A report on Achaemenid Empire, Histories (Herodotus) and Ionian Revolt

Fragment from Histories, Book VIII on 2nd-century Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 2099

Location and main events of the Ionian Revolt.

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC)

[[Candaules, King of Lydia, Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges, One of his Ministers, as She Goes to Bed|Candaules, King of Lydia, shews his wife by stealth to Gyges...]], by William Etty (1830)

Edwin Long's 1875 interpretation of The Babylonian Marriage Market as described by Herodotus in Book 1 of the Histories

Coin of Chios just before the revolt, circa 525–510 BC.

Nile crocodile allowing the trochilus to eat leeches in its mouth. Drawing by Henry Scherren, 1906

Coin of Lesbos, Ionia. Circa 510–480 BC.

Map of the expansion process of Achaemenid territories

Scythian warriors, drawn after figures on an electrum cup from the Kul'Oba kurgan burial near Kerch (Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg)

Darius, with a label in Greek (ΔΑΡΕΙΟΣ, top right), on the Darius Vase.

Cyrus the Great is said, in the Bible, to have liberated the Hebrew captives in Babylon to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

The tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. At Pasargadae, Iran.

Statue of Athena, the patron goddess of Athens

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC

The Persian queen Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, sister-wife of Cambyses II, Darius the Great's wife, and mother of Xerxes the Great

The burning of Sardis by the Greeks during the Ionian Revolt in 498 BC.

Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars

Achaemenid cavalry in Asia Minor. Altıkulaç Sarcophagus.

Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

Leonidas at Thermopylae, by Jacques-Louis David (1814)

Map showing the ancient kingdoms of Cyprus

Achaemenid king fighting hoplites, seal and seal holder, Cimmerian Bosporus.

The Battle of Salamis, by Wilhelm von Kaulbach (1868)

Ionian revolt: Carian campaign (496 BC).

Achaemenid gold ornaments, Brooklyn Museum

The Serpent Column dedicated by the victorious Greeks in Delphi, later transferred to Constantinople

Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting. 5th century BC

Persian Empire timeline including important events and territorial evolution – 550–323 BC

Dedication in the Histories, translated into Latin by Lorenzo Valla, Venice 1494

Ionian revolt, Battle of Lade and fall of Miletus (494 BC).

Relief showing Darius I offering lettuces to the Egyptian deity Amun-Ra Kamutef, Temple of Hibis

Reconstruction of the Oikoumene (inhabited world), ancient map based on Herodotus,

The 24 countries subject to the Achaemenid Empire at the time of Darius, on the Egyptian statue of Darius I.

The Indian Gold Hunters, after Herodotus: gold ants pursuing gold hunters.

Ionian soldier (Old Persian cuneiform 𐎹𐎢𐎴, Yaunā) of the Achaemenid army, circa 480 BCE. Xerxes I tomb relief.

The Battle of Issus, between Alexander the Great on horseback to the left, and Darius III in the chariot to the right, represented in a Pompeii mosaic dated 1st century BC – Naples National Archaeological Museum

Coin of Chios after the revolt, circa 490–435 BCE. [[:File:ISLANDS off IONIA, Chios. Circa 525-510 BC.jpg|Earlier types known]].

Alexander's first victory over Darius, the Persian king depicted in medieval European style in the 15th century romance The History of Alexander's Battles

Croesus Receiving Tribute from a Lydian Peasant, by Claude Vignon

Frataraka dynasty ruler Vadfradad I (Autophradates I). 3rd century BC. Istakhr (Persepolis) mint.

Dārēv I (Darios I) used for the first time the title of mlk (King). 2nd century BC.

Winged sphinx from the Palace of Darius in Susa, Louvre

Volume of annual tribute per district, in the Achaemenid Empire, according to Herodotus.

Achaemenid tax collector, calculating on an Abax or Abacus, according to the Darius Vase (340–320 BC).

Letter from the Satrap of Bactria to the governor of Khulmi, concerning camel keepers, 353 BC

Relief of throne-bearing soldiers in their native clothing at the tomb of Xerxes I, demonstrating the satrapies under his rule.

Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. c. 500 BC–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Persian soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians. Cylinder seal impression.

Color reconstruction of Achaemenid infantry on the Alexander Sarcophagus (end of 4th century BC).

Seal of Darius the Great hunting in a chariot, reading "I am Darius, the Great King" in Old Persian (𐎠𐎭𐎶𐏐𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁𐎴 𐏋, "adam Dārayavaʰuš xšāyaθiya"), as well as in Elamite and Babylonian. The word "great" only appears in Babylonian. British Museum.

