and water. Amyntas complied with their requeft, and entertained them in his palace with great magnificence. At their requeft the king, who feared to difplease them, brought in his wives, concubines, and daughters; but the Perfians behaving in an indecent manner to them, the king's fon Alexander introduced fome young men dreffed like women with poniards under their garments, who killed both the Perfian noblemen and their attendants. Darius ordered commiffioners to enquire into the murder; but Alexander, by the power of bribes and prefents, ftifled the affair. The Scythians foon after croffing the Danube, ravaged Thrace as far as the Hellefpont, and loaded with booty, returned home without any oppofition from Megabyzus.

Darius now convinced of the impracticability of fubduing the Scythians, refolved to extend his arms eaftward, and with that view built a fleet on the river Indus, the command of which he gave to Scylax a Grecian, whom he ordered to fail down the current, and after making the beft discoveries he could of the countries on either fide the river, when he came to the ocean to fteer his courfe weftward. Scylax accordingly failing down the Indus, entered the Red fea by the ftraits of Babelmandel, and on the 30th month from his fetting out, landed in Egypt near the bottom of the gulph. From thence returning to Sufa, he gave Darius a full account of his obferduces vations. Darius hereupon entering India at the head of a nu- Darius remerous army, reduced that large country, and made it the 20th province of the Perfian empire, receiving from thence an an- India. nual tribute of 360 talents of gold, according to the number of the days of the Perfian year at that time.

Darius, upon his return to Sufa from his Scythian expedition, had appointed his brother Artaphernes governor of Sardis, and Otanes governor of Thrace in the room of Megabyzus. A fedi- The retion in the mean time happening in Naxus, the chief ifland of volt of the the Cyclades, the principal inhabitants, who were overpowered lonians. by the populace and banished the ifland, applied for affiftance to Ariftagoras, then governor of Miletus under Hyfticus, whom Darius, in gratitude for his preventing the Ionians from breaking down the bridge at the Danube, had allowed to build a city in Thrace, but had recalled from thence to Sufa. Ariftagoras was both nephew and fon-in-law to Hyfticus, and being greatly in the interest of the king, represented to his brother Artaphernes the great advantage of reducing Naxus, which would open a paffage into Greece. His propofals, which were very acceptable to Artaphernes, being approved at court, next spring 200 fhips were fent to him from the province of Sardis under the command of Megabates a noble Perfian of the Achæmenian family. The haughty Perfian difdaining to obey Ariftagoras, as he was ordered by his commiffion, a diffention arose between them, which was carried fo far, that Megabates in refentment fecretly informed the Naxians of the defign that was carrying on against them, which prevented the enterprize from fucceed

3

ing,

1

ing, the chief town in the island having been in vain befieged for four months. Megabates threw all the blame upon Ariftagoras, and his falfe accufations being believed by Artaphernes, Ariftagoras was condemned by him to defray all the charges of Arifago- the expedition. Ariftagoras, forefeeing that the exaction of the ras, from fum would be his utter ruin, formed a defign of revolting from private re- the king, in which he was confirmed by a meffenger from Hyfentment, ficus, who, being weary of the manners of the Perfians, wanted ftirs up the to raise difturbances in Ionia, in hopes of being fent thither to Ionians to appease them. To prevent the Perfians from intercepting his revolt. intelligence, he fhaved the head of a trufty fervant, and then imprinting the meffage on the fkin, fent him foon after to Ariftagoras when the hair was grown, ordering him to defire his fon-in-law to cut off his hair and look upon his head. Ariftagoras, to engage the Ionians more refolutely to ftand by him the following year, reinftated them in their liberty and their former privileges, by refigning the government of Miletus into the hands of the people, and by perfuading the other petty princes to do the fame. Having then united them all into one common league, of which he himself was declared the head, he openly revolted from the king; and to ftrengthen himself the more, went in the beginning of the year following to Lacedæmon, to perfuade the Spartans to engage in the war. Cleomenes king of Lacedæmon, fomewhat fwayed by the many arguments he used, defired three days time to confider of his propofals. At the next interview he enquired in how many days an army might march from the coaft of Ionia to Sufa; and Ariftagoras inadvertently telling him it would require three months, he immediately interrupted him in his difcourfe, and ordered him to depart from Sparta before fun-fet. Ariftagoras nevertheless followed him home to his houfe, and endeavoured to win him by arguments of another fort, that is, by presents. At first he offered him ten talents, and receiving a denial, proceeded gradually in his offers till he came to the fum of fifty talents, when one of the daughters of Cleomenes, a girl of about eight or nine years of age, who was in the room, cried out, Fly, father, fly, elfe this ftranger will corrupt you. Cleomenes accordingly retiring, Ariftagoras went directly to Athens, where he met with a more favourable reception, the Athenians being then highly exafperated against the Perfians, efpecially againft Artaphernes, who had granted protection to Hippias the tyrant, the fon of Pififtratus, whom they expelled about ten years before, and had ordered them to recal him if they hoped to live The Abe in peace. The Athenians therefore readily hearkning to the nians fend propofals of Ariftagoras, ordered a fleet of twenty fhips to be twenty immediately fitted out to the affiftance of the Ionians, who foon fhips to after drawing together all their forces, marched to Sardis, their affif which they eafily made themselves maiters of. The whole city, which was chiefly built of reeds, a few days after was burnt to afhes, a foldier having accidentally fet fire to one of taken and the houses. The Perfians and Lydians, in the mean time, drawing

