In Asia Minor, it were especially the Ionian city-states that flourished in the late 7th and 6th centuries BC. Contacts with the Asian hinterland, where the kingdom of Lydia extended its power, as well as overseas contacts with Cyprus and the Syro-Phoenician coast, seem to have familiarized the Ionian elites with luxury goods such as stone-built houses, couches, and purple-dyed textiles earlier than their counterparts elsewhere, while at the same time stimulating the first budding of philosophy and science in the 6th century BC. Usually, aristocracies ruled these cities, although turannoi were not unknown here too. From around 600 BC, the kings of Lydia embarked on a policy of systematic subjugation of the various Greek poleis on the coast, a goal that was achieved by around 560 BC. In their internal life, though, the Greek cities did not undergo much change as a result; they henceforth had to provide soldiers for the armies of the kings at Sardis, who on their part were very much impressed by Greek civilization and in general took a benign attitude toward their Greek subjects.
Beyond Lydia, further to the east, in the 6th century a new power emerged: the Persians. Shortly after the middle of the century, the last king of Lydia, the proverbially rich Croesus, was defeated and captured by the Persian king Cyrus, a turn of events that made a deep impression on the Greek world. A little later, the Greek cities on the coast and on the offshore islands also came under Persian domination. Persian rule was no doubt more oppressive than Lydian rule had been, for the Persians demanded both tribute and the provision of men and ships in times of war. Thus, for their campaign against Egypt, which they conquered in 525 BC, the Persians had a large fleet built and manned by their Phoenician and Greek subjects. In this way, in the service of the Persian king, many eastern Greeks became directly involved in the power politics of the empire. In their turn, the Persians as a rule put their trust in turannoi, who with their support could maintain themselves in the Greek cities. Those turannoi naturally had to obey the Persian satrap in Sardis, and ultimately the Great King in Susa. As a result, the Greek scorn for turannoi that had developed in the later 6th century easily acquired an anti-Persian character. This, together with the intrigues of certain Greek politicians in the Ionian cities that we now can no longer follow in detail, led to the Ionian Revolt (500-494 BC). The insurgents for a while got hold of the Persian navy in the region and in this way managed to dominate for some time all the coastal waters from Byzantium to Cyprus, which had revolted as well. Remarkably, they also sought help from the Greek poleis in Europe, invoking a certain pan-Hellenic (“all-Greek”) sentiment against a common non-Greek enemy. The strongest state, Sparta, refused to send troops so far from home. Only Athens sent a small squadron, which, however, returned after the first setbacks for the insurgents. Persia, in the meantime, equipped a second and partially new fleet while attacking the Greek cities from land. A lack of cooperation between the various contingents coupled with inexperience in the handling of large fleets probably explains the heavy defeat suffered by the insurgents in a sea battle not far from Miletus in 494 BC. After that, the revolt collapsed. The cities were taken one by one and again brought under Persian domination, but Miletus, as a punishment for its leading role in the revolt, was destroyed and its population deported to Mesopotamia. As a consequence, Ionia was no longer one of the leading players in the Greek world: both politically and culturally, the center of gravity now moved to the states in Europe. The rise of Persia as the domineering power in the eastern Mediterranean and the outcome of the Ionian revolt had underscored the importance of naval power, and the city of Athens especially was to draw lessons from this. In order to punish those who had helped the insurgents, according to the official message coming out from Persia, the Great King now set his mind to attacking the Greeks in the motherland, thereby extending the empire further west. That conflict would cause another decisive turn in the history of the Greeks.
World History
