Battle of Zama

Zama

Rome vs. Carthage

Prologue

As the empire of Alexander the Great collapsed, the balance of power in the Mediterranean began shifting westward. Three separate factions emerged as the great powers in the western portion of the Great Sea: the Greek Colonies, Carthage, and Rome. Starting around 300 B.C. these three factions began truly competing for preeminence in the region. The result was 150 years of war and the ultimate supremacy of one city.

The Greek Colonies were practically clones of their mother cities: independent and disunited. The colonies stretched from Spain and Gaul ( modern France ) to North Africa, Sicily, and southern Italy. The most powerful cities were concentrated in Italy and Sicily. Although the Greeks had little interest in expansion, their cities had become prime strategic real estate, eliminating any possibility of staying out of the upcoming wars.

When Rome began expanding into southern Italy the colonies hired an army of 20,000 homeland Greeks and a general by the name of Phyrrus to defend them. In 280 and 279 B.C. Phyrrus defeated the Romans in two great battles. However, his casualties were so high he remarked that 'another such victory and we are ruined.' With prospects for further successes in Italy becoming dim, Phyrrus went to fight the Carthaginians for the Greek cities in Sicily. After some victories there, however, he tried to become king of all Sicily. The Sicilian Greeks turned on him and had him exiled. Phyrrus returned to Italy to attempt to resurrect his fortunes, but he was now badly outnumbered and outgunned by fresh Roman armies. After the battle of Bavantium, Phyrrus had had enough and returned to Greece. As he left he told his friends, " What a battlefield we leave to Carthage and Rome."

Phyrrus' words would prove prophetic. With the Greek colonies now mostly conquered by or allied to the two imperial cities of Carthage and Rome, the door was opened for three of the bloodiest wars in ancient history. For a century two vast and vastly different empires would fight to control the entire western Mediterranean world. At the end only one would be left standing.

Carthage was an ancient and cultured city on the northern coast of Africa. It was founded by the Phoenicians, the most renown sailors and merchants of antiquity. The Carthaginians had taken after their forefathers and come to dominate the trade lanes in the region with a fleet of 500 warships. Although Carthage had little in the way of manpower reserves, her incredible wealth allowed the hiring of thousands of mercenaries to bolster her armies' ranks.

Rome was in many ways the exact opposite of Carthage. Rome was a young city that had only recently been a frontier town. The Romans also possessed little in the way of culture and refinement. They were known for practicality, with the study of engineering and military arts taking precedence over philosophy and music. At the beginning of the wars, Rome had no navy, but the fertile plains of Italy produced tens of thousands of fresh recruits every year. This gave the Romans a manpower reserve that Carthage simply couldn't match.

For decades an uneasy peace had existed between the two cities; with occasional treaties leaving both sides just satisfied enough to keep from going to war. The breaking point finally came in 265 B.C. when the critical port of Messana became involved in international politics. Messana was under attack from the powerful Greek colony of Syracuse and near defeat. The Messanans sent envoys to both Rome and Carthage to beg for aid. The Carthaginians arrived first and occupied the city. However, the Roman force which came later was much stronger. Upon seeing the more powerful Roman army, the people of Messana switched sides and helped the Romans expel the army of Carthage. This episode began the First Punic War.

The First Punic War( 'Punic' being the Latin word for 'Carthaginian' ) lasted for twenty-three years. Both sides scored great victories, but in the end, Rome managed to hold on just a little longer than Carthage and win. As spoils of war, Rome took the whole of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Carthage also had to pay Rome a substantial sum of money every year. A great Carthaginian commander by the name of Hamilcar Barca was enraged by these terms and made his son swear to be an enemy of Rome forever. The boy's name was Hannibal.

Hannibal would soon get his chance to make good on his oath. In an effort to rebuild their shattered empire, the Carthaginians sent Hamilcar and his army to conquer Spain. Hamilcar brought Hannibal along and over the next several years managed to win a great deal of territory for Carthage. During these wars in Spain Hannibal fought alongside his father and learned much of the art of battle.

Rome watched the developments in Spain anxiously, fearing a return to power for Carthage. In 219 B.C. Hannibal, now commanding the army in Spain after his father's death, laid siege to the town of Saguntum. This siege was made significant by a recent protection agreement Rome had made with Saguntum, giving Rome a valid reason to declare war on Carthage in 218 B.C.

