Darius came from the reigning Achaemenid dynasty, but was not close to the throne after the death of King Cambyses. He had little chance of ascending the throne, if not for the cunning of Darius, about which an ancient legend tells. King Cambyses killed his brother Bardia. Soon the ruler himself died around 522 BC. e. However, immediately after the death of the ruler, an impostor appeared, who in fact turned out to be the magician Gaumata, who claimed that he had miraculously escaped Bardia. The army took the side of Gaumata and the false Bardia managed to win a lot of love from the people. However, the Persian rulers, who were equal to the king and differed from him only in rank, suspected something was wrong and decided to get rid of the deceiver. The new king inherited the harem of his predecessor. One of the wives in him was the daughter of a noble Persian leader, who helped to reveal the deception. There were rumors that Gaumata's ears had been cut off for some crime. The wife confirmed that her new husband had no ears, so the rulers were confirmed in their rightness.
Darius I defeats the magician Gaumata
The leaders of the seven ancient Aryan tribes also enjoyed the privilege of entering the king without warning at any time. Darius gathered local rulers, at night they broke into the chambers of the impostor and killed him. Darius struck the decisive blow. Before the murder, the conspirators agreed that the throne would go to the one whose horse neighed first when they left the palace gates. Then Darius decided to cheat. He ordered his grooms to hide behind the gate a mare who had just recently given birth to a foal from his horse. As soon as the rulers left the gate, Darius's horse sensed the mare, rushed forward and neighed. Darius was unanimously recognized as the new ruler of Persia, however, to reinforce his position, Darius married the daughter of Cyrus the Great.
Darius inherited a vast empire stretching from Egypt to India. However, the conquered peoples did not want to live under the rule of the Persians, uprisings broke out here and there. Darius gathered an army and went to Babylon, believing that if he could calm him down, then other nations would also calm down. Babylon was conquered, and Darius put things in order in Media. Then the king went to Phoenicia, Egypt and invaded a number of Greek cities. In an effort to strengthen his influence on the eastern borders and seize Indian gold, he sent detachments to India. The Persians did not meet fierce resistance there and formed their easternmost province. The Persian Empire restored the size that it was under Cyrus the Great.
Darius I
Darius showed himself not only as a talented commander and conqueror, but also as a skilled organizer. He understood that it was difficult to manage such vast possessions, and divided the territory into satrapies. At the head of each such administrative unit was a satrap, who was appointed by the king, had administrative, judicial, military and financial control over the lands entrusted to him. However, the king understood that such great power was a great temptation, and appointed deputies to the satraps who would monitor their work and report everything personally to the king. Also in the satrapies were permanent royal garrisons, which were a force in opposition to the power of the satrap.
Persian Warriors
Darius also solved the problem with message delivery. One of the main problems of such a gigantic empire was that sometimes news and royal orders arrived half a year late. Then Darius instructed to create a system of "all-weather" roads and a courier service. On the way there were intermediate stations, where there were horses and riders, ready to continue the journey. Thus, the distance that previously had to be covered by one person in 3 months was covered in a week. In addition, the king settled the issue of sea communications. He decided to connect Egypt more closely with Mesopotamia and Iran and ordered the completion of a direct sea route. Work on digging a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea was begun under Pharaoh Necho, and was finally completed under the Persian king. Darius installed granite stelae at the Suez Canal, the inscription on which reads: “I am a Persian from Persia ... I conquered Egypt, decided to dig this canal from the river called the Nile, which flows in Egypt, to the sea that comes from Persia.” Also, under Darius, the collection of tribute from the satrapies was established and the first official Persian coinage was established.
Palace of Darius in Persepolis
The Persians were united by a single language and religion, especially the cult of the supreme god Ahuramazda. It was believed that it was he who bestowed power on the king, so the Persians swore to faithfully serve their king, as the governor of God. Darius often wrote: "By the will of Ahuramazda, I own this kingdom." As the size of the empire grew, so did the attitude towards religion. Power relied on the ancient Persian religion, which, meanwhile, absorbed many customs of the conquered peoples. However, the supreme deity continued to be Ahuramazda. Darius began to be called "king of kings" or "king of countries" to justify his conquests. At the same time, the king did all this at the will of the main deity.
