Term
|
Definition
| was the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC until his defeat by the Persians |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much of Central Asia, parts of Europe and Caucasus. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was king of Anshan in Iran from c. 580 to 559 BC and the father of Cyrus the Great |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a son of Cyrus the Great and the younger brother of Cambyses II, both Persian kings. There are sharply divided views on his life, he may have ruled the Achaemenid Empire for a few months in 522 BCE |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| primarily a free citizen who was usually individually responsible for procuring his armor and weapon. In most Greek city-states, citizens received at least basic military training, serving in the standing army for a certain amount of time. They were expected to take part in any military campaign when they would be called for duty |
|
|
Term
| • The Persian Wars, 499-479 B.C |
|
Definition
| were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and city-states of the Hellenic world that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered Ionia in 547 BC. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The Histories—his masterpiece and the only work he is known to have produced—is a record of his "inquiry" being an investigation of the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars and including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| and associated revolts in Aeolis, Doris, Cyprus and Caria, were military rebellions by several regions of Asia Minor against Persian rule, lasting from 499 BC to 493 BC. At the heart of the rebellion was the dissatisfaction of the Greek cities of Asia Minor with the tyrants appointed by Persia to rule them, along with the individual actions of two Milesian tyrants, Histiaeus and Aristagoras. The cities of Ionia had been conquered by Persia in c. 540 BC, and thereafter were ruled by native tyrants, nominated by the Persian satrap in Sardis. In 499 BC the then tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, launched a joint expedition with the Persian satrap Artaphernes to conquer Naxos, in an attempt to bolster his position. The mission was a debacle, and sensing his imminent removal as tyrant, Aristagoras chose to incite the whole of Ionia into rebellion against the Persian king Darius the Great.In 498 BC, supported by troops from Athens and Eretria, the Ionians marched on, captured, and burnt Sardis. However, on their return journey to Ionia, they were followed by Persian troops, and decisively beaten at the Battle of Ephesus. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was the leader of Miletus in the late 6th century BC and early 5th century BC/Aristagoras was the main orchestrator of the Ionian Rebellion |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| also known as Darius the Great, was the third king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire. Darius held the empire at its peak, then including Egypt (Mudrâya), Balochistan, Kurdistan and parts of Greece |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The first Persian invasion was a response to Greek involvement in the Ionian Revolt, when Athens and Eretria had sent a force to support the cities of Ionia in their attempt to overthrow Persian rule. The Athenians and Eretrians had succeeded in capturing and burning Sardis, but were then forced to retreat with heavy losses. In response to this raid, Darius swore to burn down Athens and Eretria. At the time of the battle, Sparta and Athens were the two largest city states. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Persian king, son of Darius who invaded Greece a second time but was pushed back in Thermopylae by the Greek forces |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August or September 480 BC, at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was an Athenian politician and a general/ Elected archon in 493 BC, he took steps to increase the naval power of Athens, which would be a recurring theme in his political career. During the first Persian invasion of Greece, he fought at the Battle of Marathon/ the years after Marathon, and in the run up to the second Persian invasion he became the most prominent politician in Athens. He continued to advocate a strong Athenian navy, and in 483 BC he persuaded the Athenians to build a fleet of 100 triremes; these would prove crucial in the forthcoming conflict with Persia. During the second invasion, he was in effective command of the Greek allied navy at the battles of Artemisium and Salamis. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a type of galley, a Hellenistic-era warship that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans. Named for its three rows of oars |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was fought between an Alliance of Greek city-states and the Persian Empire in September 480 BCE, in the straits between the mainland and Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens. It marked the high-point of the second Persian invasion of Greece which had begun in 480 BCE. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC |
|
|
Term
| • The Peloponnesian League (or Spartan Alliance)- |
|
Definition
| The league was organized with Sparta as the hegemon, and was controlled by the council of allies which was composed of two bodies. The first body was the assembly of Spartiates, and the Congress of Allies in which each allied state had one vote regardless of that state's size or geopolitical power. No tribute was paid except in times of war, when one third of the military of a state could be requested. Only Sparta could call a congress of the League. All alliances were made with Sparta only, so the member states had to form their own alliances with each other. And although each state had one vote, Sparta was not compelled to abide by any resolutions the League might come to. Thus the Peloponnesian League was not an "alliance" in the strictest sense of the word |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| At a strategic location on the fertile plain of Argolis, Argos was a major stronghold during the Mycenaean era. In classical times Argos was a powerful rival of Sparta for dominance over the Peloponnese, but was eventually shunned by other Greek city-states after remaining neutral during the Greco-Persian Wars. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The ephorate independently controls much important business. Its five members are chosen from among all the people |
|
|
Term
| • The Confederacy of Delos (or Delian League)- |
|
Definition
