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Ancient Wars
The Ancient period is generally accepted as being 600 BCE to 500 CE, before which was the Archaic period, and after which began the Medieval period. However as there is not an Archaic Wars category, it is acceptable to post pre-500 BCE military questions in this area.
1,657 Questions
How did Themistocles save Greece from the Persians?
He pretended he would bring Athenian navy over to Persia in the battle of Salamis, and told them the reek navy woul flee to the west, persuading the Persians to send a third of their fleet to cover that, and so equalled up the opposing fleets.
What pass did 300 Spartans hold of the Persians?
King Leonidas and the 300 Spartan armoured warriors who were his personal bodyguard, with 2,100 Spartan light infantry, who along with 700 Thespians and about 4,000 warriors from from other Greek cities fought the battle in August-September 480 BCE to force a sea battle in the nearby Malian Guld to destroy the Persian navy.
Most of the other city warriors were sent off before the end of the battle to get inside friendly walls before the Persian cavalry broke through and rode them down, and the 2,400 Spartans and 700 Thespians fought to the death to give them the chance to get away. Leonidas also kept the Theban contingent as he suspected them of switching sides - during the final fight they quickly surrendered.
Why was the sea important to the Athens during the peloponnesian war?
Athens had a superior navy.
It also had long walls protecting the city and its port.
This allowed Athens to withstand seige indefinitely as it could import food.
It could also send out its fleet to attack the home cities of its adversaries and collect funds from its empire to finance the war and its supply.
Athenian who ran from Marathon to Athens?
The whole 9,000 warriors of the Athenian army ran back to Athens when, after defeating the Persian infantry, they realised that the Persian cavalry was being rowed around the peninsul to capture the city with traitors opening the gates for them. This 26 mile run got them back just in time to frustrate the scheme, and the Persians went home.
There is a story that Pheideppedes carried the news - he had been dead for a couple of weeks - he had been sent to Sparta to summon them to help and died after the 120 mile round trip, a great effort but not the Marathon run.
How did the Greek ships differ than those of the Persians in the battle of Thermopylae?
The battle of Thermopylae was on land - a small Greek land force holding the pass for three days. The purpose of holding the pass was to encourage the Persians to use their fleet to bypass the blockage and the Greek fleet was waiting to pounce on the Persian ships in the narrow waters between Thermopylai and the island of Euboea at Artemesion, which is the name of the naval battle you are asking about.
The Greek ships were lighter and more manoeuvrable than the Persian ships. The Persians relied on closing with the opposition and boarding. The Greeks relied on avoiding and ramming their opponents.
Unfortunately for the Greeks it didn't work. After three days of skirmishing then close battle, they lost the sea battle of Artemesion and retired back to Salamis to try again. The delaying force at Thermopylai, its delaying mission complete, withdrew covered by a reargued of 2,300 Spartans and 1400 Thespians who were all lost.
What major greek city fought off the Persians?
There were about two hundred of them in Greece and Asia Minor.
What kind of weapons did the Ancient Assyrians use?
The Assyrians were feared for their military strength and cruelty. They used horses and iron weapons during war. The Assyrians are also credited for developing siege. They would camp around a city and attack it repeatedly, until the city collapsed. Assyrians used battering rams, which would drive poles on wheels through city walls. They even built movable towers and climbed over the walls to attack the city within. They forced entire populations to leave conquered areas. In this way, Assyrians expanded their territory as far west as modern Egypt.
How did the Persians and Greeks interact?
Generally they were in opposition and sometimes at war.
At times some of the Greek city-states were allies of Persia. At other times Persia ruled large numbers of Greek cities and tried to keep them peaceful with mixed success.
Which of Aksum's achievements has continued into modern times?
yssup (read backwards) of course -- Nooo its tnuc (backwards) gaf
What were the factors that brought about Athens defeat in the Peloponnesian War?
A sudden outbreak of plague that destroyed 2/3's of the Athenian population and a soon following defeat against Sparta's ally Syria in war. (What do you know you really DO use world history in real life)
Addendum
The plague was a factor but the two thirds loss is questionable. And even after that setback, they did rather well for the next 20 years of the war. A more serious loss was the early death of Pericles which deprived them of his steadying hand, and left the democracy to being swayed the erratic demagogues.
Other factors were:
1. Athenian adventurousness - their foray in Sicily against Syracuse cost them dearly in manpower, ships and money, seriously weakening their military capacity.
2. Persian financial support to the Spartan alliancewhich enabled them to assemble a fleet which could match the hitherto dominant Athenian fleet.
Who were Athens's allies in the peloponnesian war?
Sparta & Athens were similar because they both were located in Greece but Athens introduced Democracy and Sparta were important because of its army. Also Both had same religion and spoke same language.
What kind of contributions did the Persians give?
Do you want to clarify to whom and when?
