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The Persian Wars

The Revolt is Crushed

The revolt had succeeded, but only temporarily. The Persian war machine was slow to mobilize, but highly effective once it was in motion. Aristagoras knew this and had planned for it.

He appealed to the mainland Greeks for help, asking the mother cities to come to the defense of their colonies (many of the city-states along the Ionian coast had been founded by Greeks from the mainland). Sparta refused, arguing that events in Asia were none of its concern. Athens, on the other hand, sent an entire army plus a navy to defend her fellow Greeks from the barbarians.

The expedition burned Sardes, capitol of this part of the Empire, in 496. The Persians were driven completely out of Asia Minor.

When the Persians finally arrived in full force, the rebellion ended quickly. The key event was the Battle of Lade in 494, a naval battle that ended in a complete Persian victory. Aristagoras was killed and his city was destroyed. Those citizens who survived were transplanted to the lower Tigris River and Miletus simply ceased to exist. By 493, the entire rebellion had been crushed.