However, Hannibal was fully aware his actions would likely begin another war with Rome and already had his next move well-planned. He marched his army along the Mediterranean coast, hiring thousands of Celts and Gauls to add to his veteran soldiers from Carthage and Spain. He also brought some 40(-ish, historians still hotly debate the exact number) African war elephants and thousands of Numidian cavalry, reputed to be the finest in the world.

In a daring and risky move, Hannibal crossed the Alps towards the end of 218 B.C. By some miracle he managed to get 26,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, and even a few elephants over the mountains and into Italy. However, he had lost thousands of men in the frozen passes of the Alps, and those that remained were hungry, tired, and demoralized.

Hannibal quickly gave his men reason to hope again. Soon after crossing into Italy he was faced by a strong Roman army at the river Trebia. He destroyed that army with his elephants and a heavy cavalry ambush. In 217 B.C. he ambushed and destroyed another Roman army at Lake Trasimene.

Hannibal's finest moment came in 216 B.C. at the battle of Cannae. There he annihilated an army twice his size in this way: He formed-up his troops in a crescent formation bent towards the Romans. In the center he put his new barbarian soldiers, while he placed his hardened Carthaginian veterans on the ends. When the Romans attacked, the barbarians were forced back, but the troops on the ends held their ground. Once the line had bent back into a crescent facing the opposite way, with the Romans inside the curve, Hannibal had his cavalry attack the Roman rear. The Romans suddenly found themselves surrounded and trapped in a kill zone. The doomed Romans suffered some 70,000 casualties during that single, bloody day.

Despite this utterly crushing defeat, however, Rome did not surrender. Hannibal was urged to attack immediately after Cannae, but he could not. His army was too small, too exhausted, and lacked the siege equipment necessary to defeat Rome's mighty fortifications. And so a stalemate ensued for more than ten years. Hannibal was too brilliant to be defeated, but too weak to take Rome and end the war.

The tide began to slowly turn a few years after Cannae. Rome sent his new generation of armies out against Hannibal's new allies in Italy and his power base in Spain, instead of directly at Hannibal. During these battles one officer rose to the highest levels of Roman command: Publius Scipio. Scipio had been one of the few survivors of Cannae and used his dearly-bought knowledge of tactics to take the whole of Spain for Rome by 208 B.C.

After victory in Spain, Scipio sailed for Sicily to gather fresh troops for an attack on Africa. He managed to assemble some 30,000 Roman soldiers. Many of his new men had lost fathers at Cannae and were yearning for revenge. After a year of training his men, Scipio sailed for Africa in 204 B.C.

Scipio quickly proved he could win on Carthage's home turf. In 203 B.C. he defeated an army of both Carthage and Numidia at the battle of Utica. During the battle the pro-Carthage king of Numidia was killed, allowing a pro-Rome and puppet king of Scipio's choosing to become king. The change in rulers gave Scipio the allegiance of the famed Numidian cavalry, once a critcal asset of Hannibal's.

After Utica Hannibal was recalled to Carthage to oversee the city's defense. He brought back some 24,000 veterans of the Italian campaign, and soon doubled the size of his army with 12,000 barbarian mercenaries and 12,000 Carthaginian draftees. He was also given a fresh supply of war elephants. However, the defection of the Numidians left him short of cavalry, having only a couple thousand.

While Hannibal was training his new recruits, Scipio was ravaging the fertile farmlands of North Africa. Political pressure from these raids forced Hannibal to move out before he believed his new men were completely ready. The two armies would meet in 202 B.C. at the town of Zama, 100 miles southwest of Carthage. This would be a battle for the ages. Two undefeated generals from two arch-enemies were about to fight for control of the entire western Mediterranean.

The Armies

Carthage- The army of Carthage was a multinational force, composed of men from all corners of the western Mediterranean. Over the decades Hannibal had assembled a force composed of Carthaginians, Africans, Numidians, Spaniards, Gauls, and Celts. He fought alongside them and transformed them into hardened veterans that had taken war to the very gates of Rome. The army was truly a professional force, able to preform complex maneuvers and retain its cohesion. This was an ability the brute-force, head-on centered armies of Rome traditionally lacked. Hannibal arranged his men in three lines with the 12,000 barbarians in the first line, the 12,000 draftees in the second line, and his 24,000 veterans in the third line.

Hannibal also had 80 new war elephants. These beasts were used to intimidate enemies and break-up formations, and could be quite effective. With 20,000 more men and the ancient equivalent of Abrams tanks, it looked like Hannibal would destroy this Roman invasion easily and keep the Second Punic War raging.