Achaemenid calvalryman in the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Armoured cavalry: Achaemenid Dynast of Hellespontine Phrygia attacking a Greek psiloi, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Reconstitution of Persian landing ships at the Battle of Marathon.

Greek ships against Achaemenid ships at the Battle of Salamis.

Iconic relief of lion and bull fighting, Apadana of Persepolis

Achaemenid golden bowl with lioness imagery of Mazandaran

A section of the Old Persian part of the trilingual Behistun inscription. Other versions are in Babylonian and Elamite.

A copy of the Behistun inscription in Aramaic on a papyrus. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the empire.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, was built by Greek architects for the local Persian satrap of Caria, Mausolus (Scale model)

Reconstruction of the Palace of Darius at Susa. The palace served as a model for Persepolis.

Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I the Great's palace, Louvre

Apadana Hall, Persian and Median soldiers at Persepolis

Lateral view of tomb of Cambyses II, Pasargadae, Iran

Plaque with horned lion-griffins. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Ionian Revolt, and associated revolts in Aeolis, Doris, Cyprus and Caria, were military rebellions by several Greek regions of Asia Minor against Persian rule, lasting from 499 BC to 493 BC. At the heart of the rebellion was the dissatisfaction of the Greek cities of Asia Minor with the tyrants appointed by Persia to rule them, along with the individual actions of two Milesian tyrants, Histiaeus and Aristagoras.

- Ionian Revolt

The Histories also stands as one of the earliest accounts of the rise of the Persian Empire, as well as the events and causes of the Greco-Persian Wars between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus portrays the conflict as one between the forces of slavery (the Persians) on the one hand, and freedom (the Athenians and the confederacy of Greek city-states which united against the invaders) on the other.

- Histories (Herodotus)

He wrote his 'Enquiries' (Greek—Historia; English—(The) Histories) around 440–430 BC, trying to trace the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars, which would still have been relatively recent history (the wars finally ending in 450 BC).

- Ionian Revolt

In Herodotus' Histories, he writes that Cyrus the Great was the son of Cambyses I and Mandane of Media, the daughter of Astyages, the king of the Median Empire.

- Achaemenid Empire

The Ionian Revolt in 499 BC, and associated revolts in Aeolis, Doris, Cyprus, and Caria, were military rebellions by several regions of Asia Minor against Persian rule, lasting from 499 to 493 BC. At the heart of the rebellion was the dissatisfaction of the Greek cities of Asia Minor with the tyrants appointed by Persia to rule them, along with the individual actions of two Milesian tyrants, Histiaeus and Aristagoras.

- Achaemenid Empire

Persia's attempts to quell the Ionian revolt

- Histories (Herodotus)

4 related topics with Alpha

Persian soldier (left) and Greek hoplite (right) depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

Greco-Persian Wars

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Herodotus, the main historical source for this conflict

Thucydides continued Herodotus's narrative

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent under Darius the Great

Persian and Median Immortals in ceremonial dress, bas-relief in Persepolis

According to Herodotus, the Athenians, hoping for protection against Sparta, made the gift of "Earth and Water" to the Persians in 507 BC.

Coinage of Athens at the time of Cleisthenes. Effigy of Athena, with owl and ΑΘΕ, initials of "Athens". Circa 510-500/490 BC.

The burning of Sardis by the Greeks and the Ionians during the Ionian Revolt in 498 BC.

Map showing main events of the Ionian Revolt.

The soldiers of Xerxes I, of all ethnicities, on the tomb of Xerxes I, at Naqsh-e Rostam.

Probable Spartan hoplite (Vix crater, c. 500 BC).

Major events in the second invasion of Greece

Schematic diagram illustrating events during the Battle of Salamis

Spartans fighting against Persian forces at the Battle of Plataea. 19th century illustration.

Athens and her "empire" in 431 BC. The empire was the direct descendant of the Delian League

Map showing the locations of battles fought by the Delian League, 477–449 BC

Dynast of Lycia, Kherei, with Athena on the obverse, and himself wearing the Persian cap on the reverse. Circa 440/30–410 BC.

Coinage of Tiribazos, Satrap of Lydia, with Faravahar on the obverse. 388–380 BC.

The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek-inhabited region of Ionia in 547 BC. Struggling to control the independent-minded cities of Ionia, the Persians appointed tyrants to rule each of them.

This was the beginning of the Ionian Revolt, which would last until 493 BC, progressively drawing more regions of Asia Minor into the conflict.

He wrote his 'Enquiries' (Greek Historia, English (The) Histories) around 440–430 BC, trying to trace the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars, which would still have been recent history.

Darius the Great

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Lineage of Darius the Great according to the Behistun Inscription.

