Qualla: Siege of Naxos (499 BC) https://qualla.com/siege-of-naxos-499-bc en-us © 2026 Bendyline Thu, 23 Jul 2026 20:34:07 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/d/4/siege-of-naxos-499-bc-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Siege of Naxos (499 BC) https://qualla.com/siege-of-naxos-499-bc Siege of Naxos (499 BC): Introduction https://qualla.com/siege-of-naxos-499-bc/ Photo credit CC BY-SA 3.0. It was meant to be easy. In the spring of 499 BC, a fleet of two hundred warships sailed for Naxos, expecting to catch the island unprepared and add the richest of the Cyclades to the Persian Empire. Instead the expedition fell apart before it even landed, the Naxians were warned in time, and after four months of fruitless siege the invaders ran out of money and sailed home in disgrace. The man behind the failure, fearing for his own life, then made a desperate gamble that would set Greece and Persia at war for half a century.

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]]> Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/d/4/siege-of-naxos-499-bc-wp/swd4-siege-of-naxos-499-bc-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Siege of Naxos (499 BC): A Scheme Born of Ambition https://qualla.com/siege-of-naxos-499-bc/ Photo credit CC BY-SA 3.0. The plot began with exiles. A group of aristocrats had been thrown out of Naxos when its people seized power and established a democracy, and they came looking for help to get home. They found Aristagoras, the tyrant of Miletus on the coast of Asia Minor, who saw a chance to stre...

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]]> Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/d/4/siege-of-naxos-499-bc-wp/swd4-siege-of-naxos-499-bc-a-scheme-born-of-ambition.mp3 0:06 2 full Siege of Naxos (499 BC): The Quarrel That Lost a War https://qualla.com/siege-of-naxos-499-bc/ Photo credit CC BY-SA 3.0. Almost at once, the venture soured. Sailing toward Naxos, Aristagoras and Megabates fell into a bitter quarrel. According to Herodotus, our main source, Megabates discovered a ship from Myndus that had posted no sentries and punished its captain harshly; Aristagoras intervened, a...

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]]> Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/d/4/siege-of-naxos-499-bc-wp/swd4-siege-of-naxos-499-bc-the-quarrel-that-lost-a-war.mp3 0:06 3 full Siege of Naxos (499 BC): Four Months and Nothing https://qualla.com/siege-of-naxos-499-bc/ Photo credit CC BY-SA 3.0. The Persians and Ionians arrived to find exactly what an invader dreads: a well-supplied, well-defended city that knew they were coming. There was no swift conquest to be had. The expeditionary force settled in for a siege, but a siege is a contest of patience and money, and the ...

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]]> Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/d/4/siege-of-naxos-499-bc-wp/swd4-siege-of-naxos-499-bc-four-months-and-nothing.mp3 0:06 4 full Siege of Naxos (499 BC): The Spark That Lit Fifty Years https://qualla.com/siege-of-naxos-499-bc/ Photo credit Aegean_Sea_map_bathymetry-fr.svg: Eric Gaba (Sting - fr:Sting) derivative work: MinisterForBadTimes (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0. Aristagoras now expected to be removed as tyrant, perhaps to be killed. So he made a reckless choice: rather than face Persian punishment, he would turn the whole of Ionia against the empire. The Greek cities of Asia Minor were already resentful of the tyrants Persia had installe...

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]]> Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/w/d/4/siege-of-naxos-499-bc-wp/swd4-siege-of-naxos-499-bc-the-spark-that-lit-fifty-years.mp3 0:06 5 full