One contribution they made was to the Spartan alliance late in the Peloponnesian War to enable the Spartan alliance to develop a navy which could match the Athenian one, leading to Athens' downfall.
Another contribution was their attempts to bring peace and order to the Western Mediterranean, which was why they invaded peninsular Greece in 480 (unsuccessfully), supported the Spartan alliance in the Peloponnesian War, and finally imposed the King's Peace in 387 BCE to end the endless ongoing wars between the Greek city-states which disrupted the whole region.
Who was the man that ran from Marathon to Athens to tell the victory?
A common story is that it was Philippides, however he was dead by then, having been sent to Sparta to summon their assistance, and came back hallucinating and died from the stress of the 120 km run.
After the battle, the Athenians realised that the Persian cavalry had been embarked and was being rowed around the Sunion peninsula to then gallop up and take Athens with traitors opening the gates of the city for them. The Athenian army ran the 26 miles over the hills with their armour and weapons to form up in front of the city just as the Persian cavalry was disembarking. The Persians, having lost their infantry, and frustrated in their next attempt, went home.
So the direct answer to the question is 9,000 warriors ran from Marathon to Athens.
This mass run was the origin of the Marathon race. Runners today get it pretty easy without the shields, armour, weapons and sandals of the first runners.
How did the Battle of Thermopylae help Athens?
It bought time.
If the battle hadn't taken place then the Athenians would not have been able to retreat around the coast and eventually use its navy to mount a counter-attack.
Another view:
It helped them not at all. They had all the time they needed to evacuate their city and prepare for battle in the months that the Persian army and fleet assembled in Asia Minor and ponderously made their way across into Europe and down the coast of Greece.
The purpose of the Thermopylai defence was to provoke a sea battle in the strait opposite at Artemesion. The sea battle failed, and was successfully refought by the Greek navies at Salamis.
For more information on the strategies of both sides see the related question below:
How did the Persians defeat the Spartans in the battle of thermopylae?
At Thermopylae the Greeks held the only pass through the mountains and shore line,Persian King Xerxes thought,and after several attempts to clear the defending Greeks out and after suffering heavy casualties against the very tough Greek Phalanx he was perplexed on how to proceed next when a Greek informer told Xerxes about a path that went around the Greeks and came down on the other side of the narrow pass,of course he exploited it and eliminated Spartan King Leonidas,his personal body guard of 300 and his Greek allies to the man.Its not known how many Persians were killed at Thermopylae but its believed to be between 10,000 to as many as 20,000 including many of Xerxes' famous Immortals.
Most men in Athens became what?
Most men in Athens became farmers, traders, skilled craftsmen and rowers in the fleet (and public servants from the Pricles era).They could also be called out for military service.
Did the Athenians make a deal with the Persians in the Peloponnesian War?
No. As leader of the anti-Persian Delian League they were natural enemies. The Persians provided money to the opposing Peloponnesian League led by Sparta.
Who were the citizens in Athens?
I think it is all men born in Athensor maybe all men and women born in athens
What was the major reason for Sparta's victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War?
Persia provided a financial subsidy to Sparta which enabled it to double the pay of seamen and rowers, which Athens could not afford to match. This gave the Spartan alliance sea-parity with the Athenians. By careful planning they were able to catch the Athenian fleet beached with its crews dispersed feeding themselves at Aigospotamai, and captured it. Athens, without sea power and and penned up in the city, with no way of raising funds from its allies (empire) or procuring food, had to surrender.
How did the Persians strengthen their empire?
the persians strenthen their empire by being under attack alot they became so strong they cauld almost beat the athalots
Why were the Spartans and Athens at war?
The differences were not great - Sparta had a government which was a limited democracy - that is that is it was limited to the adult males who also comprised the army; they met in assembly and made decisions on matters put before them by the council.
Athens started that way but progressively moved to a broader , then a radical democracy (however no women or other slaves need apply).
Both states had executive leadership, but both were constrained by the direct votes of the electorate on important issues.
They became allies when their interests coincided - especially in the face of the Persian threat. Then Athens helped Sparta when part of its territory revolted.
The split began when Athens began to create its empire by manipulating the anti-Persian league formed after the Xerxes invasion was driven off. Athens progressively used the funds for its own benefit and became aggressive throughout the Greek world, which caused a polarisation of city-states behind Athens and Sparta respectively. The split grew and war betwen both blocs ensued (the 27-year Peloponnesian War).
Who was the king of the Greek empire who defeated the Persians?
The Macedonian King who conquered the Persians after three major battles was Alexander the Great. Alexander was the son of King Philip II who united Greece under Macedonian hegemony and was planning on invading the Persian Empire (in order to free the Greeks of asia minor who were being harassed and persecuted by the Persians) but was assassinated before he could invade, passing the responsibility on to his young son, Alexander.