Rome-The army of Rome was centered on heavy infantry arranged in three battle lines. In the first line were the Hastati, the young rookies looking to prove themselves. In the second line were the Principes, these were the men who had survived several years in the first line and had an excellent balance of youthful vigor and combat experience. In the third line were the elite Triarii, the hardiest veterans who had experienced well over a decade of war. These men were the emergency reserves, meant to shore-up a critical breach or give the final push for victory.

Rome had traditionally been lacking in both cavalry numbers and quality, as the terrain of Italy was much more suited for producing infantry armies. However, as previously mentioned, Scipio's political maneuvering and victory at Utica has caused the rise of a pro-Rome king of the Numidian horsemen. These horsemen rode bareback, wore leopard skins, and carried iron javelins and short swords. Scipio's puppet had supplied him with thousands of these fierce horsemen.

The Battle

Hannibal began the Battle of Zama by ordering his elephants to charge the Roman lines. The beasts lumbered towards the enemy, intent on scattering the Romans. However, the Romans responded by shouting, blowing trumpets, and opening gaps in their lines for the the elephants to charge through. The elephants were either scared away or charged down spear-lined corridors of death. Some elephants even charged back into their own men, creating confusion and casualties.

Upon seeing this, Scipio had his superior cavalry forces charge the cavalry of Carthage. Hannibal's outnumbered cavalry quickly abandoned the field, although they did this SO quickly some historians have speculated that Hannibal had ordered his cavalry to retreat to draw the Roman horsemen away from his infantry. Regardless, the fight was now down to Hannibal's 50,000 foot soldiers against Scipio's 30,000.

The two first lines hit each other head-on, barbarian against Hastati. The barbarians began to crack first. Hannibal ordered his draftees to reinforce the barbarians, but they moved-up so slowly the barbarians thought they were being abandoned and fled. The draftees then attacked the Hastati and managed to hold on considerably longer, but when Scipio sent in his Principes the second Carthaginian line broke.

Now Hannibal was down to his 24,000 elite veterans against Scipio's less than 30,000 men. He went for broke, attacking with every last man he had. When the two armies collided Scipio began stretching his lines, leaving his weakest units in the center, while hammering Hannibal's flanks with his veteran units. It was a formation eerily similar to Hannibal's at Cannae.

The Roman coup de grace was delivered by the Numidian horsemen. They swept down on Hannibal's rear and began chopping down the army of Carthage. It was a mirror image of Cannae, but this time Hannibal was the one trapped. Hannibal managed to escape, but his army did not. The Second Punic War was over.

Aftermath

With her army defeated, Carthage was forced to accept Rome's harsh surrender terms. Hannibal began working to rebuild his city, but was soon forced to flee east to escape being handed over to the Romans. He worked as a mercenary, selling his skills to whichever kingdom could pay the most. However, Rome sent assassins to hunt him down. Rather than be killed by his arch-enemies, Hannibal committed suicide in 182 B.C.

Scipio died soon afterwards. After Zama he had entered Roman politics, with his war hero status winning him some early successes.However, his enemies united and had him driven out of Rome. Both the master and the apprentice would die in exile.

Carthage would never regain her former power and influence. The Romans kept a very close eye on Carthage for the next forty years, alert for any sign of trouble from the city that had produced their worst nightmare. In 167 B.C. Rome laid siege to Carthage and three years later burned the city. The Carthaginian survivors were sold into slavery and the ground of Carthage was sown with salt to make it infertile. Rome had never before used measures this extreme after taking a city, but Hannibal had scared them too much. Hannibal had gone beyond a mere enemy, he had become a dark specter on the Roman psyche.

The effects of Zama are almost immeasurable. Scipio's victory humbled Rome's greatest rival and cleared the way for Rome to dominate the entire Mediterranean world. The resultant Pax Romana (peace of Rome ) brought a level of stability to the world never before seen. This allowed people and ideas to travel great distances quickly and safely. Nowhere would this be more evident than when a certain teacher from the remote providence of Judea began proclaiming that His message of love and reconciliation with God in about A.D.25. In a matter of years His disciples carrired this message from Spain to India. The teacher was Jesus and the message was Christianity, which has been the single greatest factor on world history for the last 2,000 years.

