During the formation of their vast empire, the Persians had under their rule a large group of territories politically and economically subjugated to their interests. The former Persian Empire held territories that encompassed regions ranging from the Balkan Peninsula to present-day Afghanistan. It was at this moment that some Greek cities dominated by Persian hegemony decided to mobilize against the great eastern power.
The Ionians (Greek peoples of the coast of Asia Minor), with the military support of the city-states of Eritrea and Athens, carried out an attack around 497 BC. a., that culminated in the destruction of the Persian city of Sárdis. At the time, the Persian king Darius I started a battle against the Greek civilization spread along the Balkan Peninsula from the repression against the Ionians in the Battle of Lade, in 494 BC. Ç..
Later, the Persian armies were in charge of controlling Thrace and Macedonia to later cross the Aegean Sea in search of total domination of the Greek world. In their first foray, the Persians aimed to liquidate Athens and Eritrea. After subduing Eritrea, Darius I's armies departed for Athens. Even with a huge army, the Persians were defeated by the Athenians who took advantage of of the geographical knowledge they had of the plain of Marathon, where the conflicts.
Aware of a future rematch, the Athenian politician and general Themistocles sought to strengthen the region's maritime defenses with the construction of 180 tirremes. Later, with the rise of Xerxes, the Persian empire prepared a thunderous army of more than 200,000 men. In its first attack the Persian army faced 6,000 men commanded by the Spartan king Leonidas. Anticipating the resistance at the Battle of Thermopylae, the Persian army counted on the betrayal of a local resident who indicated another entrance through the Amôpaia trail.
This path could guarantee a victory for the Persians. It was at this moment that the legendary detachment uniting Leonidas and his three hundred best soldiers turned against the Persians. In the meantime, the Athenian population moved to the Isle of Salamina. After overcoming the Spartan resistance, the Persians found the city-state of Athens completely abandoned. After burning Athens, the Persians went in search of the Athenian fugitives. Counting on the difficulties to cross the Salamina channel, the agile Greek tirremes managed to shoot down the large Persian vessels.
With the end of the battles in European territory, the Greeks defeated the Persians in the Battle of Micale, reconquering the coast of Asia Minor and the straits between the Aegean and Black Seas. Even imposing defeat on the Persians, several Greek city-states united around a political-military league headed by Athens. Known as the Confederation of Delos, this new Greek institution formed a military and monetary fund designed to stop a future Persian counterattack.
With the resources of the Confederacy at their disposal, Greek armies were tasked with reconquering Greek cities scattered across Asia Minor. Under the command of the Greek general Cimon, the Persians were finally defeated in 468 BC. Ç.. Without being able to react any longer, the Persians ended up signing the Treaty of Susa in which they committed themselves to no longer launch attacks against the Greeks.
With the end of the conflicts, the Confederation of Delos remained active and under the control of Athens. With their resources, the Athenians took as their objective political domination over the other city-states of the confederation. It was the beginning of the so-called Athenian imperialism.
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