Persian Empire
PERSIAN WARS, the name given the wars in which the Greek city-states destroyed the hope of Persian conquest in Europe, about 500 B.C. to 449 B.C. When the wars began, the Persian emperor Darius I held dominion over western Asia and all of Egypt.
When a few Greek city-states on the coast of Asia revolted, Darius decided to conquer Greece and sent an expedition against it. The Athenians won a resounding victory and the Persians retired to Asia. Xerxes, son of Darius, attempted another invasion of Greece in 480 B.C. Leonidas, king of Sparta, held the Persian army off at the pass of Thermopylae. A traitor led the enemy through another pass, Leonida and his force were annihilated and Athens was captured. The Persian army camped for the winter, but the next year it was defeated at the Battle of Plataea.
The Persians were unable to repeat their attacks. Persian lost its Greek provinces and Persian expansian was halted. Athenian attempts to take Egypt and Cyprus failed. The peace of Callias in 448 B.C. ended the wars.
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