Histories

This Otanes, then, who sat upon that seat, was now made successor to Megabazus in his governorship. He captured +Byzantium [28.95,41.0333] (Perseus) Byzantium, Calchedon, Antandrus in the +Troas (region (general)), Turkey, Asia Troad, and Lamponium, and with ships he had taken from the Lesbians, he took +Lemnos [25.25,39.916] (island), Lesvos, Aegean Islands, Greece, Europe Lemnos and Imbros, both of which were still inhabited by Pelasgians.

The Lemnians fought well and defended themselves, till at last they were brought to evil plight, and the Persians set as governor over those that were left of them Lycaretus the brother of Maeandrius who had been king of +Nisos Samos [26.8,37.75] (island), Samos, Aegean Islands, Greece, Europe Samos.

This Lycaretus met his end while ruling in +Lemnos [25.25,39.916] (island), Lesvos, Aegean Islands, Greece, Europe Lemnos because he tried to enslave and subdue all the people, accusing some of shunning service against the Scythians and others of plundering Darius' army on its way back from Scythia (region (general)), AsiaScythia.

All this Otanes achieved when he had been made governor. After only a short period of time without evils, trouble began once more to come on the Ionians, and this from +Nisos Naxos [25.583,32.33] (island), Cyclades, Aegean Islands, Greece, Europe Naxos and Miletus [27.3,37.5] (Perseus) Miletus. +Nisos Naxos [25.583,32.33] (island), Cyclades, Aegean Islands, Greece, Europe Naxos surpassed all the other islands in prosperity, and at about the same time Miletus [27.3,37.5] (Perseus) Miletus, at the height of her fortunes, was the glory of Ionia (region (general)), Europe Ionia. Two generations before this, however, she had been very greatly troubled by factional strife, till the Parians, chosen out of all the Greeks by the Milesians for this purpose, made peace among them,

The Parians reconciled them in the following manner. Their best men came to Miletus [27.3,37.5] (Perseus) Miletus, and seeing the Milesian households sadly wasted, they said that they desired to go about the country. They then made their way through all the territory of Miletus [27.3,37.5] (Perseus) Miletus, and whenever they found any well-tilled farm in the desolation of the land, they wrote down the name of the owner of that farm.

After travelling over the whole country and finding only a few such men, they assembled the people immediately upon their return to the city and appointed as rulers of the state those whose lands they had found well tilled. This they did in the belief that these men were likely to take as good care of public affairs as they had of their own, and they ordained that the rest of the Milesians who had been at feud should obey these men.