Explain the Greek-Persian War

Answer 1

The Greek cities of Asia Minor, part of the Persian Empire, revolted in 499 BCE. This was put down by 494 BCE, however the mainland Greece cities of Eretria and Athens had supported the revolt so the Persian king Darius, decided to punish the two cities as a warning to the other Mainland cities of Greece to stay out of his territory in Asia, and sent an expeditionary force to capture them and appoint local tyrants to continue to keep them under control. When this was turned back at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, he decided to bring all the Greek cities under control, leading to the failed invasion by his son Xerxes 480-479 BCE.

After this defeat, Sparta, which had led resistance, wanted to evacuate the Asian Greek cities back to Mainland Greece. Athens wanted to drive the Persians back in Asia Minor and led a consortium of 180 cities (Delian League) in spasmodic warfare over the the next 30 years, until the Persians gave up in 449 BCE, and left the Greek cities to go back to their usual fighting each other.

Interestingly, the Spartan solution was adopted over 2,000 years later after World War 1, when the large Greek population of Asia Minor, under Turkish rule, was evacuated back to Greece in 1922 after the Greek forces were defeated.