| founded in circa 477 BC,[1] was an association of Greek city-states, members numbering between 150[2] to 173,[3] under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Greco–Persian Wars. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was an Athenian statesman, strategos, and major political figure in mid-5th century BC Greece, the son of Miltiades, victor of Marathon. Cimon played a key role in creating the powerful Athenian maritime empire following the failure of the Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes I in 480-479 BC. Cimon became a celebrated military hero and was elevated to the rank of admiral after fighting in the Battle of Salamis. One of Cimon’s greatest exploits was his destruction of a Persian fleet and army at the Battle of the Eurymedon in 466 BC. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the area that Athens built the long walls from the city to connect to the coastline |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a Greek colony founded by Corcyra (modern Corfu). Corcyra was herself a colony of Corinth, and so in keeping with tradition a Corinthian, Phalius, son of Eratocleides, from the then ruling family of the Heraclids, had been selected as the official founder of the city, and the original colonists included a number of Corinthians amongst the Corcyraeans. As with most Ancient Greek cities Epidamnus was the scene of constant strife between the Aristocratic and Democratic factions within the city, and it was also often threatened by the surrounding Illyrians |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The Corinth-Corcyra War was partly the result of the long-standing hostility between Corinth and Corcyra. Corcyra (modern Corfu) had originally be founded as a colony of Corinth, but for some time the younger city had refused to pay her parent city the usual honours, something that was greatly resented in Corinth. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| took place in 433 BC between Corcyra (modern Corfu) and Corinth, and was, according to Thucydides, the largest naval battle between Greek city states until that time. It was one of the immediate catalysts for the Peloponnesian War. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The people revolted against the Athenians in 432 BC, but it was besieged during the Peloponnesian War and taken in the Battle of Potidaea in 430 BC. The Athenians preserved the city until 404 BC, when it was passed into Chalcidice. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a set of economic sanctions levied upon Megara circa 432 BC by the Athenian Empire shortly before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. The ostensible reason for the Decree was the Megarians' supposed trespass on land sacred to Demeter and the killing of the Athenian herald who was sent to their city to reproach them. In all likelihood, it was an act of revenge by the Athenians for the treacherous behaviour of the Megarians some years earlier. It was also a deliberate provocation towards Sparta on behalf of Pericles, who was the sponsor of the decree. The decree banned Megarians from harbours and marketplaces throughout the large Athenian Empire, allegedly strangling the Megarian economy. The sanctions would have also affected Megara's allies and may have been seen as a move by Athens to weaken her rivals and extend her influence. The ban strained the fragile peace between Athens and Sparta, which was allied with the strategically located Megara. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| one of the Kings of Sparta during Peloponnesian War |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
. Brasidas' plan for his final victory was typical of his campaigns in Thrace. It was a boldly aggressive surprise attack aimed to throw the enemy into confusion and it made the best possible use of both his small force of Spartan hoplites and his allies who made up the bulk of his army, in this case mostly Edonians from the city of Myrcinus.[2] Brasidas personally led the Spartans in a sudden charge from Amphipolis, routing the left wing of the Athenian army. His allies sallied from the northeastern gate and attacked from the north, breaking the enemy's right wing. Edonian and Chalcidian cavalry and light infantry pursued the fleeing Athenians, killing 600 men, including Cleon. On the Spartan side only seven fatalities are reported, but one of them was Brasidas, who was mortally wounded at the head of his troops
• |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Cleon first came to notice as an opponent of Pericles in the late 430s through his opposition to Pericles' strategy of refusing battle against the Peloponnesian League invaders in 431 BC. As a result, he found himself acting in concert with the Athenian aristocratic parties, who also had no liking for Pericles. During 430 BC, after the unsuccessful expedition by Pericles to the Peloponnesus, and when the city was devastated by the plague, Cleon headed the opposition to Pericles' rule. At this time, Pericles was accused by Cleon of maladministration of public money, with the result that Pericles was found guilty and removed from office (see Grote's History of Greece, abridged ed., 1907, p. 406, note 1). However, Pericles' setback was temporary and he was soon reinstated. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| 425 BC during the Peloponnesian War at the peninsula of Pylos, on the Bay of Navarino in Messenia, and was an Athenian victory over Sparta. An Athenian fleet had been driven ashore at Pylos by a storm, and, at the instigation of Demosthenes, the Athenian soldiers fortified the peninsula, and a small force was left there when the fleet departed again. The establishment of an Athenian garrison in Spartan territory frightened the Spartan leadership, and the Spartan army, which had been ravaging Attica under the command of Agis, ended their expedition (the expedition only lasted 15 days) and marched home, and the Spartan fleet at Corcyra sailed to Pylos. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of Sphacteria. An Athenian force under Cleon and Demosthenes attacked and forced them to surrender. |
|
|
Term
| • The Peace of Nicias (421 B.C.)- |
|
Definition
was a peace treaty signed between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in the March of 421 BC, ending the first half of the Peloponnesian War.[1]
• In 425 BC, the Spartans had lost the battles of Pylos and Sphacteria, a severe defeat resulting in the Athenians holding 292 prisoners. At least 120 were Spartiates. They had recovered by 424 BC, when the Spartan general Brasidas captured Amphipolis. That same year, the Athenians suffered a major defeat in Boeotia at the Battle of Delium, and in 422 BC they were defeated again at the Battle of Amphipolis in their attempt to take back that city. Both Brasidas, the leading Spartan general, and Cleon, the leading politician in Athens were killed at Amphipolis. Both sides were exhausted and ready for peace.
