Siege of Sardis (498 BC)

The Ionian Revolt was triggered by the dissatisfaction of the Greek cities of Asia Minor with the tyrants appointed by Persia to rule them. In 499 BC, the then-tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, launched a joint expedition with the Persian satrap Artaphernes to conquer Naxos, in an attempt to bolster his position in Miletus. The mission was a debacle, and sensing his imminent removal as tyrant, Aristagoras chose to incite the whole of Ionia into rebellion against the Persian king Darius the Great. He also secured alliances with the mainland Greek cities of Athens and Eretria, convincing them the Persians would be easy to defeat. == Battle ==

In the spring of 498 BC, an Athenian force of twenty triremes, accompanied by five from Eretria, set sail for Ionia. They joined up with the main Ionian force near Ephesus. Declining to personally lead the force, Aristagoras appointed his brother Charopinus and another Milesian, Hermophantus, as generals. This force was then guided by the Ephesians through the mountains to Sardis, Artaphernes's satrapal capital. Herodotus reports that when Darius heard of the burning of Sardis, he swore vengeance upon the Athenians (after asking who they were), and tasked a servant with reminding him three times each day of his vow: "Master, remember the Athenians". == Aftermath ==

A Persian force pursued the Greeks back to Ephesus, defeating them in battle there. The Athenians now ended their alliance with the Ionians, since the Persians had proved to be anything but the easy prey that Aristagoras had described. However, the Ionians remained committed to their rebellion and the Persians did not seem to follow up their victory. ==References==