Darius

• How did Darius become king?

  He overthrew the Magi who seized power after Cambyses died with seven other 'conspirators'. Then, according to Herodotus, they had a competition to see whose horse neighed first; that man would be king. According to the Bisitun Inscription he claimed he was related to the Achaemenids (Persian royal bloodline) and overthrew the Magi to 'restore order'.
• How did Darius treat the people of his empire/kings?


  -9 rebel kings; extremely cruel, in the Bisitun Inscription, Darius says that he punished the rebel Median leader Phroartes by cutting off his ears, tongue and nose cut off, and then impaling him on a spike in Ecbatana.

  -sought to bring all people together peacefully

  -Apadana at Persepolis shows all people of the empire paying tribute to him

  -created Satrapies in order to peacefully administrate the Empire instead of ruling by force

  -may have killed Smerdis, brother of Cambyses and the rightful king
• How did Darius treat the Ionian Greeks?

  -heavy punishments following the Ionian revolt, inc. the sacking of a sanctuary at Didyama

  -however, after Didyama, Artaphernes sought peace with them on behalf of Darius
• How did Darius treat the Mainland Greeks?

  -During the initial invasion of Greece Darius burned down the cities and temples of the island of Naxos.

  -made offerings of Frankincense at the sanctuary at Delos to show respect
• What mad/cruel behaviour did Darius exhibit?

  -may have killed Smerdis, Cambyses' brother

  -cruelly punished the nine rebel kings at the start of his reign eg. Phraortes, whose ears/nose/tongue he cut off and then impaled on a spike
• What did Darius contribute to the empire?

  -consolidated and organised the empire into 20 satrapies, each with a governor (satrap)

  -constructed the palace at Persepolis and rebuilt the royal site at Susa

  -administrative capitals of Ecbatana, Susa, Pasargadae and Persepolis so administration centres could be distributed throughout the empire

  -network of roads to allow trade

  -canal linking the red sea to the Nile so Persians could trade with the Mediterranean

  -new irrigation system in Egypt

  -brought the island of Samos under Persian control, and formed alliances with Lesbos and Chios in order to gain access to a powerful Aegean fleet

  -conquest of Thrace
• What were the consequences of Darius' actions?

  -organisation allowed for peace and prosperity

  -conquest of Thrace allowed for the control of the land and sea east of Greece (strategic advantage for invasion)

  -Darius' failure to conquer Greece led to Xerxes becoming more determined to do what his father could not
• Conquests of Thrace and Scythia (HERODOTUS)


  SUCCESSES- crossed the Bosporus on a bridge of boats, the Ionians refused to cut the boat bridge when the Scythians tried to persuade them, Thrace was successfully incorporated into the empire, allowing access to the Aegean coast.

  FAILURES- the Scythian expedition was unsuccessful as the Scythians avoided battle and picked off Persian soldiers with skilled archers, lured them into a plain with cattle as bait, the Persians ended up retreating
• Ionian Revolt


  499-493, Ionian cities revolted against Persian Rule, helped by Athens. At first it was a success, then crushed by Persians at Miletus
• Attempted invasion of Mainland Greece

  SUCCESS- Thasos submitted

  FAILURE- the Persian fleet was wrecked off the coast of Mount Athos
• The battle of Marathon

  SUCCESS- Naxos and Delos were defeated, Eretria was captured

  FAILURE- the Persians had a humiliating defeat at Marathon, Attica. Darius intended to send a bigger force but was stopped by Egyptian revolts and then his death in 486BC
• Success of the Indus Valley

  Herodotus mentions "subdued the peoples of the Indus Valley"
• Failures of the Indus Valley

  No evidence that Darius actually conquered India or the Indus valley at all - not even mentioned in the Bisitun inscription
• Why did Atossa tell Darius to invade Greece?


  - he was getting on and needed to get on with achieving something

  - he needed to live up to Cyrus the Great

  - To keep his army busy so they did not revolt or rebel
• The Scythian Expedition and conquest of Thrace
• How did Darius get his troops across in to Thrace?

  Darius crossed the Black Sea at the Bosphorus Straits using a bridge of boats
• What country did the soldiers come from who were left to guard the bridge?

  The soldiers came from Ionia who were left to guard the bridge
• What did the Scythians try to convince the soldiers guarding the ships to do?

  The scythians tried to convince the Ionians to cut the bridge down and desert it
• Why did the soldiers not do what the Scythians suggested?

  Darius was the only reason they had power so if he got kicked off the throne they would lose it
• Who did Darius leave in charge to complete the conquest of Thrace?

  Megabazus
• What did the Persians demand from the Macedonians? What was this symbolic of?

  The Persians sent ambassadors to the Macedonians to demand earth and water.

  Symbolic tokens which the Persians required Greek peoples to give to the Persians as signs of their submission to Persian rule
• Although Darius had failed to conquer Scythia and bring it in to the Empire, what places did he managed to bring under Persian control?

  Northern Aegean coastline, Islands of Lemnos and Imbros, Thrace, Macedon
• Why was Thrace so valuable to the Persian empire?

  It was very rich in precious metals - gold, silver and timber for ships
• Why wasn't the Scythian expedition a total failure?

  It established a firm border at the Ister and ensuring that the Scythians did not try to invade newly established Persian territory
• Success of Thrace and Scythia

  - boat bridge to get troops across to Thrace

  - Managed to conquer Thrace which gave control of the Aegean coastline and land access to Greece

  - The Ionians remained loyal and guarded the boats, rather than cutting them free like the Thracians suggested
• Failures of Thrace and Scythia

  - Failed to conquer Scythia

  - They failed to kill the Scythian fields because archers were shooting at them

  - They were lured into barren land by cattle left by the Scythian's on purpose

  - They got lost on the way to the Ister (river)
• The Ionian Revolt
• What is a satrap?

  a governer of a designated area
• Why did Aristagoras and Artaphernes fall out?

  Aristagoras had persuaded Artaphernes and Darius to launch an invasion of the island, in the expectation that it would also bring the other islands of the Cyclades into the Persian Empire
• How would Aristagoras have gained if the military action against Naxos had been a success?

  Aristogaras could have hoped to be enriched and for his power to grow
• Which main land Greek city would not support Aristagoras and the Ionian revolt?


  Sparta
• Which main land Greek city did support Aristagoras and the Ionian revolt?

  Athens
• What did they send to support the Ionian Revolt?

  20 ships
• Explain how a tyrant called Hippias had already created a state of conflict between Greece and Persia several years before the Ionian Revolt.


  Hippias had defeated to the Persians and was trying to persuade them to conquer Athens and reinstall him as tyrant
• What city was successfully attacked first by the Greek allies?

  Sardis
• What did they do to Sardis?

  burnt it to the ground
• Which very significant building was completely destroyed and what impact did this have on the Persians?

  The temple of the major Lydian goddess Cybebe and it became a focal point of Persian rage
• What caused the Athenians to withdraw their support from the revolt?

  The greek forces were defeated by skilled Persian cavalry
• Which island was captured by the Ionians and why did the Persians focus their efforts on regaining control of this island?

  Cyprus because it was a key naval base
• What did Histiaeus do when he returned to the Aegean coast?

  He switched sides and supported the revolt