Military History
In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great made himself the King of Kings, and ruled all of West Asia. Along the coast of Anatolia (modern Turkey), Cyrus conquered first the Lydians and then the Greek cities that had been dependent on Lydia (LIH-dee-uh). The people who lived in these Greek cities in Turkey were called Ionians (eye-OH-nee-anns). Cyrus and the Persi...
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In addition to the gods and goddesses mentioned in Part 1, there are many other important figures in Persian mythology. Here are a few more to be aware of:
Tishtrya: The god of rain and fertility. He is often depicted as a horse or a chariot rider.Verethragna: The god of victory and war. He is often depicted as a warrior with a bull's head.Atar: Th...
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After Kuroush (Cyrus) overthrew Astayges, unifying the Median and Persian tribes, with himself at the helm, he continued to expand his empire. Though Kuroush was immortalized in the bible for his great tolerance, his military genius helped him overcome many enemies in combat. He trained his soldiers through hefty routines to condition them for comb...
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Herodotus described the equipment of the Median and Persian infantry: "They wore soft caps called tiaras, multicoloured sleeved tunics with iron scale armour looking like the scales of fish, and trousers. Instead of aspides they carried gerrha with their bows cases slung below them. They carried short spears, large bows, cane arrows and daggers han...
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In the 5th century BC the vast Persian Empire attempted to conquer Greece. If the Persians had succeeded, they would have set up local tyrants, called satraps, to rule Greece and would have crushed the first stirrings of democracy in Europe. The survival of Greek culture and political ideals depended on the ability of the small, disunited Greek cit...
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Immortals: Greek name for an elite regiment in the ancient Achaemenid empire. In his description of the battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE), the Greek researcher Herodotus mentions a Persian elite corps which he calls the Ten Thousand or the Athanatoi, the 'Immortals'. He describes them as a body of picked Persians under the leadership of Hydarnes, the...
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he Achaemenian/Achaemenid Army is well known through descriptions by Herodotus, Xenophon, and Arrian as well as by illustrations on Persepolitan and Greco-Persian monuments. Of particular importance for the topic are the Greek representations of Persian warriors and the evidence of the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus from Sidon. The Persians whom C...
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Alexander began his war against the Persians in 334 BC. At the time the Macedonian leader was twenty-two years old. At his death eleven years later, Alexander ruled the largest empire of the ancient world. His victory at the battle of Gaugamela on the Persian plains was a decisive conquest that insured the defeat of his Persian rival King Darius II...
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The Greco-Persian wars and Alexander's victories proved that light-armed troops could not stop heavy, well-trained, and brilliantly led infantry of the type of hoplites or phalanx. These could only be encountered with heavily armed and highly professional cavalry causing disorder in the massed ranks and then attacking them on vulnerable points with...
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The Achaemenian/Achaemenid army is well known through descriptions by Herodotus, Xenophon, and Arrian as well as by illustrations on Persepolitan and Greco-Persian monuments. Of particular importance for the topic are the Greek representations of Persian warriors and the evidence of the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus from Sidon The Persians whom C...
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