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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 the scythians help the Persians?
They were not really helpmates of the Persians. They repelled a late 6th Century BCE invasion by Persia led by Darius I, who barely escaped wit help from some of the Ionian Greek city-states within his empire.
Where the Cyclades in any war?
As part of the Greek world in the Aegean Sea the islands were caught up in the semi-continuous wars which characterised the Greek world for hundreds of years.
What was the terrain in the Battle of Thermopylae?
A pass with the sea on one side and mountains on the other. Beyond the mountains was a trafficable route which the Persians eventuually woke up to.
Blocking the pass made the Persians try to bypass it by sea, which was the reason for the blocking - to force a sea battle to try to eliminate the amphibious threat of the Persians to the southern Greek cities. The sea battle failed, and the pass was abandoned os its purpose had gone.
What were the names of the three battles in Persia's second invasion of Greece and who won each?
The Battle of Thermopylae: The Persians won the Battle of Thermopylae against the Spartans, but it was a Pyrrhic Victory.
The Battle of Salamis: This Naval Battle was critically won by the Athenians against the Persians.
The Battle of Plataea: This Battle was won by the Alliance of Greek City States against the Persians.
What date was the Persian army beaten by the Greeks at Thermopyale?
The small Greek force at Thermopylae was defeated by the Persian army in 480 BCE.
Did the Athenians have to make a deal with the Persians to win the wars?
After the Persian invasion was repelled, Athens led a coalition of cities to oppose Persia from 478 BCE. After thirty years, they cut a peace arrangement with Persia which left Athens in control of 200 Greek city-states it had led against the Persian Empire, and Athens turned this Delian League into an empire of its own, living high off the proceeds.
This led an over-confident Athens into a prolonged war against the other Greek states led by Sparta. This lasted 27 years, and was won by the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League after Persia got its revenge by financing a fleet for the League to defeat Athens' hitherto superior navy.
Who was the greek messenger who delivered the message in the Battle of Marathon?
The common story is Pheidippides. He was already dead, having run to Sparta to summon them to the battle, dying on his return from a 120 mile run.
In fact the news of the battle at Marathon was brought by the whole 9000 Athenian warriors who ran back to Athens after the battle to ward off a seaborne attack on the city in their absence.
Why did most conquered lands remain loyal to rome?
Most conquered lands remained loyal to Rome because many of them had become Romanized, living the lifestyle the same as in Italy. They also remained loyal to Rome for their own good. If they tried to revolt, the Roman army would come in and devastate their country.
What did the Romans leave behind 2753 years ago?
The Romans did not live much behind 2753 years ago. That was 2740 BC, only 13 years after the foundation of the Roman city-state. Rome was still in its very early stage of formation and too young to leave much behind. The only archaeological find from that period are the foundations of the first regia (royal rouse) and the first temple of Vesta which were found in the early years of the first decade of this century.
When where the Greeks defeated?
Greeks were defeated (and won) over three thousand years. When exactly did you have in mind?
What is a summary of the battle of marathon?
Persia sent a punitive expedition against Eretria and Athens for their role in supporting the Ionian revolt against Persian rule. Eretria was captured but Athens resisted and defeated the Persian force on the plain of Marathon.
Why Athens should not have gone to war against Sparta?
Athens was overconfident and aggressive. Sparta and its allies drew a line over a dispute over Megara, and tried to get Athens to soften its position. Athens refused and war ensued.
How does the battle of Thermopylae influence the world?
It was just a holding operation to force a naval battle to weaken the Persian force attacking Greece. The effort failed, and the issue was decided at three later decisive battles - Salamis, Plataia and Mycale.
The direct answ is that it had no influence on the world, which is, after all, a bit bigger than a corner of the Mediterranean Sea. The indirect effect is that the Spartan defence became a byword for staunch resistance.
Who saved lives of Athenians when attacked by Xerxes' army?
Some nearby cities took in the Athenian families when the men of military age abandoned the city and embarked on the warships to help overcome the Persian fleet.
According to Herodotus, the Delphic oracle was consulted when the Persian Army approached, and it said that Athens would be protected by wooden walls. Some built wooden walls to defend the Acropolis and perished, but Themistocles convinced them that the wooden walls were the triremes of the Athenian fleet. The city was evacuated and destroyed by the Persians, but Themistocles and his 'wooden walls' were part of the allied fleet which demolished the Persian Navy at the Battle of Salamis, the turning point of the war. If the Athenians had remained to defend the city they would have been overwhelmed, killed and enslaved. It could be said that Themistocles saved their lives by organising the oracle to convince the Athenians to evacuate the city.
We must of course recognise that Delphi had a remarkable spy system to keep track of events in the Greek world, to anticipate and generate oracles appropriate to the questions being sent to their Oracle. No doubt Themistocles helped compose the answer and provided an appropriate bribe to facilitate this support to the strategy which he was trying to push to the Athenian people as the Persians progressed their ponderous advance towards Greece.
The strategy which he was working to is explained in the answer in WikiAnswer What_was_the_battle_at_Thermopylae_involving_the_300_and_who_won
How many Legions did rome have in Britain?
Allegedly at the height of Roman Power there were four elite legions... under Julius Ceaser.
The correct answer to this question would be... Nobody knows exactly
Who recorded the only known story of the Trojan War?
There is no known story of the Trojan War. The Iliad, an epic poem attributed to Homer 'the blind poet of Chios' covers a few weeks of the war. Other parts are contributed in The Oddessy (also attributed to Homer), Virgil's Aenead (another 700 years later), classical tragedies, plus a myriad of minor sources.
