The Persian Wars raged across the Mediterranean in the Early 5th century BCE. There were many long term causes of the war including Persian Imperialism and the Ionians living within the Persian Empire. The short term cause was the actions of aristagoras of the Persian Empire. These factors lead to the out of a war between the Greeks and the Persian Empire which was considered why historians such as trauss to have been vital to the survival of the Western World and its culture. The battle of Marathon waged on the Marathon plain of northeastern Attica in 490 B.C. marked the first blows of the Persian War. With the Persians closing in on the Greek capitol, Athenian general Miltiades assumed command of the hastily assembled army. Miltiades employed