Next Week- The Battle of Tours. The Franks vs. The Moors

Battle of Guagamela

Guagamela

Macedonia vs Persia

Prologue

Ten years after the Greek victory at Marathon, Darius' son Xerxes pulled-out all the stops in his quest for vengeance. A Persian force of 250,000 men crossed the Hellespont along with 700 warships to provide naval support. The initial Persian advance was unstoppable. Xerxes overran indefensible northern Greece, defeated a small Spartan army at Thermopylae, and sacked Athens. The Athenian admiral Themistocles, however, managed to lure Persian fleet into the narrow straits of Salamis. There the Greek fleet ambushed the Persians and inflicted heavy losses. With his lines of communication, supply, and retreat now endangered due to a lack of warships, Xerxes abandoned the war.

After this glorious victory Greece entered a golden age. Trade, art, and science all reached new heights through mental giants like Plato and Sophocles. However, the brutal 27-year Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta brought the golden age to an end. Although Sparta 'won' the war by taking Athens in 404 B.C., all the Greek cities were devastated. None ever really recovered and became easy pickings for the Greek kingdom of Macedonia 50 years later.

In 336 B.C. the Macedonian king Phillip II was assassinated. Although it was never proven, most suspected that one of the Phillip's queens, Olympius, had arranged the murder so that her son Alexander would become king. Although the Macedonians were considered 'rednecks' or 'hillbillies' by the southern Greeks, Alexander was no country hick. His childhood tutor was Aristotle himself, and Alexander had proven he had a clear head under fire while fighting the Greeks alongside his father.

After spending three years suppressing revolts in Greece and the Balkans, Alexander did the unimaginable: he crossed the Hellespont with some 50,000 men and invaded the empire of Persia. On paper it was suicide to attack Persia, whose territory stretched from the Black Sea to the Indus River, but Alexander was not dissuaded. Curious, ambitious, and brilliant in equal measure the 23-year-old king quickly proved he was up to the challenge. Soon after crossing into Persian territory Alexander defeated a 40,000-man army of Persians and their Greek mercenaries at the River Granicus. A year later in the mountains of northwest Syria, Alexander defeated the Persian king Darius and his 250,000-man army at the battle of Issus.

After Issus the Persians fell back into the heart of their empire to regroup. Alexander, meanwhile, marched south along the Mediterranean coast, conquering Syria, Israel, and Egypt. In 331 B.C. he marched his army back north and into the Persian heartland. Darius gathered another 250,000-man army and marched to the wide plain of Guagamela to meet the Macedonian invaders.

For both armies this battle would be do-or-die. Darius had his back to wall; his two crushing defeats had cost him half his empire, and now the Greeks were almost to Babylon's gates. Alexander, on the other hand, had committed his entire army and was deep in enemy territory. If he lost he would have no chance to regroup or retreat. The fate of the entire known world would hinge on the outcome of a single day.

The Armies

Macedonia-As in all previous Greek armies, the Macedonian infantry fought in phalanx formation. However, the Macedonians had taken the phalanx to the next level by using 18-foot instead of 8-foot spears and training for greater speed and maneuverability. What really set the army of Macedon apart from other Greek armies, though, was its excellent heavy cavalry and Alexander's ability to coordinate both types of units for maximum flexibility and power.

The standard Macedonian battle tactics were 'hammer-and-anvil' tactics. The infantry would function as the 'anvil' to hold the enemy in place while the cavalry functioned as the 'hammer', smashing at the critical point. Macedonian coordination and tactics made their army the most advanced in the world. However, even with these advantages, Alexander would be hard-pressed to defeat the Persians' 5-to-1 numerical superiority on the open desert.

Persia- The Persian army was a massive juggernaut of 250,000 men drawn from all corners of the world. Darius commanded numerous types of units including: Syrian spearmen, fierce Afghan tribesmen, swift Asiatic cavalry, and Persian chariots, just to name a few.

After losing the battle of Issus due to the narrow mountain battlefield, Darius intentionally chose the wide plain of Guagamela to give his thousands of cavalry and colossal infantry formations room to maneuver. He even went so far as to have the ground leveled to make it perfect for his chariots. Although no longer on the cutting edge in weaponry (e.g. chariots had been in use on battlefields for 1,000 years ) the Persians would still be fighting on a field perfectly suited to their way of war. It looked like Alexander had gotten too cocky and bitten of more than he could chew.

