Wednesday, November 2, 2016

The Greek Empire And Persian Empire Battle

By Daniel Meyer


This battle has became one of the famous engagements of military. This is also one of the recorded battles in the earliest times. The victory over Persian invaders has given the Greeks a confidence in having the ability of defending themselves and they continue to believe for their existence. This battle was then considered as one defining moment for developing European culture.

During 490 BC, having an approximately 20,000 infantries and cavalries and 600 ships, the Persians invaded the Athens, passing through Greek soil. The main mission is crush the Greeks state in the retaliation of lonion cousins support that has revolted against Persian rules. Athens, who remain undaunted, mobilized immediately their 10,000 warriors to defend the territory. These two armies met at plain of Marathon, 26 miles from Athens, north. This marks the beginning for Battle of Marathon.

The plain of Marathon is being surrounded with many hills and sea. The plain is also ideal for cavalries of Persian. Greek general Miltiades stated a plea and asked the fellow generals to invade the Persians. After, he ordered the warriors to form a line similar to the opponent. Warriors are also ordered to attach the dead run lines. In the war, Greek lines were weakened, but fortunately, the flanks had engulfed and had slaughtered their opponents who were trapped. An estimation of 192 Greeks and of 6,400 Persians are killed during war.

The remaining opponents immediately escaped using their ships and still attempted to attack the undefended Athens. Before the war, the generals of Athens were divided based on their opinions. There are some who prefer on not taking the risks since they only have a very few people as compared to the opponent.

While other generals prefer to fight, specifically those having fighting experiences. Miltiades is one of these warrior generals. Miltiades after hearing their opinions, asked his fellow generals to come with for a conference in the polemarch. A polemarch is the honored dignitary of Athenian people.

In the conference, he said that if their troop will not fight, there is a great possibility of Athens disturbance that may shake resolutions of the men. And the thing that he fears most is seeing their people submitting themselves. Whereas if they will fight, they can surely overcome the enemy. Through his words, the title was given to him and also had convinced everyone in the polemarch to fight.

After the battle, there are a lot of explanations for the victory of Greeks. Some scholars have said that they acquired better equipment and that they also have used the superior tactics. However, then equipment that have been used were not made of bronze Armour but linen or leather. Another reason is the formation of Greek phalanxes is successful compared to Persian soldiers.

The strategies used by Persians are believed to be made out of tactical considerations. So to any events that are said to have triggered the war, Athenian surely altered these strategic and tactical balances to attack their enemies. Other theories are also stated for considerations but are not mentioned here.

In the Marathon plain, Athenian warriors thinned their centers to have equal length with the enemy. During this scenario, the Persians wings were broken. And realizing this, they were trying to recur but were caught immediately by the wings of Greeks.




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