Greco-Persian Wars

The Persian Empire, whose origins date back to around 550 BCE, significantly expanded its borders by conquering the territories of the Babylonian Empire and the Lydia State in Anatolia. After annexing Anatolia, it organized its territories into local satrapies^【1】. Following the establishment of the “king Road,” approximately 2500 km long, which facilitated trade between East and West, the Persians set their sights even further. In 513 BCE, the Persian army crossing the Bosporus (modern-day Istanbul Strait) aimed at Greece. The objective was to intimidate the Scythians, who inhabited the region stretching from the northern Black Sea to Siberia, and to disrupt Greek trade in the Black Sea region through coup.

Having seized Thrace and the western Black Sea coast, the Persians blocked the trade routes of the city states in Greece and western Anatolia to the Black Sea. By disrupting wheat traffic from the Black Sea to the Aegean and establishing a satrapy in western Anatolia, the Persians not only pressured the Greeks but also provoked them. The consequences of this would later manifest as the Greco-Persian Wars.

The Persians began their invasions in Ionia (western Anatolia), winning over some Greek tyrants to their side. Other tyrants who rebelled against the Persians were neutralized and their uprisings suppressed.

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Battle of Marathon

After suppressing the Ionian Revolt, the Persians launched a campaign into Thrace. They then turned toward Greece, and by 490 BCE, most Greek city-states had surrendered to the Persians. Although the Eretrians resisted, many Greek cities were destroyed and their populations enslaved. When the Persian forces reached the city of War, the Athenians sought aid from other cities. With this assistance, the Athenians suffered around 200 casualties, while Persian losses exceeded 6000. This victory, named after the plain of Marathon in 490 BCE, granted the Greeks a decade of respite.

Battles of Artemisium and Thermopylae

Ten years later, in 480 BCE, the Athenians assembled a powerful navy. The other Greek city-state of Sparta joined Athens in preparing for the next Persian assault. In response, the Persians, advancing via Thrace and reaching Thessaly with an army of approximately 150,000 men, declared war on the Greeks, whose numbers totaled around 10,000. While the Spartans attempted to halt the Persian advance on land, the Athenians fought the Persians at sea. The Persian land force, supported by its navy, encircled the region and occupied central Greece. As a result, they burned and destroyed Athens. The Persian troops who entered Athens also desecrated the Acropolis, which the Greeks regarded as sacred and none.

Greek Counteroffensive and the Delian League

In 479 BCE, the Greeks rose in revolt against the Persians, driving them out of Greece and western Anatolia and burning their ships. The Greeks, however, did not consider their campaign complete. The islands and cities of western Anatolia remained under Persian control. After the wars of 490–479 BCE, which ended with the Persian retreat, the Greeks formed a sea alliance under the leadership of Athens and Sparta. Headquartered on the island of Delos and administered by Athens, this naval alliance came to be known as the Delian League, comprising around 300 allied city-states.

The first task of the League was to clear the straits and Thrace of Persian forces. Subsequently, they advanced along the Mediterranean coast of Anatolia and inflicted a decisive defeat on the Persian navy. Thus, the Greeks secured permanent control over the southern coasts of Anatolia, achieving a lasting victory.

Peace of Callias

Following their victories, the Greeks launched an attack on Egypt, which was under Persian control, but achieved no military success. Nevertheless, they negotiated the “Peace of Callias” with the Persians, securing their independence. This agreement brought an end to nearly half a century of warfare. As a result, the cities of Greece and western Anatolia gained formal recognition of their independence, and the Aegean Sea was closed to the Persian navy.