With the blessing of his patron, Darius decided to organize trips to Europe. The first campaign took place in 513 BC. e., when the Persians decided to conquer the lands around the Black Sea and annex the possessions of the Scythians. But the nomads did not seek to fight the well-armed Persian army. They drove the cattle to the distant steppes, burned all the lands behind them and filled up the wells with water. The Persians very soon began to starve and die of thirst, discontent grew in the army and Darius took his troops home with nothing.
Battle of Marathon
But Darius did not think to calm down and began to prepare a new campaign, now against the Greeks. The outbreak of the Ionian uprising, although it was crushed by the Persians, provoked a series of Greco-Persian wars. For a long time, the Greeks were defeated by the troops of the Achaemenid Empire, but the battle of Marathon changed everything. Darius ordered the construction of ships, and in the fall of 490 BC. e. Thousands of Persian troops landed near the village of Marathon. The Persians were met, though small, but well-organized by the Athenian army under the leadership of Miltiades. The Greeks fought fiercely and were able to defeat the many times superior Persian army. According to legend, the Greeks sent a messenger, Phidippides, to Athens to tell the people the joyful news of the victory. The messenger ran 42 km without stopping between Marathon and Athens and, shouting: “Rejoice, Athenians, we have won!”, He fell from fatigue and died. For the Greeks, this victory was the first over the Persians, so it was of great importance. Darius, who suffered such a crushing defeat for the first time, took it simply as a failure. Persia was at the peak of its power and had enormous resources. Darius began to gather an army to conquer all of Greece, but he was distracted by an uprising in Egypt in 486 BC. e. Soon the Persian king died, and his throne was taken by Xerxes, who, having suppressed the Egyptian uprising, continued to prepare for the Greek campaign.
The legendary Persian king Darius I was a talented commander, conqueror, successor of Cyrus and Cambyses, the main founder of the Persian Empire. He subjugated the neighboring peoples and countries, his empire reached a million square miles. He was an excellent soldier and organizer, but if not for cunning, Darius would never have ascended the throne and would not have become one of the greatest kings of the Ancient East.
Darius came from the reigning Achaemenid dynasty, but was not close to the throne after the death of King Cambyses. He had little chance of ascending the throne, if not for the cunning of Darius, about which an ancient legend tells. King Cambyses killed his brother Bardia. Soon the ruler himself died around 522 BC. e. However, immediately after the death of the ruler, an impostor appeared, who in fact turned out to be the magician Gaumata, who claimed that he had miraculously escaped Bardia. The army took the side of Gaumata and the false Bardia managed to win a lot of love from the people. However, the Persian rulers, who were equal to the king and differed from him only in rank, suspected something was wrong and decided to get rid of the deceiver. The new king inherited the harem of his predecessor. One of the wives in him was the daughter of a noble Persian leader, who helped to reveal the deception. There were rumors that Gaumata's ears had been cut off for some crime. The wife confirmed that her new husband had no ears, so the rulers were confirmed in their rightness.
Darius I defeats the magician Gaumata
The leaders of the seven ancient Aryan tribes also enjoyed the privilege of entering the king without warning at any time. Darius gathered local rulers, at night they broke into the chambers of the impostor and killed him. Darius struck the decisive blow. Before the murder, the conspirators agreed that the throne would go to the one whose horse neighed first when they left the palace gates. Then Darius decided to cheat. He ordered his grooms to hide behind the gate a mare who had just recently given birth to a foal from his horse. As soon as the rulers left the gate, Darius's horse sensed the mare, rushed forward and neighed. Darius was unanimously recognized as the new ruler of Persia, however, to reinforce his position, Darius married the daughter of Cyrus the Great.
