Ancient Mesopotamia
https://www.ducksters.com/history/mesopotamia/ancient_mesopotamia.php
Timeline
(…)
490 BC - Darius I
attacks the Greeks. He is defeated at the Battle of Marathon.
480 BC - Xerxes I tries to conquer the Greeks with a huge army.
He is eventually turned back in defeat.
333 BC - Alexander the Great invades the land and conquers the
Persian Empire.
Great Cities of Mesopotamia
Persepolis
Persepolis was the capital of the Persian Empire. The name is actually Greek
for "Persian city". (…)
Are there any
ziggurats left?
Many of the ziggurats have been destroyed over the past several thousands of
years. The famous huge ziggurat of Babylon was said to have been in ruins by
the time Alexander the Great conquered the city in 330 BC. (…)
Science, Inventions, and Technology
Mathematics
(…) Some evidence suggests that they even knew the Pythagorean Theorem long before Pythagoras wrote it down. (…)
Astronomy
(…)
By studying the phases of the Moon, the Mesopotamians created the first calendar. It had
12 lunar months and was the predecessor for both the Jewish and Greek
calendars.
Interesting Facts
About Mesopotamian Technology
- (…)
- The
Mesopotamians may have invented the simple machine called the Archimedes Screw. This would have helped to
raise water to the heights needed for the plants in the famous Hanging
Gardens of Babylon.
Fun Facts About the Babylonians
(...)
*Alexander the Great captured
Babylon as part of his conquests. He was staying in the city when he got sick
and died
The Persian Empire
Fighting the Greeks
Under King Darius the Persians wanted to conquer
the Greeks who he felt were causing
rebellions within his empire. In 490 BC Darius attacked Greece.
He captured some Greek city-states, but when he attempted to take the
city of Athens, he was soundly defeated by the Athenians at the Battle of
Marathon.
In 480 BC Darius' son, Xerxes I,
attempted to finish what his father started and conquer all of Greece.
He amassed a great army of hundreds of thousands of warriors. This was one of
the largest armies assembled during ancient times. He initially won the Battle
of Thermopylae against a much smaller army from Sparta. However, the
Greek fleet defeated his navy at the Battle of Salamis and he was
eventually forced to retreat.
Fall of the Persian Empire
The Persian Empire was conquered by the
Greeks led by Alexander the Great. Starting in the year 334
BC, Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire from Egypt all the way
to the borders of India.
Interesting Facts About the Persian Empire
(…)
The capital of the empire was the great city of
Persepolis. This name is Greek for "Persian City".
(…)
Interesting Facts about Mesopotamian
Artisans and Art
(…)
The Ancient Greeks were
influenced by Assyrian art. One example is the Assyrian winged genie which took
the form of winged beasts such as the Griffin and the Chimera in Greek art.
(…)
Interesting Facts
About Mesopotamian Religion
(…)
Greek mythology likely borrowed many ideas from the Mesopotamian
gods.
Epic of Gilgamesh
The most important and famous example of Sumerian literature is the Epic
Tale of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was likely an actual Sumerian king who ruled over
the city of Uruk, but the tale tells the story of an epic hero along the
lines of Hercules from Greek Mythology.
Persian
Empire
(…)
Darius I (550 - 486 BC) - (…). Darius invaded Greece
in the First Persian War where his army was defeated by the Greeks at the
Battle of Marathon.
Xerxes I (519 - 465 BC) – (…) He returned to Greece in the Second
Persian War. He defeated the Spartans at the famous Battle of
Thermopylae and then took control of the city of Athens. However,
his navy was defeated at the Battle of Salamis and he retreated back to
Persia
Biography of Cyrus the Great
(…)
Biography: Early Life
(…) There isn't a lot of recorded history on the
early life of Cyrus, but there is a legend told by the Greek
historian Herodotus.
