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The Persian Wars

The Ionian Revolt

Aristagoras was the tyrant of Miletus. Tyrannos was the Greek word for anyone who had come to power illegally, whether they ruled well or badly. A tyrant's position was therefore always legally shaky and keeping the power he had seized was a tyrant's constant worry.

In 500, Aristagoras had a great idea. The way to secure his power, he thought, was to ingratiate himself with the Persians. The way to do this was to gain for Persia a great victory. So he persuaded the Persians to attempt to take the island city-state of Naxos.

The expedition failed, however, and the Persians blamed Aristagoras. To protect himself, he persuaded the people of Miletus to rebel in the name of Greek liberty; the would-be Persian toady now became the champion of Greek freedom. It was a desperate act on Aristagoras' part, but he was in a desperate situation, for he could not face the entire Persian Empire alone. The citizens, already chafing at Persian rule, supported Aristagoras. They killed the local Persian garrison and freed the city. Of course, Miletus could hardly stand against Persia either. The city needed help.

It did not need to stand alone. The Greeks were ready for any excuse to rebel, and this was a good one. With Aristagoras' encouragement, city after city followed Miletus in killing or driving out their Persian garrisons and declaring liberty.

The local satrap could not control the rebellion, and the revolt spread. By 499, most of the cities on the Ionian coast were once again independent.

Darius, of course, could not tolerate this.