Darius the Great, by Eugène Flandin (1840)

Ethnicities of the Achaemenid Army, on the tomb of Darius I. The nationalities mentioned in the DNa inscription are also depicted on the upper registers of all the tombs at Naqsh-e Rustam, starting with the tomb of Darius I. The ethnicities on the tomb of Darius further have trilingual labels on the lintel directly over them for identification, collectively known as the DNe inscription. One of the best preserved friezes, identical in content, is that of Xerxes I.

Map showing key sites during the Persian invasions of Greece

Volume of annual tribute per district, in the Achaemenid Empire.

Reconstruction drawing of the Palace of Darius in Susa

The ruins of Tachara palace in Persepolis

thumb|upright|Egyptian statue of Darius I, as Pharaoh of the Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Razmjou |first1=Shahrokh |title=Ars orientalis; the arts of Islam and the East |date=1954 |publisher=Freer Gallery of Art |pages=81–101 |url=https://archive.org/details/arsorient323320022003univ/page/n95/mode/2up}}</ref> 522–486 BC; greywacke; height: 2.46 m;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Manley|first1=Bill|title=Egyptian Art|year=2017|publisher=Thames & Hudson|pages=280|isbn=978-0-500-20428-3}}</ref> National Museum of Iran (Teheran)

Darius as Pharaoh of Egypt at the Temple of Hibis

Darius I ( ; c. 550 – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE.

The new king met with rebellions throughout his kingdom and quelled them each time; a major event in Darius' life was his expedition to subjugate Greece and punish Athens and Eretria for their participation in the Ionian Revolt.

Herodotus, a Greek historian and author of The Histories, provided an account of many Persian kings and the Greco-Persian Wars.

Battle of Marathon

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The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece.

The plain of Marathon today, with pine forest and wetlands.

A map showing the Greek world at the time of the battle

Darius I of Persia, as imagined by a Greek painter on the Darius Vase, 4th century BC

Initial disposition of forces at Marathon

Athenians on the beach of Marathon. Modern reenactment of the battle (2011)

The ethnicities of the soldiers of the army of Darius I are illustrated on the tomb of Darius I at Naqsh-e Rostam, with a mention of each ethnicity in individual labels. Identical depictions were made on the tombs of other Achaemenid emperors, the best preserved frieze being that of Xerxes I.

Persian infantry (probably Immortals), shown in a frieze in Darius's palace, Susa in Persia (which is today Iran)

Greek troops rushing forward at the Battle of Marathon, Georges Rochegrosse, 1859.

"They crashed into the Persian army with tremendous force", illustration by Walter Crane in Mary Macgregor, The Story of Greece Told to Boys and Girls, London: T.C. & E.C. Jack.

Cynaegirus grabbing a Persian ship at the Battle of Marathon (19th century illustration).

Relief of the battle of Marathon (Temple of Augustus, Pula).

Contemporary depiction of the Battle of Marathon in the Stoa Poikile (reconstitution)

Greek Corinthian-style helmet and the skull reportedly found inside it from the Battle of Marathon, now residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

Reconstitution of the Nike of Callimachus, erected in honor of the Battle of Marathon. Destroyed during the Achaemenid destruction of Athens. Acropolis Museum.

Luc-Olivier Merson's painting depicting the runner announcing the victory at the Battle of Marathon to the people of Athens.

Burton Holmes's photograph entitled "1896: Three athletes in training for the marathon at the Olympic Games in Athens".

It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes.

The first Persian invasion was a response to Athenian involvement in the Ionian Revolt, when Athens and Eretria sent a force to support the cities of Ionia in their attempt to overthrow Persian rule.

He wrote his Enquiries (Greek – Historiai; English – (The) Histories) around 440–430 BC, trying to trace the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars, which would still have been relatively recent history (the wars finally ended in 450 BC).

Ionia

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Ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir.

The ruins of the ancient city of Pergamon

Art relics from the Ionian cities of Asia

One of the earliest electrum coins struck in Ephesus, 620–600 BC. Obverse: Forepart of stag. Reverse: Square incuse punch.

The site of Miletus, once coastal, now inland. The plain was a bay in Classical Greece.

Gorgone with serpent, Ionia, 575-550 BC.

Possible coin of Ionia. Circa 600-550 BC

Ionia, Achaemenid Period. Uncertain satrap. Circa 350–333 BC

The Library of Celsus in Ephesus was built by the Romans in 114–117. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, built by king Croesus of Lydia in the 6th century BC, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The cities within the region figured large in the strife between the Persian Empire and the Greeks.

It was at the instigation of one of these despots, Histiaeus of Miletus, that in about 500 BC the principal cities ignited the Ionian Revolt against Persia.

Herodotus; Histories, A. D. Godley (translator), Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1920; ISBN: 0-674-99133-8. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.