The Battle

The Persian army deployed with large numbers of cavalry on both flanks, with chariots and baggage elephants in the center and the infantry behind them. On the other side of field Alexander put smaller cavalry forces on his left and right, with he and his elite cavalry in the center. Behind his horsemen he lined-up archers and javelin men. Behind his ranged troops were his veteran Macedonian soldiers. Lastly was a reserve phalanx composed of mercenaries and meant to counter any Persian flanking maneuver.

As the two armies closed with each other, Alexander took the initiative to avoid being flanked. He took most of his cavalry, including his super-elite Companion Cavalry, to the far right of the battlefield. This drew the Persian cavalry away from the prepared field. Alexander then charged the Persian cavalry to avoid being surrounded.

Darius saw that with Alexander and his cavalry engaged, the plain was open for his chariots. 100 chariots were ordered to charge the Macedonians. Each chariot had razor-sharp blades attached to the wheel hub, designed to mow down infantry like grass. The Macedonians held their nerve, however, and the crack Macedonian archers shot down the Persian chariot horses.

His chariots having failed, Darius ordered a mass attack of cavalry and infantry against the weaker Macedonian left wing. He also ordered his center cavalry to reinforce his attack against Alexander and the Companion Cavalry on the Persian left. However, these movements left Darius without any forces between him and the Macedonians. Alexander saw the opening and lead his Companions on an all-out charge for Darius.

When Darius saw some 1,600 super-elite heavy cavalry bearing down on him, he lost his nerve; and as a result, his empire. The Persian king abandoned his massive army and some $3,000,000,000 dollars in treasure in a mad dash for survival. Alexander couldn't afford to chase Darius, however, as his left wing was buckling under the massive Persian attack that had left the way to Darius open. A few Persian cavalry units had even broken into the Macedonian camp. Alexander charged back and, along with the mercenary reserves, managed to defeat the Persian attacks and save the Macedonain army.

When the main body of the Persian army discovered their king had fled, they too broke ranks and ran. The Macedonians pursued and slaughtered them by the thousands until nightfall. The battle of Guagamela was over, and with it, Persian control of Asia.

The Aftermath

Alexander would hunt Darius for nine months, but the two kings would never meet again. In 330 B.C. Darius was killed by some of his few remaining supporters. When Alexander found Darius' body, he wrapped him in his own robe and had Darius buried with full royal honors.

After Guagamela, Alexander was unstoppable. Over the next several years he would conquer everything from Babylon to the borders of India. However, after he won his fourth incredible victory in 326 B.C. at the Hydaspes River the rest of the Macedonians had had enough.

Despite his pleas and exhortations, Alexander couldn't convince his war-wearied men to take one more step east. Against his will Alexander returned to Babylon to solidify his gains and plan future conquests. In 323 B.C. Alexander became sick during a massive drinking party. He died a few days later, after saying he would leave his empire to the strongest.

Not one of his generals was strong enough. The empire split into three separate kingdoms, each ruled by a different lieutenent of Alexander the Great.

Although his empire died with him, Alexander's true impact was felt through the massive infussion of Greek ideas across the eastern world and vice-versa. Also, a city he founded on the Egyptian coast and named after himself, Alexandria, would become the capital of knowledge and philosophy. In short, Alexander took what had been developed during the Greek Golden Age and spread it across the world.

Next Week- The Battle of Zama. Rome vs. Carthage.

The Battle of Marathon

The Battle of Marathon

Athens vs. Persia

Prologue


In 510 B.C. the Greek city of Athens drove out it's cruel king Hippias and established the first democratic state. The Athenians quickly rose to prominence among the Greeks and began flexing their new-found muscles.

The natural target for Athenian aggression was the vast Persian empire, who had earned Athens' animosity by conquering the Greek colonies in Ionia ( the western coast of modern-day Turkey ). In 500 B.C. Athens sent warships and soldiers to aid those colonies in a revolt against the Persians. Although Persia eventually suppressed the revolt, the Persian king Darius now realized the Greek cities could not be safely ignored.

In 491 B.C. Darius sent envoys to Athens and demanded complete surrender. The fiercely independent Athenians rejected the demand and threw the Persians over a cliff. Enraged, Darius gathered an army of 30,000 men and a fleet of 600 warships and in 490 B.C. sent them to Greece. Darius also sent along the exiled Hippias, who had fled to Persia and would serve as governor of the conquered territory.

Recognizing the danger their city was now threatened with, the Athenians mustered 10,000 soldiers, 1,000 from each Athenian clan, along with 1,000 men from a nearby allied town. Command of this 11,000 man army was given to a general named Miltiades.

