Greece: The Greek world 500 - 440 BC

1 - Persian Wars

- Origins: Persian imperialism, Ionian Revolt

• The Persian wars were a series of battles that occurred over twenty years (499 BC - 479 BC)
• City-states of mainland Greece came together to form the Hellenic League. Their aim was to defend Greece. They were ultimately victorious.

Origins: The rise of Persia
- The origins of the conflict can be traced back to Persia's emergence and expansion in the 6th century BC.


The Ionian Revolt

TABLE 9.1
Who's who in the Persian Wars:
(P)=Persian
(G)=Greek

(P) Cyrus the Great Cambyses
- Persian kings who established and expanded the Persian empire in the 6th century BC.
(P) Darius I
- Persian King during Ionian Revolt and Battle of Marathon.
- Died in 486 BC.
- Succeeded by Xerxes.
(G) Histiaeus
- Ionian Greek tyrant of Miletus, detained at Susa by Darius before Ionian Revolt.
- Sent slave with tattooed message to Aristagoras.
(G) Aristagoras
- Ionian Greek tyrant of Miletus, son-in-law of Histiaeus.
- Herodotus says his failure at Naxos was largely responsible for the Ionian Revolt.
(P) Artaphernes
- Satrap of Ionia at time of Ionian Revolt.
- Approved of Aristagoras' plan to help the oligarchs on the island of Naxos.
(P) Megabates
- Persian general who was supposed to help reinstate the oligarchs in Naxos.
(G) Cleomenes
- Spartan King who refused Aristagoras' appeal for help in the Ionian Revolt.
(P) Mardonius- Brother-in-law of Darius.
- General in charge of mopping up operations after Ionian Revolt.
- Led abortive attack on Greece in 492 BC - Fleet was destroyed off Mt Athos.

The Ionian Revolt: 499 - 494 BC

• Greek historian Herodotus gives a detailed account of the IR and those involved on both the Greek and the Persian side.
• We have no Persian account of these events, so we are limited in sources.
• Herodotus places a lot of blame on Aristagoras for the IR, but the extent to which a single individual is responsible is highly questionable.

Background to the IR:
- Ionia was the last frontier between Persia and mainland Greece.
- When the kingdom of Lydia was conquered in 546 BC, all of its territories, including Ionia, became part of the Persian empire.
- By 500 BC the Ionian Greeks' discontent with Persian domination was widespread.
- Ionian Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor and islands off the coast were ruled by Greek tyrants.
- Before the Persian conquest, many Ionian cities were independent and had aquired wealth through trade.
- When Ionia became part of the Persian empire, the tyrants remained rulers. However, they were obliged to obey Persia, pay taxes and provide ships and men for the Persian army and navy.
- Most of Persia's control over Ionia was conducted through the local Persian govenor, the satrap, whose headquarters were at Sardis.

Key Events in the IR:
[The main events can be found in Herodotus, The Histories, Book V, 29-37 and 97-107; and book VI, 1-35]
- Internal strife on the island of Naxos between oligarchs and democrats.
- The oligarchs fled to Miletus, where they asked Aristagoras the tyrant for help in their plan to reinstate themselves at Naxos.
- Aristagoras, perhaps seeking to increase his own power and favour with his Persian masters, suggested to the oligarchs that Naxos be captured and used as a base for further expansion. This would open the way to Persian domination over the Cyclades and across the Aegean.
- Artaphernes approved of this plan, and a fleet of 200 triremes and a force of Persians and Ionians, under the joint command of Megabates and Aristagoras, attacked Naxos.
- The attack on Naxos failed - Megabates had given the Naxians forewarning. According to herodotus, Megabates had quarrelled with Aristagoras.
- A four-month siege led to stalemate; the fleet withdrew from Naxos and returned to Asia Minor.
- Aristagoras now sought to extricate himself from a very difficult situation. Fearing Persian reprisals for the Naxo attack, he decided to lead a full-scale revolt of the Ionian Greeks.
- Histiaeus was being held in Susa by Darius and attempted to contact his son-in-law Aristagoras.

Why did Aristagoras attack Naxos? What was the outcome?

• Aristagoras attacked Naxos as he wished to increase his power and further expand the Persian empire. The internal strife between the oligarchs and democrats on the island of Naxos forced the oligarchs to reach out to Aristagoras in Miletus to ask for help in their plan to reinstate themselves at Naxos. Aristagoras convinced the oligarchs that Naxos be captured and used as a base for further expansion. Under the joint command of Megabates and Aristagoras, 200 triremes and a force of Persians and Ionians attempted to conquer Naxos. The attempt was unsuccessful as Megabates gave the Naxians forewarning. (According to Herodotus, he was quarrelling with Aristagoras)

According to this account, why did Aristagoras decide to lead a revolt of Ionia?

The story of the message on the slave's scalp is a colourful detail. How likely is it to be true?

Is it likely that the whole of Ionia would revolt at the request of Aristagoras? What other reasons might help to explain why the Ionians wanted to revolt?