What was the cause for the Persian war?

Answer 1

By the year 800 BC the Greek city-states had bred too many people and sent out their surplus populations to seize territory and establish new city-states around the Mediterranean and Black seas. The Persians, expanding their empire westward, took in the Greek cities in Asia Minor. These cities were conned into revolt by the Greek tyrant of Miletus, and the Persians spent 499-493 BCE putting it down.

The Eritrea and Athenian city-states had sent forces to help their kindred in this war, and Persia sent a punitive expedition to capture them and install friendly local tyrants. This expedition was turned back at Marathon in 490 BCE.

The Persians then decided that the only way to bring peace was to bring all the Greek city-states under control, and launched an invasion of mainland Greece 480-479 BCE. It failed, and sporadic warfare went on until 449 BCE, when the Persians gave up and left the Greeks to go back to fighting each other and tried to ring-fence them to stop it spilling over into their empire.

Answer 2

The Persian Empire had about 200 Greek city-states within it in Asia Minor. These cities revolted, the Persians suppressed it, Greek city-states outside the empire intervened and so the war spread.

Answer 3

The Greek cities in Asia Minor revolted against Persian rule. The Persians put the revolt down, then turned on the Greek cities in peninsular Greece and the Islands. Persian forces were defeated when they tried to bring these cities into its empire. Further battles continued until the Persians gave up and agreed to leave the Greek cities alone, and these cities went back to their interrupted fighting amongst each other. The Persian Wars lasted fifty years - 499-449 BCE.

Answer 4

Persia was looking for stability amogst its peoples so that they could prosper. Within the empire were many Greek city-states whic from time to time revolted. These revolts were supported by Greek city-states in mainland Greece which were the parent cities which had establised those coloies in Asia Minor, the Islands and the Blck Sea littoral.

When there was a major revold at the beginning of the 5th Century BCE, Athens and Eretria sent forces to support Miletus, and in the process went too far by burning down the Persian provincial capital of Sardis. Persia retaliated in 490 BCE by capturing Eretria but their expeditionary force was defeated by Athens on the plain of Marathon.

Persia realised as a result the Greek mainland cities would be encouraged to continue on interfering and decided to include mainland Greece within their empire to establish an ethnic frontier, installing puppet governments in mainland Greece under a Persian governor.

Having gained control of northern Greece by diplomacy, bribes and occupation, they moved on to southern Greece with a major land and naval force to finalise the takeover. Some cities went over to Persia, the remainder united to resist Artemesionx (naval), Salamis (naval), Plataia (land) and Mykale (land).

Answer 5

The Greek city-states within the Persian Empire in Asia Minor revolted in 499 BCE.

The mainland Greek city-states of Eretria and Athens sent contingents to help them, and after the revolt was put down, Persia sent a punitive expedition to bring those two cities under control of local tyrants to ensure they did no cause trouble again. However this expedition was defeated at Marathon, so the Persians decided to bring all of Greece under control and mounted a major invasion 480-479 BCE.

This also failed and the war went on until 449 BCE, when peace was declared and Persia agreed to stay away from the Greek city-states.

Answer 6

Persia wanted to maintain peace and prosperity within its empire. The Greek cities within its empire revolted and Greek cities outside the empire intervened in support of them.

Persia decided to put an end to this by incorporating them into the empire. The war spread.

Answer 7

1. The Greek cities in the Persian Empire revolted in the Ionian Revolt.

2. This spilt over to the Greek cities in the Eastern Mediterranean.