Darius also tried to improve Persia’s maritime prowess by moving seafaring Greeks from the Mediterranean to the head of the Persian Gulf. Cyrus had relied on Phoenicians to batt le the Greek and Egyptian fleets, and Cambyses had added the Egyptian navy to the empire’s forces. For many decades, however, the most Persian thing about the fl eet was its flag. The Persians took great pains to reconcile the foreign naval commanders to their service, but over time, especially aft er Darius became emperor, more Persians served on ships and rose in the ranks to become commanders and admirals. Eventually, the entire fleet was in the hands of Persian admirals and included contingents of Persian, Mede, and Scythian marines while the Phoenicians and Egyptians continued to provide ships and sailors. War with the Greek city- states only gradually became part of Darius’s plans. The Persians and Greeks had been in contact with each other throughout the period, and at one point the Athenians had sought an alliance with the Persians against rival Greek states. In return, the Athenian envoys were required to recognize Persian suzerainty over Athens. When the Athenians eventually disowned the agreement, the Persians may well have regarded them as rebellious subjects. The proximate cause of the series of Greco- Persian wars that raged for roughly a half- century, however, was the revolt in 499 bc of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor. After nearly six years of bloody ground combat, Darius assembled a fleet that defeated the Ionian navy off the coast of Asia Minor in 494 bc, isolating and sealing the fate of the remaining rebellious cities.
Persian Army under Darius I: Cavalry, Archery and Resourcefulness
