Everything about The Peace Of Callias totally explained
The
Peace of Callias is a purported treaty established around
449 BC between the
Delian League (led by
Athens) and
Persia, ending the
Persian Wars.
The peace was negotiated by
Callias, an Athenian politician. Persia had continually lost territory to the
Greeks after the end of
Xerxes I's invasion in
479 BC, and by
450 they were ready to make peace. The Peace of Callias gave autonomy to the
Ionian states in
Asia Minor, prohibited the establishment of Persian
satrapies elsewhere on the
Aegean coast, and prohibited Persian ships from the Aegean. Athens also agreed not to interfere with Persia's possessions in Asia Minor,
Cyprus,
Libya or
Egypt (Athens had recently lost a fleet aiding an Egyptian revolt against Persia).
Arguments for the existence of a peace treaty
It is possible that the treaty never officially existed, and if did exist, its importance is disputed.
Thucydides didn't mention it, nor does Herodotus, and
Plutarch thought it had either been signed after the
Battle of the Eurymedon in
466 BC, or that it had never been signed at all. In any case, there seems to have been some agreement reached ending hostilities with Persia after 450/449, which allowed Athens to deal with the new threats from the other Greek states such as
Corinth and
Thebes, as well as Euboeoa which rebelled from the Delian League shortly after this. These conflicts arose when the other Greeks felt there was no longer a justification for the
Delian League, which had developed from the
Spartan-led Hellenic League that defeated Xerxes' invasion, as Persia was no longer a threat. As Athens demanded more and more tribute and exerted more control over its allies, it has been argued that the League became more of a true empire, and many of Athens' former allies began to rebel. Although Callias was also responsible for a peace (The
Thirty Years Peace) with Sparta in
446–
445 BC, the growing Athenian threat would eventually lead to the
Peloponnesian War.
There was no direct fighting between the Greeks and the Persians after 450, but Persia continued to meddle in Greek affairs over the next twenty years, and was to become instrumental in securing a
Spartan victory in the Peloponnesian War.
Further Information
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