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Thus Ionia was enslaved for the second time…
HERODOTUS, HISTORIES, BOOK 1.169; A. D. GODLEY TRANSLATION
Summary
After Cyrus’ commander Mazares crushes the Lydian revolt and then passes away from illness, Harpagus takes over as commander. Harpagus was the man who helped Cyrus come to power after the last Median king, Astyages, angered him by killing his son. Harpagus was also the commander who gave Cyrus the advice to use camels against the Lydian cavalry, which spooked the horses and forced the Lydians to fight entirely on foot.
Harpagus first set his sights on Phocaea, an Ionian town and Greek colony on Asia. He told the Phocaeans he would be content if they simply tore down one of their ramparts and dedicated one of their houses to the Persian Empire. The Phocaeans told him to give them a day to deliberate and Harpagus agreed—if even though he knew it was a delay tactic. The Phocaeans took the opportunity to pack up all their ships and sail for the island of Chios, allowing Harpagus to take the city unopposed.
After a negotiation with the Chians failed, the Phocaeans decided they would settle on the island of Cyrnus. Before they did, though, they sailed back to Phocaea, destroyed the Persian guard there, and made a vow to never return to Phocaea until a certain omen occurred. However, half of the Phocaeans, seeing their beloved city again, decided not to leave. The other half sailed to Cyrnus.
After about five years in Cyrnus, the Phocaeans began antagonizing their neighbors, the Tyrrhenians and Carthaginians. They fought with each other which led to heavily losses on both sides. The Phocaean survivors then sailed to Rhegium (on the Italian peninsula).
Aside from the Teians (who abandoned their city like Phocaeans did) and the Milesians (who surrendered to Cyrus before the Lydian empire was destroyed), the other Ionian colonies stood their ground. However, in the end, each of their cities fell and were forced to submit to Cyrus. When the colonies on the Asian continent fell, the Ionians living on islands quickly surrendered to Cyrus.
Harpagus then attacked the Carians, Caunians, Lycians, Cnidians, and Pedaseans, and each of them fell or immediately surrendered to the Persians. The notable stories to come from these conquests are: 1) The Cnidians, whose city was near the sea, tried to dig a large trench in order to turn their territory into an island, but were warned by the oracle at Delphi to stop and soon after they surrendered to the Persians; and 2) The Lycians, who, when they lost to the Persians, put all their women, children, and goods in their acropolis and burned it down, then all the remaining men fought to their deaths.
After all was said and done, Harpagus successfully conquered most of lower Asia for Cyrus. While this was going on, Cyrus began to set his sights on upper Asia.
The Many Reactions to Losing Freedom
In the last post, we saw that Croesus, the former king of Lydia, advised Cyrus to order the Lydians to give up their weapons of war and become entertainers and merchants. The Lydians would lose their fighting spirit and readily submit to Cyrus. Cyrus followed his advice and the Lydians did indeed lose their fighting spirit and submit to Cyrus.
Croesus believed that it was better for the Lydians to “become women instead of men” than for them to be crushed by Cyrus’ army and sent into slavery.
The Greek Ionians, as well as the other peoples who lived in the lower part of Asia, would also get a chance to see what they would do before the might of Cyrus’ army. The reactions varied widely.
One group, the Milesians, submitted long before Cyrus set his sights on the Ionians. As a result, they had more favorable terms under Cyrus’ rule. Interestingly, Miletus was home to Thales, one of the Seven Sages. One has to wonder if he advised them to submit.
Two groups, the Phocaeans and Teians, completely abandoned their cities and settled somewhere else.
The remaining Ionian cities defended themselves, lost, and were forced to submit to the Persian Empire. Strangely, the Ionians who lived on the islands surrendered to the Persians even though just before this they were unconcerned about the Persians since they weren’t seafaring people. If I had to guess why, it’s because the Persians could conscript the Ionians, which meant the Persians could eventually come after the islands.
The Lycians and Caunians, however, did something radically different from everyone. Rather than submit to the Persians, they gathered up their women, children, and goods into a building, burnt it down, then the men fought to the last. Herodotus notes that the Lycians weren’t erased from the earth only because about eighty families were away from the city at the time of the siege.
So, here’s the reactions we have in a nutshell:
Fundamentally change the culture so there won’t be any problems for the rulers.
See the writing on the wall and submit to the rulers before they have to take action, in order to have more favorable conditions of surrender.
Abandon home and relocate before the rulers can take charge.
Stand up and fight, but submit after losing.
Submit as soon as the threat arrives.
Choose complete annihilation over submission.
It’s interesting to see all the different reactions to losing sovereignty. Which were the best choices? Which were the worse?
I can’t help but think about today. With the way events are progressing, I have a feeling each person is going to have to pick one of these six options in the future.
Cyrus Starts the Persian War
Recall that Herodotus’ account is ultimately about the Persian War against Greece—despite the many tangents. He started with the various abductions of prominent women—including Helen which sparked the Trojan War. Then, he moves on to how the Greek colonies in Asia were conquered by the Lydians. This was all to lay the groundwork for Asian hostility toward the Greeks.
Now, we see that the Persians have attacked and subdued the Greek colonies.
Remember that the Spartans told Cyrus that “he was to harm no city on Greek territory, or else the Lacedaemonians would punish him” (1.152). Cyrus was unimpressed, especially after he found out the size of Sparta compared to the size of his empire, and attacked the Greek colonies.
This effectively starts the Persian War with Greece. Future rulers of Persia were then going to find out that the Spartans weren’t making empty threats.
Look forward to it!
That's all for the Histories, Book 1.162-77.
May your days be filled with grace.
-Andronikos
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Thumbnail: A Messenger from Harpagos Brings Cyrus a Letter Concealed in a Hare by Jan Moy, ~1535-50. Courtesy of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.