tance.

Sardis

2

ing together their forces, the Ionians, not being able to force burnt by the citadel, thought proper to retire towards Ephefus, where the Ionitheir fleet was ftationed; but the enemy overtaking them be- ans, fore they could embark, they were defeated with great flaugh- who are ter. The Athenians who efcaped immediately returned home, de:eated nor could they be prevailed upon to be any more concerned in by the the war. Perfians

Darius hearing of the burning of Sardis, and of the part the Athenians took in that affair, determined from that time to make war upon Greece; and that he might never forget his refolution, he commanded one of his officers to cry every day to him three times with a loud voice while he was at dinner, Remember the Athenians. The Ionians, tho' abandoned by the Athenians, ftill perfifted in their revolt; and failing with their fleet to the Hellefpont and the Propontis, reduced the city of Byzantium, and most of the other Greek cities on thofe coafts. In their return they made a defcent on Caria, and obliged the Carians to join them in the war. The people of Cyprus likewise entering into the confederacy, and the revolt threatning to become very general, the Perfian generals affembled their forces with the utmoft diligence, and dividing them into three bodies, marched against the rebels, whom they defeated in feveral encounters, in one of which Ariftagoras was flain, upon whofe Ariflagte death the whole island of Cyprus was again brought under fub- as defeat jection. Daurifes, one of the Perfian generals, after defeating ed and the Carians in two engagements, was routed by them in a third, killed. and his army cut to pieces. Hymees, another general, after reducing the Ilian coaft, died at Troas. Artaphernes, with Otanes the other general, finding that Miletus was the center of the confederacy, refolved to bend all their force against that city. The Ionians hearing of their defign, fortified their city, and ftored it with all manner of provifions for a fiege, and affembling the confederate fleet to the number of 353 fail off Miletus, determined to rifk a fea engagement. The Perfians, tho' double their number, did not engage till they had corrupted the greatest part of the confederates, who during the action hoiffed fail and returned to their refpective countries; fo that thofe that remained were almost entirely deftroyed. The Perfians, then befieging Miletus by fea and land, took and razed it to the The reground, in the fixth year after the revolt of Ariftagoras. The volters at other revolted cities foon returned to their obedience, fome of length re their own accord, and others by force, which they treated duced and with great feverity, being reduced to afhes, the handfomeft of feverely their youths made eunuchs, and their young women fent into punished. Perfia. Such were the calamities the Ionians drew upon themfelves, by feconding the ambitious views of Ariftagoras and Hyfticus. The latter had his fhare in the general calamity; for fome time before, having perfuaded Darius to fend him to Afia to quell the revolt, he endeavoured to corrupt the Perfans at Sardis; but being obliged to fly from thence, he took refuge in the island of Chios. Soon after the conclufion of the VOL. II.

L

war,

The Per

vade

Greece

without fuccefs.

war, being taken by the Perfians, Artaphernes caufed him to be crucified at Sardis, without confulting Darius, left his affection for him fhould incline him to pardon him. His conjecture appeared afterwards to be well grounded; for when Hyliaus's head was brought to Darius, he expreffed great difpleature against the authors of his death, and caufed the head to be honourably interred.

