Starter quiz
- Which statements are accurate descriptions about Ancient Mesopotamia?
- It included the lands that had once been ruled by the Sumer civilisation. ✓
- The city of Babylon was located high up in the mountains.
- The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flowed through Mesopotamia. ✓
- The city of Babylon was located by the Euphrates river. ✓
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- Who was the king of the Persian Achaemenids who conquered the kingdom of Medes and the city of Babylon?
- Darius
- Cambyses
- Cyrus ✓
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- What territory did Cyrus' son, Cambyses, take control of?
- Greece
- Egypt ✓
- France
- Italy
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- Order the events, starting with the earliest.
- 1⇔King Cyrus conquered Babylon and the Kingdom of Medes.
- 2⇔King Cambyses wanted to conquer new territory in the west.
- 3⇔Ancient Egypt was conquered by Cambyses’ army.
- Where did King Darius take control of in around 490 BCE?
- the Nile Valley
- the Indus Valley ✓
- the Tigris Valley
- the Euphrates Valley
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- Complete the sentence. Darius wanted to expand his territory further and conquer the city-states of Ancient ______ and rule over them.
- 'Greece' ✓
Exit quiz
- Where did the first major battle of the war between Greece and Persia happen?
- Athens
- Marathon ✓
- Corinth
- Persia
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- Which statements about the battle at Marathon are correct?
- The Greeks and the Persians had a battle in boats.
- The Greeks defeated the Persians. ✓
- The Persian soldiers outnumbered the Greek soldiers. ✓
- The Greeks and the Persians reached a truce.
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- Choose the correct historical term to complete this sentence: In warfare, to __________ something such as a place or people is to defeat them in battle, and then take over them.
- rule
- win
- conquer ✓
- beat
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- Which statements about the Battle of Thermopylae and king Xerxes are historically accurate?
- Like Darius, the Xerxes also attacked by boat.
- The battle lasted for three days. ✓
- Unlike Darius, Xerxes attacked by land. ✓
- Like at Marathon, the Persians lost the battle.
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- What did the Persians burn to the ground when they ransacked Athens?
- 'the Acropolis' ✓
- Which statements about the Battle of Salamis are correct?
- It was a large sea-battle. ✓
- The Persians were victorious.
- It took place in 480 BCE. ✓
- The Greeks defeated the Persians.
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The first major battle between the Greek city-states and Persia was at Marathon.
- The Persian army fought its way onto the beach before being repulsed; a runner was sent to declare victory in Athens.
- The new Persian king Xerxes attacked Greece by land, taking days to defeat a small band of Greeks at Thermopylae.
- The Persians then captured Athens, destroying the temple atop the acropolis before the sea-battle of Salamis.
- At Salamis, the Persians were defeated, preventing Persia from conquering Greece.
Common misconception
That battles are always fought on land, by soldiers or warriors who are physically fighting each other.
Battles can be fought many ways - some Ancient Greek battles were land based and warriors used chariots and weapons like javelins. Other battles were at sea using boats that would be rammed into the enemy and archers that would fire arrows at them.
Keywords
Conquer - in warfare, to conquer something such as a place or people is to defeat them in battle, and then take over them
Runner - in this lesson, a runner is a messenger who carries messages by running between places
Acropolis - the fortified hill of an ancient Greek city was called an acropolis
Sea-battle - when boats are used to attack an enemy during a war, this is a sea-battle
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