Histories

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.