Siege of Naxos (499 BC) 499 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 499 BC | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Greece | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Greco-Persian Wars | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 37.0833, 25.4667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Naxos (499 BC) was a failed attempt by the Milesian tyrant Aristagoras, operating with support from, and in the name of the Persian Empire of Darius the Great, to conquer the island of Naxos. It was the opening act of the Greco-Persian Wars, which would ultimately last for 50 years.
Aristagoras had been approached by exiled Naxian aristocrats, who were seeking to return to their island. Seeing an opportunity to bolster his position in Miletus, Aristagoras sought the help of his overlord, the Persian king Darius the Great, and the local satrap, Artaphernes to conquer Naxos. Consenting to the expedition, the Persians assembled a force of 200 triremes under the command of Megabates.
The expedition quickly descended into a debacle. Aristagoras and Megabates quarreled on the journey to Naxos, and someone (possibly Megabates) informed the Naxians of the imminent arrival of the force. When they arrived, the Persians and Ionians were thus faced with a city well prepared to undergo siege. The expeditionary force duly settled down to besiege the defenders, but after four months without success, ran out of money and were forced to return to Asia Minor.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Naxos (499 BC) (revision 1370743929), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Naxos 376 BC · 8 km
- Battle of Mykonos 1794 · 43 km
- Battle of Amorgos 322 BC · 65 km
- Raid on Santorini 1944 · 74 km
- Siege of Melos 415 BC · 103 km
- Action of 27 August 1661 1661 · 105 km
Other battles of the Greco-Persian Wars
- Siege of Eretria 490 BC
- Battle of Artemisium 480 BC
- Battle of Mycale 479 BC
- Battle of Plataea 479 BC
All 5 battles of the Greco-Persian Wars →
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