Essay Sample on The Persian and Peloponnesian Wars

Introduction

During the classical Greek era, the conflict between the Hellenic world and the Achaemenid Empire led to Persian wars between 499-449 BCE leading to the rise of Athens and its Golden Age. The Greeks in the Ionian region marked the first part of Persian Wars when they revolted against Persian rule in 499 BCE but were defeated at the Battle of Lade in 494 BCE even after receiving aid from Athens other cities. As a result, Persian King Darius swore to retaliate against Athens and all Greeks for stability. The 492 BCE victories against Thrace and Macedonia made Greek cities submit to Darius except for Athens and Sparta.

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The Persian Wars

The battle of Marathon in 490 BCE marked a turning point in the Persian Wars as Persians were defeated in their attempt to conquer Athens when the Greeks formed an allied league of heavily equipped Greeks hoplites though it was a small army compared to that of the Persians. King Darius died, and his son Xerxes 1 took over and planned a second invasion with many assaults on Greek cities, including Thrace, Boetia, and Thessaly. They were kept back by a small army of Spartans though they eventually seized and burned Athens though no one was in the city and were defeated at the Battle of Salamis by Athenians. The Greeks used silver to build warships that defeated the Persian army in two separate battles, namely the Battle of Plataea and the Battle of Mycale, destroying their fleets and dominating sea power. The defeat marked the end of the Persian invasion on the Greeks.

The Delian League resulted from an alliance formed to carry on with counter-attacks against the Persian Empire, organize coming invasions, and divide war spoils. The Spartans withdrew after accomplishing the league's primary purpose of Greece liberation. Sparta and its allies renewed the Peloponnesian League after leaving the Delian League. Many of its supporters had left due to Pausanias' violent acts, a Spartan leader when they besieged the Byzantium Empire. The Persian Empire used to divide and rule to protect itself from more attacks from the Greeks by fuelling the growing conflicts between Sparta and Athens. Their tactic was successful as the Greeks were preoccupied with internal battles, thus ensuring there were no more conflicts between Greece and Persia till the Spartan King Agesilaus momentarily attacked Asia Minor in 396 BCE.

The Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) occurred as a conflict between Sparta and Athens and their allies and greatly affected the Greek world ending the Golden Age of Athenian Culture (DeSantis xvi). After the Persian Wars, the two powers in Greece that had united to defeat the Persians disagreed on their sphere of influence, thereby causing tension and eventually war. After Sparta's departure from the Delian League, Athens had gained unrivaled naval and commercial power, often conflicted with the other smaller states as it used the resources for its purposes. The tension between the two cities grew, and Spartan, which had initially resisted calls from allies to declare war on Athens, invaded the town after Athens issued a Megarian degree that laid economic sanctions on Megara (Nash 119). Megarians were forbidden from marketplaces and harbors throughout Athens to suppress its economy and ultimately affect its allies.

The war was characterized by a six-year ceasefire between two periods of war. Sparta was drawn into conflict with Athens when one of its allies, Corinth, got into a clash with Athens when its interests in the Corcyra region were threatened and had to engage the Athenian military. Raids ensued between Athens and Sparta using the naval army and military army, respectively. A peace treaty, the Peace of Nicias, followed after years of open combat between the two, where they agreed to defend each other for the coming 50 years. The treaty ended after six years when Sparta retaliated after an assault by Athens at Sicily. After a decade of combat, the Athenian fleet was defeated at Aegospotami by the Spartan army (DeSantis 236). After the Athenian surrender, the war also brought the golden age to an end, and Sparta became the most powerful state in Greece.

Perspective

These wars illustrate the role of power and morality in international politics even as leaders exercise their political and military power. There is a need for justification before making war with other countries regardless of whether a country is robust or not. Powerful states often take order into their hands and exploit smaller or less powerful states imposing economic sanctions to cripple their economy and make them submissive. Morality in creating wars to justify actions taken by powerful economies is essential to avert global issues such as terrorisms, corruption, fraud, and authoritarian leaders' power abuse.

Conclusion

The Persian and Peloponnesian Wars are critical historical events in ancient Greek and show the classical period in Greece that shaped it. The wars ended by either surrendering or peace treaty. History connects events from old times to today's world as these events provide a transparent background of actions taken and policies laid to create and shape what we see today as a state. Power balance and struggles that occur outline relationships between governments and pave a way to formulate better guidelines that govern countries and international relations.

Works Cited

De Santis, Marc G. A Naval History of the Peloponnesian War: Ships, Men and Money in the War at Sea, 431-404 BC. 1st ed., Pen and Sword Military, 2018.

Nash, John. "Sea Power in the Peloponnesian War." Naval War College Review 71.1 (2018): 119-139.