forces Greek city could not withstand so many forces, gathered from many nations of the Persian Empire.Faint hope the Greeks was the opportunity to take the battle in a narrow space through which the Persian army in its way south - Thermopylae Gorge.The numerical advantage of the enemy here would be not so much that leaves no hope of winning.The legend that the Persian king Xerxes was almost a bit here three hundred Spartan warriors - an exaggeration.In fact, in this battle participated from 5 to 7 thousand. Greek soldiers from different policies, not only Spartan.And the width of the gorge this amount was more than enough to successfully deter the enemy two days.Disciplined Greek phalanx exactly hold the line, really stopping hordes of Persians.No one knows what would have ended the battle, but the Greeks were betrayed by one of the residents of the local village - Ephialtes.The man who showed the Persians a workaround.When King Leonidas learned about the betrayal, he sent troops to policies to regroup forces remained on the defensive and delaying the Persians with a small detachment.Now they really had very little - about 500 souls.But no miracle happened, almost all of the defenders were killed on the same day.
That was then
Battle of Thermopylae had not fulfilled the task that confers on it the Greek men, but it has become an inspirational example of heroism for the other defenders of the country.The Persian king Xerxes I still managed to win here, but later suffered a crushing defeat: the sea - a month later at Salamis, and on land - at the Battle of Plataea.Greco-Persian wars continued for the next thirty years as a protracted low-intensity conflicts in which the advantage is increasingly sided with policyholders.
