Empire and Conflict Persians and Greeks

Empire and Conflict – Persians and Greeks WHAP/Napp Objective: To identify and describe the causes and effects of the Persian Wars

Do Now: Define empire. Provide examples of empire- building in history and state problems which result from empire-building. ______Cues: Notes: I. The Persian Empire A. Homeland lay on the Iranian plateau B. Famous monarchs 1. Cyrus (reigned 557-530 BCE) and Darius (reigned 522-486 BCE) C. Persian conquests reached from Egypt to India D. A single state of some 35 million people/Cultural diversity E. Centered on an elaborate cult of kingship II. Administrative System A. Persian governors (satraps) placed in each the 23 provinces B. Lower-level officials drawn from local authorities C. System of imperial spies D. Respect for non-Persian cultural traditions 1. Cyrus allowed Jews who had been exiled in Babylon to return to homeland and rebuild temple in Jerusalem in 539 BCE E. Model for future regimes with its administrators, tax collectors, record keepers, and translators/system of standardized coinage F. Predictable taxes levied on each province G. Newly dug canal linking the Nile with the Red Sea H. A “royal road”, some 1,700 miles long 1. Facilitating communication and commerce III. The Greeks A. Small competing city-statesmountainous terrain (seas for trade) B. Classical Greece emerged around 750 BCE and flourished for about 400 years C. Fiercely independent city-states 1. Speaking the same language/Frequently in conflict 2. Called themselves Hellenes D. Expansive people, but expansion took the form of settlement in distant places 1. Greek traders in search of iron 2. Impoverished farmers in search of land Summaries: Cues: Notes: E. In Athens, direct democracy eventually developed 1. All citizens could directly participate in the affairs of government 2. However, women, slaves, and foreigners were not citizens 3. City-stategreater participationopposed to empire 4. Solon, reforming leader, in 594 BCEmore democratic direction a) Debt slavery was abolished b) Public office was opened to a wider group of men c) All citizens were allowed to take part in the Assembly 5. Cleisthenes and Pericles, later reformers, extended rights further 6. By 450 BCE, all holders of public office were chosen by lot and were paid-even the poorest could serve F. But, in Sparta, extreme forms of military discipline and its large population of helots or slaves led to a Council of Elders IV. Greco-Persian Wars A. Conflict grew out of patterns of expansions B. Number of Greek settlements on the Anatolian seacoast, known to Greeks as Ionia 1. By 499 BCE, some Ionian Greeks revolted against Persian domination and found support from Athens C. Outraged Persians launched major military expeditions, twice in ten years (490 and 480 BCE) to punish Greeks D. Against all odds, Greeks held them off, defeating the Persians 1. Triumphed in momentous Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE 2. Greeks viewed victory as triumph of their freedoms 3. Greeks also radicalized Athenian democracy a) Poorer Greeks in a position for full citizenship 4. Fifty years or so afterwards – the Golden Age of Greek culture a) built the Parthenon/Greek theater (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides)/Socrates, the quintessential philosopher V. Decline of Greeks A. Athens led a coalition of Greek city-states but leadership led to imperialism 1. As Athenians tried to solidify dominant position, resentment ensued B. Bitter civil war (431-404 BCE) 1. Sparta taking the lead in defending the independence of the city- states - known as Peloponnesian War C. Athens was defeated  Paving the way for Macedonian conquest of cities VI. Alexander the Great A. Alexander’s father, Philip II, conquered Greeks in 338 BCE B. Continued conquests - Ten-year expedition (333-323 BCE)  Egypt, Anatolia, Persia, Afghanistan, Arrived in Indian Subcontinent C. Spread of Greek culture (Hellenism) 1. Buddha was depicted in human form due to Greek influence D. Then with death, eventually Roman Empirevehicle Greek culture Summaries: Strayer Question:  How did Persian and Greek civilizations differ in their political organization and values?

 Why did semidemocratic governments emerge in some of the Greek city-states?

 What were the consequences for both sides of the encounter between the Persians and the Greeks?