In early September 490 B.C. the Persian army landed at the Bay of Marathon, 26 miles east of Athens. Miltiades moved his army to the mountains overlooking the plain of Marathon, blocking the road inland. For four days there was a stalemate as the Athenian position was too strong to be forced and the Persians were too numerous to be attacked on the open plain. Looking to break the deadlock, the Persian commander decided to load 18,000 of his men, including all of his feared Persian cavalry, back onto the ships and sail to attack undefended Athens. While that was going on the remaining 12,000 infantry would hold the Greek army in place.

The Athenians discovered the ruse, however, and Miltiades quickly organized his troops to attack the Persian holding force. The Persian maneuver had given Miltiades a great opportunity, as well as a great danger. On one hand, the Persian force on the beach was open to attack, however, if he couldn't defeat the beach force quickly, he wouldn't be able to march his army back to Athens in time. The war for Athens was now a race against time.

The Armies


Athens- The Athenian army, like all Greek armies of the time, was composed of hoplites. The hoplite was a spearman, covered in bronze armor and carrying a yard-wide shield and 8-foot spear. They fought in phalanx formation, where they would form a wall of shields and spears. The first three ranks would level their spears at the enemy, while the rear ranks held their spears up to deflect incoming arrows and javelins. The rear ranks would also push the men in front of them forwards with their shields, helping the formation push its way through enemy lines. Taken from the front, the only thing that could defeat a phalanx was a bigger and better phalanx.

Persia- The Persian way of war was to use their numbers, archers, and cavalry to overwhelm their enemies on an open battlefield. Although these tactics proved very successful in the wide deserts of the Middle East, the mountainous terrain of Greece would limit their effectiveness. The Persian army was composed of conscripts from all corners of Darius' empire, their different languages and customs limiting their unity and coordination. However, the Persian archers were known for the deadly effectiveness, and the infantry were savage and fierce.

The Battle

Miltiades divided his army into three units: the center with 3,000 men, and the wings with 4,000 men each. He planned to use his center to hold the Persians in place while his powerful wings smashed the enemy flanks. However, Miltiades was afraid that the Persians would outflank his compact phalanx, so to avoid this he took a great risk and stretched his center thin. Making the center phalanx longer and thinner violated every standard Greek battle plan, but now was not the time to be bound by conventional thought.

Stretching his center would not be the only rule of phalanx warfare that Miltiades broke that day. To keep his army from being slaughtered by the thousands of Persian archers, Miltiades ordered his men to all-out charge the last 300 yards between the armies. A phalanx usually went into battle at a steady pace to keep the formation together.

Miltiades' second risk paid-off handsomely, as Greek armor and speed kept missile casualties to a minimum. The Athenians hit the Persian lines like a freight train and the battle was on. However, Miltiades' first gamble of stretching his center, while it succeeded keeping his army from being flanked, also nearly resulted in his defeat. The Persians managed to break through the weakened Greek center through sheer weight of numbers. The full-strength Greek wings, however, broke the Persian flanks and began crushing the Persian center between them. When the Athenian center rallied and rejoined the battle, the Persian army was trapped between the sea and wall of spears. The tide of battle swung towards the Greeks an never turned back.

Aftermath

After three hours of battle the surviving Persians broke for their ships, leaving behind some 6,500 dead or dying comrades. The Greeks, by comparison, had suffered a paltry 192 casualties. Miltiades had won a great victory, but it would be in vain if Athens fell to the other Persian force sailing towards the city.

After sending a runner ahead to tell Athens of the victory at Marathon, Miltiades reformed his men and began marching back to defend the city. The runner delivered his message of victory to the Athenians, then he died of exhaustion. The rest of the Greek army didn't have it much easier, they had to make a forced march of more than 20 miles, after a long battle, in the late summer heat, and all without rest.

The Greek army reached the city and formed-up on the beach just before the Persians sailed into the bay. Upon seeing the Greeks waiting for him, the Persian commander realized his rear-guard had been defeated and lost his nerve. Rather than attempt to force a landing, the Persians sailed for home.

The battle of Marathon saved Greek culture and Western civilization from being killed in the cradle. If the Persians had taken Athens, they would have had a base for further campaigns in Greece and beyond. Without the victory at Marathon, there would never have been a battle of Salamis or Platea, no Greek golden age, none of the great scientific and social developments of the Greeks. In short, we would be living in a radically different world today.

Next Week- The Battle of Guagamela. Macedonia vs. Persia.