Classical Societies, 500 BCE to 500 CE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Classical Societies, 500 BCE to 500 CE - Essay Example Great, the decline of the Persian Empire, the Roman Republic and the fall of the Roman empire, the rise of Christianity, the Mauryan and Gupta empires in the sub-continent, and the Qin and Han dynasties of China. What made the societies classical are the golden ages that existed because of the times of peace, great strides in development and progress, and ideas that have endured beyond their time. The classical period saw both the clash of the rising Persian Empire with the Greeks and Romans, and its weakening. At the start of the classical period, the Persian Empire formed earlier under Cyrus the Great was already at its greatest extent now under Darius I who led his conquering armies eastwards to the Indus river, central Asia, Egypt, Libya and some parts of Europe. At this time in history, the huge Persian Empire formed an important bridge between Eastern Europe and the sub-continent uniting a diversity of peoples. Throughout the classical period Persia had to contend with continuous wars with other civilizations in close proximity beginning with the Greeks in the Greco-Persian wars. In the battle of Marathon (490 BCE) a huge Persian army had gathered against the smaller number of Athenian forces but failed because the Greeks had trapped them to attack from the mountainside. A later attempt under Xerxes gave the Persians another opportunity at the battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE). This time the Spartans aided the Athenians, but the Persian army was overwhelming and they went on to capture Athens. In another battle of Salamis, a large Persian fleet was destroyed by the Greeks using similar trapping tactics as they had used at Marathon. This loss made Xerxes withdraw most of his forces from Greece, and the remaining Persian army was then defeated again at the battle of Plateau. This ended all Persian hopes of expansion into Europe. There were further wars with the Greeks when Alexander the Great became king. Alexander carried out his father’s plans of