Darius inherited a vast empire stretching from Egypt to India. However, the conquered peoples did not want to live under the rule of the Persians, uprisings broke out here and there. Darius gathered an army and went to Babylon, believing that if he could calm him down, then other nations would also calm down. Babylon was conquered, and Darius put things in order in Media. Then the king went to Phoenicia, Egypt and invaded a number of Greek cities. In an effort to strengthen his influence on the eastern borders and seize Indian gold, he sent detachments to India. The Persians did not meet fierce resistance there and formed their easternmost province. The Persian Empire restored the size that it was under Cyrus the Great.
Darius I
Darius showed himself not only as a talented commander and conqueror, but also as a skilled organizer. He understood that it was difficult to manage such vast possessions, and divided the territory into satrapies. At the head of each such administrative unit was a satrap, who was appointed by the king, had administrative, judicial, military and financial control over the lands entrusted to him. However, the king understood that such great power was a great temptation, and appointed deputies to the satraps who would monitor their work and report everything personally to the king. Also in the satrapies were permanent royal garrisons, which were a force in opposition to the power of the satrap.
Persian Warriors
Darius also solved the problem with message delivery. One of the main problems of such a gigantic empire was that sometimes news and royal orders arrived half a year late. Then Darius instructed to create a system of "all-weather" roads and a courier service. On the way there were intermediate stations, where there were horses and riders, ready to continue the journey. Thus, the distance that previously had to be covered by one person in 3 months was covered in a week. In addition, the king settled the issue of sea communications. He decided to connect Egypt more closely with Mesopotamia and Iran and ordered the completion of a direct sea route. Work on digging a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea was begun under Pharaoh Necho, and was finally completed under the Persian king. Darius installed granite stelae at the Suez Canal, the inscription on which reads: “I am a Persian from Persia ... I conquered Egypt, decided to dig this canal from the river called the Nile, which flows in Egypt, to the sea that comes from Persia.” Also, under Darius, the collection of tribute from the satrapies was established and the first official Persian coinage was established.
Palace of Darius in Persepolis
The Persians were united by a single language and religion, especially the cult of the supreme god Ahuramazda. It was believed that it was he who bestowed power on the king, so the Persians swore to faithfully serve their king, as the governor of God. Darius often wrote: "By the will of Ahuramazda, I own this kingdom." As the size of the empire grew, so did the attitude towards religion. Power relied on the ancient Persian religion, which, meanwhile, absorbed many customs of the conquered peoples. However, the supreme deity continued to be Ahuramazda. Darius began to be called "king of kings" or "king of countries" to justify his conquests. At the same time, the king did all this at the will of the main deity.
With the blessing of his patron, Darius decided to organize trips to Europe. The first campaign took place in 513 BC. e., when the Persians decided to conquer the lands around the Black Sea and annex the possessions of the Scythians. But the nomads did not seek to fight the well-armed Persian army. They drove the cattle to the distant steppes, burned all the lands behind them and filled up the wells with water. The Persians very soon began to starve and die of thirst, discontent grew in the army and Darius took his troops home with nothing.
Battle of Marathon
But Darius did not think to calm down and began to prepare a new campaign, now against the Greeks. The outbreak of the Ionian uprising, although it was crushed by the Persians, provoked a series of Greco-Persian wars. For a long time, the Greeks were defeated by the troops of the Achaemenid Empire, but the battle of Marathon changed everything. Darius ordered the construction of ships, and in the fall of 490 BC. e. Thousands of Persian troops landed near the village of Marathon. The Persians were met, though small, but well-organized by the Athenian army under the leadership of Miltiades. The Greeks fought fiercely and were able to defeat the many times superior Persian army. According to legend, the Greeks sent a messenger, Phidippides, to Athens to tell the people the joyful news of the victory. The messenger ran 42 km without stopping between Marathon and Athens and, shouting: “Rejoice, Athenians, we have won!”, He fell from fatigue and died. For the Greeks, this victory was the first over the Persians, so it was of great importance. Darius, who suffered such a crushing defeat for the first time, took it simply as a failure. Persia was at the peak of its power and had enormous resources. Darius began to gather an army to conquer all of Greece, but he was distracted by an uprising in Egypt in 486 BC. e. Soon the Persian king died, and his throne was taken by Xerxes, who, having suppressed the Egyptian uprising, continued to prepare for the Greek campaign.
