Episode 11 Challenges in the West

The Persian Empire

Dr John W I Lee (2012)

Film Review

To stop the continual raids by Scythian nomads on the Eastern Persian empire, Darius I led his warriors into Scythia (modern day Ukraine) intending to incorporate the region into his empire. He built a special pontoon bridge ( there would be no permanent bridge in modern day Istanbul until 1973) to cross the Bosporous into Thrace while the Ionian Greeks provided naval support.

The Scythians proved impossible to defeat because they kept withdrawing and refused to engage militarily with the Persians. However Darius I did succeed in bring Trace and Macedon on the Greek mainland into the empire.

In 494 BC the Greek cities in Ionia (on the west coast of the Anatolian peninsula) revolted against Persian control. Athens and Eretia on the Greek mainland supported the them.

It took a total of five years to suppress the revolt. The Persians castrated the most handsome Greek boys and sold the most attractive girls into slavery.

Darius appointed Artaphenes satrap of Sardis. The latter enacted a series of reforms to prevent further insurrection by the Greeks:

1. A system to arbitrate disputes between cities.

2. Land reform – to provide farmland for landless Greek peasants.

3. After Artaphenes deposed the tyrants ruling the the Ionian Greek cities, he allowed them to establish democracies.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/15372393/15372419