Ionian Revolt

The unsuccessful revolt of the Ionian cities set the stage for the Persian invasion of Greece, known as the Greco-Persian Wars.

Date: 499-494 b. c.e.

Category: Wars and battles

Locale: East Greek Ionia, coastal Asia Minor

Summary The major Greek cities of Asia Minor had been subject to Persia since circa 546/545 b. c.e., when Cyrus the Great (r. 558-530 b. c.e.) conquered the region. Persian sovereignty was administered by local Greek tyrants in cooperation with high-ranking Persian officials. According to Herodotus’s account of the matter, Historiai herodotou (c. 424 b. c.e.; The History, 1709), the Ionian Revolt was essentially driven by the private ambitions of two such Greek figures: Histiaeus, tyrant of Miletus, and his nephew and son-in-law, Aristagoras, ruling in his absence at the time.

The failed collaborative attack on the island of Naxos, spearheaded by Aristagoras in alliance with Persia, left Aristagoras in perilous straits and led him, in turn, to opt for rebellion. The revolt began with the Ionian seizure of the Persian fleet that had returned from Naxos. Aristagoras accordingly renounced his tyranny in favor of popular government and sparked a trend to expel the Greek tyrants ruling in the service of Persia. Support from mainland Greece was minimal and ephemeral. Athens provided twenty ships and Eritrea five. These allies, however, withdrew their support immediately after the burning of Sardis (498 b. c.e.), under the threat of Persian revenge. The Ionian fleet encouraged widespread rebellion, demonstrating that political conditions were ripe, yet the Greeks were unable to withstand the Persian counteroffensive. Cyprus was recovered in a major land battle (497 b. c.e.). Three Persian armies that had mobilized from the east systematically reclaimed insurgent territory, until the Greek fleet was crushed off Miletus at Lade (494 b. c.e.).

Significance The Persian reconquest of Ionia, culminating in the sack of Miletus (494 b. c.e.), marked the eclipse of East Greek Ionia as a cultural, political, and economic force. Persia instated local popular governments in the subdued Ionian cites and reassessed the tribute imposed on these cities. Persia set its sights on the conquest of Greece.

Further Reading

Burn, A. R. Persia and the Greeks: The Defense of the West, 546-478 B. C.

Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1984.

De Souza, Philip. The Greek and Persian Wars, 499-386B. C. New York: Routledge, 2003.

Green, Peter. The Greco-Persian Wars. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.

Herodotus. On the War for Greek Freedom: Selections from the Histories. Translations by Samuel Shirley, edited, with introduction and notes, by James Romm. Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett, 2003.

Murray, O. Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. 4. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Zoe A. Pappas

See also: Greco-Persian Wars; Herodotus; Histiaeus of Miletus.