Darius I- Persian king who ruled in 522-486 BC Under him, the Persian Empire further expanded its borders and reached its highest power. It united many countries and peoples. The Persian Empire was called the "country of countries", and its ruler, the Shahinshah, was called the "king of kings". All subjects obeyed him unquestioningly - from the noble Persians, who occupied the highest posts in the state, to the last slave.
He created an effective, but very despotic system of governing the country, which he divided into 20 provinces - satrapies, giving the rulers unlimited powers. But they were responsible for the order in the entrusted territory with their head. Throughout the Persian Empire, special officials collected taxes for the royal treasury. Severe punishment awaited all those who evaded. No one could hide from paying taxes. Roads reached the most remote corners of the Persian Empire. In order for the orders of the king to reach the provinces faster and more reliably, Darius established a state post office. A special "royal" road connected the most important cities of the Persian Empire. Special posts were set up on it. It could only be traveled on state business. Darius updated the monetary system. Under him, gold coins began to be minted, which were called "dariki". Trade flourished in the Persian Empire, grandiose construction was carried out, crafts developed. Standardized measures and weights; the function of a single trading language began to perform Aramaic; roads and canals were built, in particular, the great royal route from Sardis, in the western part of Asia Minor, to Susa, east of the Tigris, and the canal that connected the Nile with the Red Sea resumed operation. Darius I built a new capital, Persepolis. It was erected on an artificial platform. In the royal palace there was a huge throne room where the king received ambassadors.
Darius I expanded his possessions, including in them the north-west of India, Armenia, Thrace. The participation of the Balkan Greeks in the affairs of their relatives from Asia Minor, captured by the Persians, made Darius decide to conquer Greece. Twice Darius's campaign against the Greeks ended unsuccessfully: the first time a storm scattered the ships of the Persians (490 BC), the second time they were defeated in the Battle of Marathon (486 BC). Darius died at an advanced age, before he could complete the conquest, at the age of sixty-four, his son Xerxes I became his successor.
In the middle of the VI century BC. That is, a hitherto little-known tribe, the Persians, entered the historical arena, who, by the will of fate, soon managed to create the greatest empire at that time, a powerful state that stretched from Egypt and Libya to the borders. In their conquests, the Persians were active and insatiable, and only courage and courage during the Greco-Persian wars managed to stop their further expansion into Europe. But who were the ancient Persians, what is their history, culture? Read about all this further in our article.
But first, let's answer the question of where ancient Persia is located, or rather, where it was located. The territory of Persia at the time of its highest prosperity stretched from the borders of India in the East to modern Libya in North Africa and part of mainland Greece in the West (those lands that the Persians managed to conquer from the Greeks for a short time).
This is what ancient Persia looks like on a map.
The origin of the Persians is associated with the warlike nomadic tribes of the Aryans, some of whom settled on the territory of the modern state of Iran (the word "Iran" itself comes from ancient name"Ariana", which means "country of the Aryans"). Caught on fertile lands Iranian highlands, they switched from a nomadic to a settled way of life, nevertheless, retaining their military traditions of nomads, and the simplicity of morals characteristic of many nomadic tribes.
The history of ancient Persia as a great power of the past begins in the middle of the 6th century BC. e. when, under the leadership of a talented leader (later the Persian king) Cyrus II, the Persians first completely conquered Media, one of the large states of the then East. And then they began to threaten themselves, which at that time was the greatest power of antiquity.
And already in 539, near the city of Opis, on the Tiber River, a decisive battle took place between the armies of the Persians and the Babylonians, which ended in a brilliant victory for the Persians, the Babylonians were completely defeated, and Babylon itself, the greatest city of antiquity for many centuries, was part of the newly formed Persian empire. . In just a dozen years, the Persians from a seedy tribe turned into truly the rulers of the East.
