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Military History

Campaigns of Darius I - Ionian Revolt

Ionia, on the central Western coast of Asia Minor and the adjacent islands was settled by the Greeks about 1000 BC. Between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, the Ionian cities of Miletus, Shmos, Ephesus, led the rest of Greece in trade, colonization, and culture. The region was dominated by Lydia from 550 BC and then by Persian rule after Cyrus the Gre...

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Platea - Persian Wars - Battle of Platea

Spartans, Tegeans, and Athenians fought the Persian army that remained in Greece, at the final battle on Greek soil of the Persian Wars, the Battle of Plataea, in 479 B.C. Xerxes and his fleet had returned to Persia, but Persian troops remained in Greece, under Mardonius. They stationed themselves for battle in a place suitable for their horsemen -...

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History of Iran: Achaemenid Army

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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Battles of Cyrus II

Under the leadership of Cyrus II, the Persians revolted against Median rule and defeated the Median King Astages and gained their freedom. The victory was initiated by Harpagus (a Median general) who sought revenge for the death of his son by Astages. Harpagus persauded others in the Median nobility to overthrow the harsh rule of their king in favo...

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Battle of Mycale

The Battle of Mycale was one of the two major battles that ended the Persian Wars and returned freedom to the Greek city-states. The battle took place on or about August 27, 479 BC outside the Ionian city of Samos. Mycale resulted in the destruction of the main Persian forces in Ionia, as well as their Mediterranean fleet. The Battle of Plataea on ...

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Alexander Defeats the Persians, 331 BC

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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Battle of Cunaxa 410 B.C.

The Achaemenid King, Darius II died in 404 B.C. and was succeeded by his eldest son, Artaxerxes II. The death of Darius had precipitated a power struggle between Artaxerxes II and his brother, 'Cyrus, the younger', the satrap of Anatolia, which culminated in the battle of Cunaxa 401 B.C. near Babylon. A description of the battle is preserved in det...

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Persian Wars of Conquest

B.C. 550-512. Persian Empire versus Medes, Lydia, Babylon, Egypt and Scythia. The Persian Empire was the great rival of Ancient Greece during its Golden Age. It came to prominence under Cyrus the Great in 550 B.C., and lasted until it was overthrown by the Macedonians under Alexander the Great in 331 B.C.. During this period, Persia was the largest...

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History of Iran: Parthian Army

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 Battle of Marathon, 490 B.C.

The battle of Marathon is one of history's most famous military engagements. It is also one of the earliest recorded battles. Their victory over the Persian invaders gave the fledgling Greek city states confidence in their ability to defend themselves and belief in their continued existence. The battle is therefore considered a defining moment in t...

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