Reasons for Persian Defeat.doc.dot

Reasons for Persian Defeat.doc.dot

The Greek success over their Persian enemy was not the result of one single aspect, but rather an amalgamation of contributing factors such as unity, leadership, strategy and superiority of the Greek soldier. Each played a definitive role in the various battles which in turn led the way for the subsequent defeat of the Persians.

The Battle of Marathon in 490BC was the result of a Persian revenge campaign after the Greeks’ (namely Athens and Eretria) had involvement the Ionian Revolt. According to modern historian Ehrenberg, the Persians sought to attack Athens by sending a fleet of approximately 20 000 men on both foot and horse on this expedition, to land at Marathon and defeat the Greeks, however due to their unprecedented use of battle strategy and intimate knowledge of their surroundings, the Greeks were able to defeat their Persian enemy. The Persian fleet landed at the Bay of Marathon along a narrow strip of coast named the Schoinia because of its surrounding steep hills and protective Cynosura promontory. The cavalry played no actual part in the battle of Marathon however Hammond suggests that they had been redirected to proceed straight to Athens as it was expected the Persians would win the battle. The Athenians marched out from Athens with a force of approximately 10 000, however this number is inconclusive (Ehrenberg mentions that the while the Athenians were getting ready for battle, contingent of Plataeans arrived “in full force”-Herodotus, implying the sense of unity among the Greeks) to meet the Persians at Marathon.
According to Herodotus, the Greek army was under the leadership of ten strategi, or generals, and that a process of rotating command was implemented so that each would have his turn to be in charge. Ehrenberg doubts that this system actually took place claiming that the practice appeared “anachronistic and impossible”. Miltiades, a military general who had inside knowledge of Persian warfare, played a crucial role in the...