Such a crushing success of the Persians, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, was facilitated, first of all, by the simplicity and modesty of the latter. And of course iron military discipline in their troops. Even having gained enormous wealth and power over many other tribes and peoples, the Persians continued to revere these virtues, simplicity and modesty most of all. Interestingly, during the coronation of the Persian kings, the future king had to put on clothes common man and eat a handful of dried figs, and drink a glass of sour milk - the food of commoners, which, as it were, symbolized his connection with the people.
But back to the history of the Persian Empire, the successors of Cyrus II, the Persian kings Cambyses and Darius, continued their active policy of conquest. Thus, under Cambyses, the Persians invaded Ancient Egypt, which was going through a political crisis at that time. By defeating the Egyptians, the Persians turned this cradle ancient civilization, Egypt to one of its satrapies (provinces).
King Darius actively strengthened the borders of the Persian state, both in the East and in the West, under his rule, ancient Persia reached the pinnacle of its power, almost the entire civilized world of that time was under its rule. With the exception of ancient greece in the West, which did not give rest to the warlike Persian kings, and soon the Persians, under the reign of King Xerxes, the heir of Darius, tried to subdue these wayward and freedom-loving Greeks, but it was not there.
Despite the numerical superiority, military luck for the first time betrayed the Persians. In a number of battles, they suffered a series of crushing defeats from the Greeks, however, at some stage they managed to conquer a number of Greek territories and even sack Athens, but still the Greco-Persian wars ended in a crushing defeat for the Persian Empire.
From now on, no time great country entered a period of decline, the Persian kings, who grew up in luxury, increasingly forgot the former virtues of modesty and simplicity, which were so valued by their ancestors. Many conquered countries and peoples were just waiting for the moment to rise up against the hated Persians, their enslavers and conquerors. And such a moment has come - Alexander the Great, at the head of the united Greek army, has already attacked Persia himself.
It seemed that the Persian troops would wipe out this arrogant Greek (more precisely, not even quite a Greek - Macedonian) to powder, but everything turned out to be completely different, the Persians again suffer crushing defeats, one after another, a close-knit Greek phalanx, this tank of antiquity, over and over again crushes superior Persian forces. The peoples once conquered by the Persians, seeing what is happening, also rebel against their rulers, the Egyptians even meet the army of Alexander as liberators from the hated Persians. Persia turned out to be a real ear of clay with feet of clay, formidable in appearance, it was crushed thanks to the military and political genius of one Macedonian.
The conquests of Alexander the Great turned out to be a disaster for the Persians, who, in order to replace their arrogant power over other peoples, had to humiliately submit to ancient enemies - the Greeks. Only in the II century BC. e. the tribes of the Parthians managed to expel the Greeks from Asia Minor, although the Parthians themselves adopted a lot of things from the Greeks. And in the year 226 of our era, a certain ruler of Pars with the ancient Persian name Ardashir (Artaxerxes) raised an uprising against the ruling Parthian dynasty. The uprising was successful and ended with the restoration of the Persian power, the Sassanid state, which historians call the "second Persian empire" or the "Sasanian revival".
The Sasanian rulers sought to revive the former greatness of ancient Persia, which at that time had already become a semi-legendary power. And it was under them that a new flowering of Iranian, Persian culture began, which everywhere displaces Greek culture. Temples are being actively built, new palaces in the Persian style, wars are being waged with neighbors, but not as successfully as in the old days. The territory of the new Sasanian state at times smaller sizes former Persia, it is located only on the site of modern Iran, the actual ancestral home of the Persians and also covers part of the territory of modern Iraq, Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Sasanian state existed for more than four centuries, until exhausted by continuous wars, it was finally conquered by the Arabs, who carried the banner of a new religion - Islam.
The culture of ancient Persia is most noticeable by their system government controlled which even the ancient Greeks admired. In their opinion, this form of government was the pinnacle of monarchical rule. The Persian state was divided into so-called satrapies, headed by the satrap itself, which means “guardian of order”. In fact, the satrap was a local governor-general, whose broad duties included maintaining order in the territories entrusted to him, collecting taxes, administering justice, and commanding local military garrisons.
