Finn - Greece and Persians

Despite the strong reputation of the Ancient Greeks, it is not absurd to think that the Greeks were not worth the time of the Persians. As a matter of fact it is completely understandable. First and foremost, the size of the Persian empire far outweighed that of the Greeks. The Persian Empire stretched as far east as the Indus river and as far west as Macedonia and Thrace, Bulliet said "In the sixth century B.C.E. the vigorous Persians of southwest Iran created the largest empire the world has yet seen" (108). In contrast, the Greek empire was not even close to the size on the small peninsula. Also, the other reason why the Persians did not consider the Greeks worthy of their time was because of resources and trade. In most cases, trade is vital to the success of an empire and the Persians had a number of valuable exports like iron, copper, tin, silver, and gold, they also took in a collection of exports. This balance of imports and exports created a very stable and productive economy, they were  able to sustain themselves. However, the Greeks had nearly no solid resources or exports. They had to take in a vast amount of imports to support their empire and its population, their land did not provide them with enough. With the size/expansion of the Persians in addition to their trade, it is a reasonable thought that they wouldn't stress over the Greeks.