Darius being now entirely bent upon the reduction of Greece, fians in appointed his fon-in-law Mardonius, a young Perfian nobleman, commander in chief throughout all the maritime parts of Afia, ordering him to invade Greece, and revenge the burning of Sardis on the Athenians and Eretrians, who had alfo affifted the Ionians in that expedition with five fhips. Mardonius accordingly having marched with a numerous army thro' Thrace, entered Macedonia, the inhabitants of which, ftruck with confternation, immediately fubmitted. His fleet, however, attempting to double the cape of mount Athos, was entirely difperfed by a violent ftorm, which deftroyed upwards of 300 fhips and 20,000 men. His land army, about the fame time, being carelessly encamped, was furprized in the night by the Thracians, and a great number of his men being cut off and himfelf wounded, he was obliged to march back into Afia.

ralds of

Darius afcribing the bad fuccefs of the expedition to the youth and inexperience of Mardonius, recalled him, and appointed Datis a Mede, and Artaphernes the fon of his brother, who had been governor of Sardis, his fucceffors. Judging it expedient, however, before he made another attempt, to found the inclinations of the Greeks, he fent heralds to all their cities to demand earth and water in token of fubmiffion. Many The he- of the Greek cities dreading the power of the Perfians, complied with the demands of the heralds; but at Athens and Sparta Darius they did not meet with fo favourable a reception, being in one murdered place thrown into a deep ditch, and in the other into a well, by the and bid to fetch earth and water from thence. When their Athenians paffion cooled, however, the inhabitants of thofe cities were and Spar- lation of the law of nations, fent ambafladors to the king of afhamed of what they had done, and reflecting upon it as a vioPerfia, offering him what fatisfaction he pleafed for the affront they had put upon his heralds. Darius declared himself fully fatisfied with that embaffy; but haftening the departure of his generals, ordered them, among other things, to plunder and burn Athens and Eretria, and to fend the inhabitants of both places prifoners to Sufa, for which purpose they were provided with a great number of chains and fetters.

tans.

The Per

invade Greece.

The two generals having failed from Samos with a fleet of fians again 600 fhips and 500,000 men, without much difficulty made themfelves mafters of all the iflands in the Egean fea. Having then invefted Eretria, they obtained poffeffion of that city by the treachery of fome of the principal citizens, and having pillaged and burnt it, fent the inhabitants prifoners to Perfia, where they were kindly treated by Darius, who gave them a

I

village

village within a day's journey of Sufa; and 600 years after, fome of their defcendants were found there by Apollonius Tyanæus *. The Perfians next landed on the coaft of Attica, and being di- They land rected by Hippias the banished tyrant, encamped at Marathon, on the a village on the fea fide; their army, according to Herodotus, coaft of who lived near thofe times, confifting of 100,000 foot and Attica. 10,000 horfe, tho' by others greatly magnified. The Athenians, driven to defpair by the treatment of the Eretrians, affembled all their forces, which amounted only to 9000 men, tho' they had even armed their flaves, and being joined by 1000 Plateans, ventured with this fmall army to march against the enemy. The chief command was given to Miltiades, who Are totally a few days after engaged the Perfians and totally routed them, defeated with the lofs of only 200 private men. The Perfians left by the above 6000 dead on the field of battle, and great numbers of Athenians them were killed in their flight and were drowned in the fea at Maraas they attempted to fave themfelves on board their fhips, feven then. of which were taken, and many more burnt. Being reimbarked, and having recovered from their confternation, they failed directly for Athens, to make an attempt upon the city during the abfence of the army: but Miltiades fufpecting their defign, left Ariftides with 1000 men to guard the prifoners, and marched with the other 9000 to the city, where he arrived the fame day before the enemy, tho' it was diftant from the field of battle about 40 miles. The Perfian generals being thus difappointed, returned with the remains of their fleet and army to Afia.

tians re

volt.

Darius was violently enraged with the news of the bad fuc- Darius recefs of the expedition against Greece, and to be revenged at the folves to fame time for the burning of Sardis and the defeat at Mara- invade thon, he refolved to march in perfon into Greece with all his Greece in forces; and for that purpose difpatched orders to all the pro- perfon. vinces for his fubjects to arm themselves, and to be ready to attend him. After he had fpent three years in making the neceffary preparations, the Egyptians revolted. He, however, did The Egyp not lay afide his defign against Greece, but refolved to fend part of his forces to reduce Egypt, and to march in person against the Greeks. Diodorus feems to infinuate, that Darius marched himfelf into Egypt and reduced the revolters; but Herodotus feems more worthy of belief in this particular. When all things He fettles were prepared for both expeditions, a great conteft arofe among the fuccefhis fons about the fucceffion, which it was ufual to fix when fion, which the king went upon an expedition. Darius had three fons by was conthe daughter of Gobryas his first wife, all born before he came tefted by to the crown, and four more by Atoffa the daughter of Cyrus, his fons. all born after his acceffion to the throne. Artabazanes, the eldeft fon of the first wife, urged that he was the first born, and therefore, according to the cuftom of all nations, ought to be