Legend of Cyrus' Youth
According to the legend, Cyrus was the grandson
of the Median King Astyages. When Cyrus was born, Astyages had a dream that
Cyrus would one day overthrow him. He ordered that the baby Cyrus should be
left in the mountains to die. The baby, however, was rescued by some herding
folk who raised him as their own. When
Cyrus turned ten, it became apparent that he was noble born. King Astyages
heard of the child and realized that the boy had not died. He then allowed
Cyrus to return home to his birth parents. (…)
Biography
of Darius I
(…)
Invading Greece
When the Greeks began to interfere with the lands of Ionia, Darius
decided to invade Greece. In what would be known as the First Persian War, Darius
led a huge army against the Greeks. However, he was defeated at the
Battle of Marathon by the army of Athens.
Interesting Facts about Darius I
- (…)
- His son Xerxes I returned to conquer Greece ten years later, but
he also failed when he was defeated at the Battle of Salamis.
Ancient Greece
Persian Wars
The Persian Wars were a series of wars fought between the Persians and the
Greeks from 492 BC to 449 BC.
(…)
Who were the Greeks?
The Greeks were made up of a number of city-states such as Sparta
and Athens. Typically these city-states fought each other, but they
united to fight against the Persians.
Ionians
The Ionians were Greeks that lived along the coast of Turkey. They were conquered by the Persians. When the
Ionians decided to revolt they asked Athens and other Greek cities
for help. The other Greek cities sent ships and weapons, but were
quickly defeated. The Persians didn't like this and decided to conquer the rest
of the Greek cities in order to keep them under control.
First Invasion of Greece
Darius I, King of Persia, decided he wanted to conquer the
Greeks in 490 BC. He gathered a vast army of soldiers that
outnumbered any army the Greeks could muster. They boarded the Persian fleet
and headed to Greece.
Battle of Marathon
The Persian fleet landed at the Bay of Marathon, about 25 miles from the city
of Athens. The Persians had a lot more soldiers, but they underestimated
the fighting capability of the Greeks. The army of Athens routed
the Persian army killing around 6,000 Persians and only losing 192 Greeks.
After the battle, the Athenian army ran the 25 miles back to Athens in
order to prevent the Persians from attacking the city. This is the origin of
the Marathon running race.
Second Invasion of Greece
Ten years later, in 480 BC, the son of Darius I, King Xerxes, decided to get
his revenge on the Greeks. He amassed a huge army of over 200,000
soldiers and 1,000 warships.
Battle of Thermopylae
The Greeks put together a small force, led by the Spartan King Leonidas I
and 300 Spartans. They decided to meet the Persians at a narrow pass in the
mountains called Thermopylae. The Greeks held off the Persians killing
thousands, until the Persians found a way around the mountains and got behind
the Greeks. King Leonidas told most of his troops to flee, but stayed behind
with a small force including his 300 Spartans in order to allow the rest of the
Greek army to escape. The Spartans fought to the death, killing as many
Persians as they could.
Battle of Salamis
The Persian army continued to march on Greece. When they arrived at
the city of Athens, they found it deserted. The people of Athens had
fled. The Athenian fleet, however, was waiting off the coast by the
island of Salamis. The much larger Persian fleet attacked the small
Athenian ships. They were sure of victory. However, the Athenian ships,
called triremes, were fast and maneuverable. They rammed into the sides of the
large Persian ships and sunk them. They soundly defeated the Persians causing
Xerxes to retreat back to Persia.
Interesting Facts about the Persian Wars
·
After
the first invasion, the Athenians built up a mighty fleet of ships
called triremes.
·
The
Persian Empire would eventually be conquered by the Greeks under the
leadership of Alexander the Great.
·
The
movie 300 is about the Spartans who fought at
Thermopylae.
·
The
Gates of Fire by
Steven Pressfield is a famous book about the Battle of Thermopylae.
·
Xerxes,
king of Persia, had his golden throne carried along so he could watch the Greeks
be defeated by his army from a nearby hillside. He
must have been pretty disappointed!