Another important achievement Persian civilization had beautiful roads described by Herodotus and Xenophon. The most famous was the royal road running from Ephesus in Asia Minor to the city of Susa in the East.
The post office also functioned well in ancient Persia, which was also greatly facilitated by good roads. Also in ancient Persia, trade was very developed, a well-thought-out tax system similar to the modern one functioned throughout the state, in which part of the taxes and taxes went to conditional local budgets, while part went to the central government. Persian kings had a monopoly on the minting of gold coins, while their satraps could also mint their own coins, but only silver or copper. The “local money” of the satraps circulated only in a certain territory, while the gold coins of the Persian kings were a universal means of payment throughout the Persian empire and even beyond.
Coins of Persia.
Writing in ancient Persia had an active development, so there were several types of it: from pictograms to the alphabet invented in its time. The official language of the Persian kingdom was Aramaic, coming from the ancient Assyrians.
The art of ancient Persia is represented by local sculpture and architecture. For example, bas-reliefs of Persian kings skillfully carved in stone have survived to this day.
Persian palaces and temples were famous for their luxurious decoration.
Here is an image of a Persian master.
Unfortunately, other forms of ancient Persian art have not come down to us.
The religion of ancient Persia is represented by a very interesting religious doctrine - Zoroastrianism, named so thanks to the founder of this religion, the sage, the prophet (and possibly the magician) Zoroaster (aka Zarathushtra). At the heart of the teachings of Zoroastrianism lies the eternal opposition of good and evil, where the good beginning is represented by the god Ahura Mazda. The wisdom and revelation of Zarathushtra are presented in the sacred book of Zoroastrianism - the Zend-Avesta. In fact, this religion of the ancient Persians has a lot in common with other monotheistic later religions, such as Christianity and Islam:
In a word, as we can see, the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism is strikingly different from the pagan religions of many other peoples, and is very similar in nature to the later global religions of Christianity and Islam, and by the way, it still exists today. After the fall of the Sassanid state, the final collapse of Persian culture and religion in particular occurred, since the conquering Arabs carried the banner of Islam with them. Many Persians also converted to Islam at this time and assimilated with the Arabs. But there was a part of the Persians who wanted to remain true to their ancient religion Zoroastrianism, fleeing the religious persecution of Muslims, they fled to India, where they have preserved their religion and culture to this day. Now they are known under the name of the Parsis, on the territory of modern India and today there are many Zoroastrian temples, as well as adherents of this religion, real descendants of the ancient Persians.
And finally, interesting documentary about ancient Persia - "The Persian Empire - an empire of greatness and wealth."
At the beginning of the 5th century BC e. " great king"Darius, the ruler of the Persian state, spread over the vast expanses of the East, is eager to conquer Greece.
In 490 BC. e. his army lands on the field of Marathon, in the north of Attica - a small area near Athens. The Athenian army was alone. Reinforcements from other Greek cities did not have time to approach, with the exception of a detachment from the neighboring town of Plataea, in Boeotia. Help from Sparta, the second most important Greek city after Athens, was delayed due to religious holidays.
Consisting of citizens armed on the occasion of the war, the Athenian army under the command of Miltiades courageously met the Persian army, consisting of mercenaries and outnumbering twice (20,000 soldiers against 10,000).
The Persians managed to break through the central ranks of the Athenian army, but the Athenians repulsed the attack on the flanks. Ultimately, the Athenians won, but the Persians managed to board the ships and escape from the battlefield. A messenger sent to Athens with a message of victory runs a distance of forty kilometers and falls dead. The "marathon", known today as the long distance race, traces its origins to this victory at the Marathon.
Dwarf - small city Athens - defeated the giant - the Persian Empire.
Persian Empire
To understand the origins of these events, you need to look into the past.
In the middle of the VI century. BC e. Persians and Medes, who spoke Indo-European languages and inhabited the plateaus of Iran, were united under the rule of the "king of kings". In the east they conquered lands as far as the Indus, in the west they conquered Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia (today's Asiatic Turkey), then Phoenicia and Egypt.
