Sometimes one can point to single events that change the course of history.
1. An example would be the victory at the Battle of Saratoga, in our Revolutionary War.
"As a result of the colonists defeating the British at Saratoga, France agreed to aid the colonists and send their navy to fight the British navy (which they did at Yorktown, VA). Saratoga stopped the British army in Northern New York and changed the Revolutionary War from largely being fought in the Northeast to being fought in the central and southern part of the 13 colonies."
What was the significance of the victory at the battle of saratoga
But the following two events changed history to an an even greater extent.....and they occurred on this very day....(or close to it...)
September, the 12th......
2. In 490 BC The Battle of Marathon (may have been August 12, Julian Calendar).
This battle ended the attempt of Darius I of Persia (522-486)to incorporate the Greek mainland into his empire. Athens and their ally Plataea (Sparta arrived late), led by general Miltiades, suffered only 192 lost, and 11 Plateans, while the Persians lost over 6,400. Xerxes (486-465) remembered this loss as unfinished family business.
a. Herodotus:
'Such was the opinion of the barbarians; but the Athenians in close array fell upon them, and fought in a manner worthy of being recorded. They were the first of the Greeks, so far as I know, who introduced the custom of charging the enemy at a run, and they were likewise the first who dared to look upon the Persian garb, and to face men clad in that fashion. Until this time the very name of the Persians had been a terror to the Greeks to hear.'
Of course, some say it wouldn't have meant much to Western Civilization had a despot snuffed out democracy......
b. 480 BC The Hellenic Navy celebrates this day as the anniversary of the Battle of Salamis (may have been September 28):
The Battle of Salamis (Greek 'Ναυμαχία τῆς Σαλαμῖνος' , Naumachia tes Salaminos), was a naval battle between the Greek city-states and Persia in September, 480 BC in the strait between Piraeus and Salamis Island, a small island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens. The Greek victory marked the turning point of the campaign, leading to the eventual Persian defeat. King Xerxes of Persia himself sat on the beach as he watched his fleet being destroyed. The Achemenid Dynasty of Persia (Cyrus II 559-530BC, Cambyses 530-522, Darius 522-486, Xerxes 486-465) was the most powerful empire of the time.
3. And one that has a certain resonance in our time.....
In 1683 on this date, Polish King John Sobieski destroyed the Ottoman Turkish Army under Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa at the Gates of Vienna.
Sobieski went down in European history as the God-sent hero who saved Christendom from the “Terrible Turk.” Thus ended the advance of Islam in Europe.
1. An example would be the victory at the Battle of Saratoga, in our Revolutionary War.
"As a result of the colonists defeating the British at Saratoga, France agreed to aid the colonists and send their navy to fight the British navy (which they did at Yorktown, VA). Saratoga stopped the British army in Northern New York and changed the Revolutionary War from largely being fought in the Northeast to being fought in the central and southern part of the 13 colonies."
What was the significance of the victory at the battle of saratoga
But the following two events changed history to an an even greater extent.....and they occurred on this very day....(or close to it...)
September, the 12th......
2. In 490 BC The Battle of Marathon (may have been August 12, Julian Calendar).
This battle ended the attempt of Darius I of Persia (522-486)to incorporate the Greek mainland into his empire. Athens and their ally Plataea (Sparta arrived late), led by general Miltiades, suffered only 192 lost, and 11 Plateans, while the Persians lost over 6,400. Xerxes (486-465) remembered this loss as unfinished family business.
a. Herodotus:
'Such was the opinion of the barbarians; but the Athenians in close array fell upon them, and fought in a manner worthy of being recorded. They were the first of the Greeks, so far as I know, who introduced the custom of charging the enemy at a run, and they were likewise the first who dared to look upon the Persian garb, and to face men clad in that fashion. Until this time the very name of the Persians had been a terror to the Greeks to hear.'
Of course, some say it wouldn't have meant much to Western Civilization had a despot snuffed out democracy......
b. 480 BC The Hellenic Navy celebrates this day as the anniversary of the Battle of Salamis (may have been September 28):
The Battle of Salamis (Greek 'Ναυμαχία τῆς Σαλαμῖνος' , Naumachia tes Salaminos), was a naval battle between the Greek city-states and Persia in September, 480 BC in the strait between Piraeus and Salamis Island, a small island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens. The Greek victory marked the turning point of the campaign, leading to the eventual Persian defeat. King Xerxes of Persia himself sat on the beach as he watched his fleet being destroyed. The Achemenid Dynasty of Persia (Cyrus II 559-530BC, Cambyses 530-522, Darius 522-486, Xerxes 486-465) was the most powerful empire of the time.
3. And one that has a certain resonance in our time.....
In 1683 on this date, Polish King John Sobieski destroyed the Ottoman Turkish Army under Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa at the Gates of Vienna.
Sobieski went down in European history as the God-sent hero who saved Christendom from the “Terrible Turk.” Thus ended the advance of Islam in Europe.