 What changes did Alexander's conquests bring in their wake?

1. In Greek society, women were treated as 5. Hellenistic culture brought together the (A) equals to men, especially when it came traditions of which of the following regions? to voting A. Mediterranean, Mesoamerican, sub- (B) gods Saharan African (C) inferior to men in both social and B. Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, political affairs Scandinavian (D) slaves in every household C. Mesoamerican, Scandinavian, Mediterranean 2. Which peoples developed the world's first D. East Asia, South Asia, sub-Saharan true alphabet? African (A) the Lydians E. Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, South (B) the Phoenicians Asian (C) the Hebrews (D) the Persians 6. Which prominent Greek individual listed (E) the Egyptians below was not part of a direct teacher- student relationship shared by the other 3. What is diffusion? four? (A) the assimilation of a minority ethnic A. Alexander the Great group into a larger, more homogeneous B. Socrates population C. Aristotle (B) the splitting of the atom D. Herodotus (C) the conquering of one civilization by a E. Plato much more powerful one (D) the spread of foods, trade goods, 7. Which region of the world had yet to concepts, norms, practices, and inventions experience the Neolithic transition by 600 among different peoples CE? A. Mesoamerica 4. Which of the following prominent Greeks B. South America exercised practical political leadership? C. Northern Europe A. Aristotle D. Australia B. Solon E. Southeast Asia C. Plato D. Socrates 8. Hellenistic culture epitomizes which of E. Euripides the following historical forces or trends? The Answer is Cultural Diffusion!  Excerpt from Boisestate.edu: Alexander the Great- We're not in Thessaly any more, Toto

Alexander entered India in 327, encountering some of the toughest fighting of his career... None of the Greeks had ever encountered anything to prepare them for India. The terrain, the monsoons, the fierce tribes, all combined with the long years of campaigning to take some of the heart out of the Macedonians.

Alexander's geographers had assured him that just beyond India was Ocean, the great body of water that completely encircled the world. India itself was surely no bigger than the Persian Empire. We do not know what was in Alexander's mind, but most historians guess that he had no idea of the true size of the subcontinent and that he truly believed he need make only one more push to bring the entire eastern world under his dominion. Two factors combined to bring Alexander's march to a halt: he began to realize that India was much bigger than he had thought, and a war with an Indian king named Porus showed that India would not fall easily to the Greeks.

Porus was powerful both as a man and a king. He stood seven feet tall, a widely-feared ruler and warrior. He fielded an army that was a match for the Greeks, but Porus' army had an additional advantage: war elephants. This marked their first real encounter with elephants in battle, and it terrified the Greeks. Worse yet, Alexander met Porus during the monsoon season and faced him across a river in flood.

Despite all this, Alexander defeated Porus, killing the king's two sons. Alexander forced Porus into an alliance, a policy he had followed elsewhere. Having secured the upper Indus River valley, Alexander began to push into the interior of India. The land became dry, but the cities and kingdoms were formidable. As they pressed on, the locals spoke of endless kingdoms to the east, and another great river, and still more kingdoms beyond that. No one knew of any end to them. At last, his men refuse to go any further. They had refused before, more than once. Each time, Alexander harangued and persuaded and sulked in his tent for days, and eventually the men, terrified of the prospect of being without their hero, had given in. Not this time.

Alexander realized the temper of his army and reluctantly gave the command to return to Persia. This was no small task in itself. Going back by way of the Himalayas and Afghanistan was out of the question. The best course seemed to be to work their way down the Indus River to the Indian Ocean.

It took a year to do it. The Greeks had to fight their way down the Indus, the lower course of which had many strong cities. At one of these, Alexander was wounded by an arrow that pierced his lung. For three weeks he was near death, but he eventually recovered. Once at the Indian Ocean, the Greeks built a fleet of ships. Half the army travelled with by sea, while Alexander took the other half by land along the coast, each army supporting the other. The return to Persian was a heroic accomplishment and is yet another testament to the strength of discipline among the Macedonians.

Alexander reached Susa in 324. He had been on campaign continuously for five years.