In 521 BC. e. Darius I introduces a series of transformations. A postal road with 111 stations connected Asia Minor with Persia. The Aramaic language of the Semitic group, which was spoken in Syria, becomes the official language. In the provinces appear representatives of the king - satraps. Unlike many previous conquerors, the Persians treated customs and cults with respect. But they replaced the power of the former rulers with their own.
Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor and on part of the islands of the Aegean archipelago recognized the authority of the Persian "king of kings".
In 499 BC. e. the Greek city of Miletus revolted against the Persian yoke and drew others into it Greek cities Asia Minor. The uprising is crushed. However, the "great king" did not forgive Athens for helping the rebels. He wants to punish Athens and conquer all of Greece.
The Persian fleet lands an expeditionary force at Marathon. It was he who suffered the defeat, which was described above.
Ten years later, the son and successor of Darius Xerxes undertook a new campaign; this is the second "Indian war". This time, a huge land army crosses the straits and invades Europe. She is accompanied by a fleet.
Realizing the danger, the Greeks united. A detachment of Spartans under the command of King Leonidas died in the gorge of Thermopylae, trying to close the road to the Persians. at the cost heavy losses the Persians won.
Athens is captured, but the inhabitants take refuge on the neighboring islands under the protection of a strong fleet, prudently created at the initiative of Themistocles.
In 480 BC. e. this fleet defeated the Persian naval forces in the Battle of Salamis. The next year, in the land battle of Plataea, the Persians were defeated and forced to leave Greece.
Greece in the 5th century BC
After the victory in two "median wars" Athens reached the highest point of its development.
Unlike Sparta, where there is an aristocratic regime (power belongs to a small group of representatives of noble families), Athens chose a democratic system. Democracy means "rule by the people", but only citizens who have political rights are recognized as "people". Neither foreigners and their descendants meteks (cohabitants), nor slaves have political rights. Total in Athens in the 5th century. BC e. there are 200,000 slaves, 70,000 metecs and 140,000 citizens. This means that this is not democracy, as we understand it today.
Athenian democracy is a direct democracy: an assembly of citizens, held three to four times a week in the central city square, elects officials (some of them are appointed by lot - it is believed that the choice of the gods fell on them).
A trading and maritime city, Athens united its allies in the "Medes Wars", and these were mainly cities on the islands and on the coast of Asia Minor, in the Delian Union. But very soon equal relations gave way to the control of Athens over the allies, and the confederation turns into an empire. The contributions of the allies become requisitions, and garrisons of Athenian settlers are withdrawn to their lands, which occupy a strategic position.
Based on their wealth, Athens built monuments, the most famous of which was the Parthenon, the temple of the goddess Athena, the patroness of the city, located on the Acropolis. In addition, Athens and its port of Piraeus are surrounded
Fortifications. They are connected by a road, on the sides of which defensive "long walls" are erected.
The theater of Dionysus can accommodate from 15 to 30 thousand spectators, it became famous for the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the comedies of Aristophanes.
Thucydides, who will tell about the Peloponnesian War, is the first real historian. The Sophists and their opponent Socrates, whose student Plato would become, glorified philosophy.
With them we enter the era that followed the time highest development Athens.
It covers thirty years, between 461 and 431. BC e. This time will be called the "age of Pericles", which is debatable.
Pericles, a wealthy Athenian of aristocratic origin, holds the only elected post of strategist (one of ten military commanders). In addition, he is the leader of the Democratic Party.
At the end of the 5th century BC e. A coalition led by Sparta is formed against Athens. Sparta dominates the land, Athens the sea. The Athenians defend themselves in their fortified territory, but Attica is captured and defeated.
This is the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), it ended with the defeat of Athens.
In the IV century. BC e. Greek cities are exhausted by endless wars. In 338 BC. e. The king of Macedonia, a Hellenized country to the north of Greece, conquered Greece and established his dominion over the Greek cities.
