- Ionia (satrapy)
Yauna (The
old Persian name for theGreeks , derived from "Iones", the name of the Greeks living along the coasts ofAsia Minor ) orIonia , was asatrapy of theAchaemenid Empire . The first mention of the Yauna is at theBehistun inscription . The Ionians were conquered byCyrus the Great and according toHerodotus , they were placed in the same tax district (the first) as thePamphylians ,Lycians ,Magnesians ,Aeolians ,Milyans , andCarians . The Yauna benefitted from Persian occupation as the easternMediterranean was ruled by one king, which made trade easier. Thus, poverty could not be an explanation for the greatIonian Revolt in 499, which took six years to subdue.To prevent further insurrection propagated by the Greek city states, especially
Athens ,Darius the Great set out to create a "cordon sanitaire ". His generals captured the Aegean islands in this venture, a move also designed to prepare the ground for moving against the Greek mainland itself. After the Persian defeat in thePersian Wars and the conclusion of thepeace of Callias in 449 BC, the Ionian cities were set free from Persian rule, albeit they soon came under the domination ofAthens . After thePeloponnesian War and the destruction of Athenian power,Sparta ceded them back to Persia in thepeace of Antalcidas . Ionia remained under Persian rule until the campaigns ofAlexander the Great .References
* [http://www.livius.org/y/yauna/yauna.html Yauna]
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