• The negotiations were begun by Pleistoanax, King of Sparta, and the Athenian general Nicias. Both decided to return everything that they had conquered during the war, except for Nisaea, which would remain in Athenian hands, and Plataea, which remained under the control of Thebes. Most notably, Amphipolis would be returned to Athens, and the Athenians would release the prisoners taken at Sphacteria. Temples throughout Greece would be open to worshippers from all cities, and the oracle at Delphi would regain its autonomy. Athens could continue to collect tribute from the states from which it had done so since the time of Aristides, but Athens could not force them to become allies. Athens also agreed to come to Sparta's aid if the Helots revolted. All of Sparta's allies agreed to sign the peace, except for the Boeotians, Corinth, Elis, and Megara. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a prominent Athenianstatesman, orator, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, theAlcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in the second half of that conflict as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician.During the course of the Peloponnesian War, Alcibiades changed his political allegiance on several occasions. In his native Athens in the early 410s BC, he advocated an aggressive foreign policy, and was a prominent proponent of theSicilian Expedition, but fled to Sparta after his political enemies brought charges of sacrilege against him. In Sparta, he served as a strategic adviser, proposing or supervising several major campaigns against Athens. In Sparta too, however, Alcibiades soon made powerful enemies and was forced to defect to Persia. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| as an Athenian expedition to Sicily from 415 BC to 413 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. The expedition was hampered from the outset by uncertainty in its purpose and command structure—political maneuvering in Athens swelled a lightweight force of twenty ships into a massive armada, and the expedition's primary proponent, Alcibiades, was recalled from command to stand trial before the fleet even reached Sicily—but still achieved early successes. Syracuse, the most powerful state on Sicily, responded exceptionally slowly to the Athenian threat, and as a result was almost completely invested before the arrival of a Spartan general, Gylippus, galvanized its inhabitants into action. From that point forward, however, as the Athenians ceded the initiative to their newly energized opponents, the tide of the conflict shifted. A massive reinforcing armada from Athens briefly gave the Athenians the upper hand once more, but a disastrous failed assault on a strategic high point and several crippling naval defeats damaged the besiegers' fighting capacity and morale, and the Athenians were eventually forced to attempt a desperate overland escape from the city they had hoped to conquer. That last measure, too, failed, and nearly the entire expedition surrendered or was destroyed in the Sicilian interior |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| During the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) Cyzicus was subject to the Athenians and Lacedaemonians alternately. In the naval Battle of Cyzicus in 410 during the Peloponnesian War, an Athenian fleet routed and completely destroyed a Spartan fleet. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a Greek city-state on the west coast of Anatolia; it is about 50 kilometers (31 mi) south of Izmir in modern Turkey, on the Gulf of Kuşadası. Notion was located on a hill from which the sea was visible; it served as a port for nearby Colophon and Claros, and pilgrims frequently passed through on their way to the oracle of Apollo at Claros |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a Spartan general who commanded the Spartan fleet in the Hellespont which defeated the Athenians at Aegospotami in 405 BC. The following year, he was able to force the Athenians to capitulate, bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end; he organized the dominion of Sparta over Greece in the last decade of his life |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| During the Peloponnesian War, Ephesus was first allied to Athens but sided in a later phase, called the Decelean War, or the Ionian War, with Sparta, which also had received the support of the Persians. As a result, rule over the cities of Ionia was ceded again to Persia. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| is a small river issuing into the Hellespont, northeast of Sestos. At its mouth was the scene of the decisive battle in 405 B.C. by which Lysander destroyed the Athenian fleet, ending the Peloponnesian War. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
was a battle fought on July 6, 371 BC, between the Boeotians led by Thebans and the Spartans along with their allies amidst the post-Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the neighbourhood of Leuctra, a village in Boeotia in the territory of Thespiae. Theban victory shattered Sparta’s immense influence over the Greek peninsula which Sparta had gained since its victory in the Peloponnesian War.
