Ancient History - The Persian Empire under Xerxes

According to Herodotus, why did Xerxes become king despite not being the eldest son?

He was the eldest son born after Darius had become king (a Spartan custom as opposed to other countries’ customs). Xerxes himself said Darius favoured him but doesn’t elaborate.

How did Xerxes respond to rebellions in Egypt and Babylonia?

He reduced Egypt to near slavery and destroyed notable cultural and religious Babylonian centres

How did Xerxes get his army into Greece in 480?

Bridged tens of thousands of soldiers across the Hellespont with hundreds of ships

How did the view of whether to go ahead with it differ?

Mardonius, Darius’ old general, supported it. Xerxes’ uncle Artabanus opposed it because of how good the Greeks were at fighting

What did Xerxes do as a response to the first set of bridges across the Hellespont being destroyed?

Executed the leading engineers, whipped the sea 300 times and had a pair of chains thrown into it

How was the Persian army organised?

Divided into decimal units of 10, 100 and so on with the personal guards of Xerxes called Immortals. They heavily relied on cavalry to attack sides.

How was the Greek army organised?

They used spears, swords and were lightly armoured

What were the differences in how the two armies fought?

Archers: Long range, heavily used by Persians. Rarely by Greeks.

Cavalry: Common in Persia, rare in Greece

Formation: Shield wall for Persia, phalanx for Greece

Armour: Immortals were the only heavily armoured for Persia, Spartan hoplites for Greece

Size: Persian army was massive and Greek was small

What happened in the lead up to Thermopylae?

Greece sent 7,000 men to hold off the Persians and they chose the narrow mountain pass of Thermopylae. Demaratus, a former Spartan king, tried to discourage Xerxes fighting, but Xerxes ordered the attack.

What happened on the first two days of battle?

Persia was defeated including the Immortals due to the narrow space and lack of skill. On Day 2 the attacks continued until the Greek Ephialtes told Xerxes of a spot behind the Greeks to encircle them.

How did the battle end?

Leonidas (Spartan king-general) dismissed the force except his 300 as well as 700 Thespians and Thebans. They decapitated Leonidas’ body and drove the head into a stake

What had been happening on the Aegean around the time of Thermopylae?

Skirmishes near Cape Artemisium leading to Greek retreat and the Persians moving south, then marching through Greece and sacking the cities of their opponents

What happened to Athens?

Politician Themistocles called for it to be abandoned. Men went to Salamis while women and children went to Aegina and Troezen. The Persians burnt Athens while Themistocles had the Greeks on the east side of Salamis believing the narrow straits would stop the Persians moving. Xerxes’ forces decided to attack.

How did Themistocles trigger a battle?

He told his slave to tell Xerxes Themistocles was on his side and subsequently the Persians moved in

How did the battle go?

Crowded Persian ships were rammed by Greek ones as they chaotically manuevred, not knowing of the currents. They left the region and were later defeated at Plataea, ending the war.

What year was the Battle of Eurymedon?

466

How did the Athenian general Cimon defeat the Persians?

They dressed in Persian fashion at the Eurymedon river and the Persians accepted them as friends and they then massacred the Persian troops

What was Greece like after the war of 480?

They formed the Delian League in 478 to defend against Persia, and rebuilt Athens, with the League eliminating piracy in the sea and becoming rich through taking from captured areas or from gifts. This alerted Sparta

What was Persia like after the war?

Xerxes was demoralised and primarily focused on his building projects until Cimon directly attacked Persia. This proved not to be a threat as the Ionian states were more secure in Persian hands. Xerxes sent a fleet to Eurymedon

How did the battle occur according to different sources to earlier?

The Persians moved into the mouth of the river while awaiting Phoenician allies, thinking Cimon wouldn’t follow them. He did leading to a Persian defeat. Persia subsequently gave up on campaigning in the Aegean. Xerxes died in 465 and his successor Artaxerxes accepted the limits of the empire