Cyrus Darius Xerxes

● The people of ​Persia​ lived in what
is today southwestern Iran.
● Cyrus the Great​ ruled from 559
B.C. to 530 B.C.
● He united the Persians into a
powerful kingdom.
● In 539 B.C. Cyrus’s armies swept
into Mesopotamia and captured
Babylon. Asia Minor Syria,
Canaan, Egypt,West India and the
Phoenician cities all became part
of the Persian Empire.
● Cyrus treated his subjects well.
● In 521 B.C. ​Darius​ was the new
leader. He divided the empire into
20 ​satrapies​. They were each
ruled by a ​satrap​ meaning
“protector of the kingdom”
● He reorganized the empire.
● Zoroaster is the founder of the
religion ​Zoroastrianism​. This was
the Persian religion.
● Xerxes​, Darius’ son, became the
new leader in 486 B.C. Xerxes
wanted revenge on the
Athenians.
● An Athenian general called
Themistocles​ came up with a plan
to fight the Perisans.
● Sparta and Athens joined forces.

Marathon Thermopylae

● In 490 B.C. a Persian fleet landed 20,000 soldiers on the ● The Greeks and the Perisans fought at ​Thermopylae​.
plain of ​Marathon​. The persians waited for the ● The Greeks lost this battle but their valiant stand gave
Athenians but they never showed because of their Athens enough time to assemble 200 ships.
small numbers.
● The Persians decided to attack Athens directly and
failed.
● The Greeks charged down from the hills and defeated
the Persians.

Salamis Plataea

● The Greek fleet attacked the Persian fleet in ​Salamis​. ● In 479 B.C. the strongly armored Greeks crushed the
● The Greek plan worked and they Greeks destroyed Persian army at ​Plataea​.
almost the entire Persian fleet. ● The Persians ended up retreating back to Asia Minor.