• |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Theban forces ended the power of Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC under the command of Epaminondas. The Sacred Band of Thebes (an elite military unit) famously fell at the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC against Philip II and Alexander the Great. Prior to its destruction by Alexander in 335 BC, Thebes was a major force in Greek history, and was the most dominant city-state at the time of the Macedonian conquest of Greece. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a Theban general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a preeminent position in Greek politics. In the process he broke Spartan military power with his victory at Leuctra and liberated the Messenian helots, a group of Peloponnesian Greeks who had been enslaved under Spartan rule for some 230 years, having been defeated in the Messenian War ending in 600 BC. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a type of light infantry in Ancient Thrace who often served as skirmishers. Peltasts carried a crescent-shaped wicker shield called pelte (Latin: peltarion) as their main protection, hence their name. According to Aristotle the pelte was rimless and covered in goat or sheep skin. Some literary sources imply that the shield could be round but in art it is usually shown as crescent shaped. It also appears in Scythian Art and may have been a common type in Central Europe. The shield could be carried with a central strap and a hand grip near the rim or with just a central hand-grip. It may also have had a carrying strap (or baldric) as Thracian peltasts slung their shields on their backs when evading the enemy. Peltasts' weapons consisted of several javelins, which may have had throwing straps to allow more force to be applied to a throw. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| or Confederacy was a maritime confederation of Aegean city-states from 378 BC-355 BC and headed by Athens primarily for self-defense against the growth of Sparta and secondly, the Persian Empire. |
|
|
Term
| • Philip of Macedon, 359-336 B.C.- |
|
Definition
| was one of the early kings of Macedon, a kingdom to the north of ancient Greece. He was a member of the Argead dynasty and son of Argaeus I, becoming king in 640 BC upon his father's death. Waged war against the Persians but died before the invasion of Persia began. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great, murdered on a suspected false charge of treason. Parmenion was the son of a Macedonian nobleman Philotas. His early career is unknown. During the reign of Philip II Parmenion obtained a great victory over the Illyrians in 356 BC; ten years later, Parmenion vanquished the town of Halos. He was one of the Macedonian delegates appointed to conclude peace with Athens in 346 BC, and was sent with an army to uphold Macedonian influence in Euboea in 342 BC. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| also known by his given name of Codomannus, was the last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia from 336 BC to 330 BC. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| was the commander of the Greek mercenaries working for the Persian king Darius III when Alexander the Great of Macedonia invaded Persia in 334 BC. He commanded the mercenaries at the Battle of the Granicus River, where his troops were massacred by the victorious Macedonians. He then began a campaign to capture the Aegean islands with the Persian fleet and led a direct assault on Macedonia, while Alexander was resting at Phaselis. Memnon managed to capture the island of Chios and most of Lesbos. Demosthenes, after hearing of Memnon's successes, began to prepare Athens for a revolt along with other Greek cities, while Sparta began to prepare for war. By a stroke of fortune for Alexander, Memnon died of illness at Mytilene and transferred command to his nephew, Pharnabazus |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When Alexander the Great entered Caria in 334 BC, Ada, who was in possession of the fortress of Alinda, surrendered the fortress to him. After taking Halicarnassus, Alexander handed back the government of Caria to her; she, in turn, formally adopted Alexander as her son, ensuring that the rule of Caria passed unconditionally to him upon her eventual death. During the siege of Halicarnassus the city was fired by the retreating Persians. As he was not able to reduce the citadel, Alexander was forced to leave it blockaded. The ruins of this citadel and moat are now a tourist attraction in Bodrum. |
|
|
Term
| • Granicus River (334 B.C.)- |
|
Definition
| in May 334 BC was fought in Northwestern Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), near the site of Troy. After crossing the Hellespont, Alexander advanced up the road to the capital of the Satrapy of Phrygia. The various satraps of the Persian empire gathered with their forces at the town of Zelea and offered battle on the banks of the Granicus River. Alexander ultimately fought many of his battles on a river bank. By doing so, he was able to minimize the advantage the Persians had in numbers. In addition, the deadly Persian chariots were useless on a cramped, muddy river bank. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| occurred in southern Anatolia, in November 333 BC. The invading troops, led by the young Alexander of Macedonia, defeated the army personally led by Darius III of Achaemenid Persia in the second great battle for primacy in Asia. After Alexander's forces successfully forced a crossing of the Hellespont (the Dardanelles) and defeated the Persian satraps led by a Greek mercenary, Memnon of Rhodes, in a prior encounter, the Battle of the Granicus, Darius took personal charge of his army, gathered a large army from the depths of the empire, and maneuvered to cut the Macedonian line of supply, requiring Alexander to countermarch his forces, setting the stage for the battle near the mouth of the Pinarus River and south of the village of Issus. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| took place in 331 BC between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. The battle, which is also called the Battle of Arbela, resulted in a massive victory for the ancient Macedonians and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire. |
|
|
