Changes

In the short term, the city-states that revolted recovered rapidly and were to flourish for centuries. However, the Ionian Enlightenment or Awakening, which saw the birth of Ancient Greek philosophy and science, was effectively ended by the crushing of the uprising by Emperor Darius' army and navy. Finally, the revolt was to trigger a series of events that resulted in the Greek and Persian Wars, that transformed the ancient World.

[[File: Ionian Revolt 2.jpg|300px|thumb|left| Detail from a vase showing a Greek and Persian warrior]]

During the so-called Greek Dark Ages, many Greeks migrated to the Aegean coast of Asia Minor in what is now Turkey.<ref> Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War I, 7</ref> Here the Aeolians, Dorians, and Ionians, established settlements that became city-states. Ionia was the area settled by the Ionian tribes, and it was composed of twelve cities. They were independent, but they shared common places of worship and regularly cooperated. Ionia became very wealthy, especially Miletus, and it was in the 6th century the most important cultural center in the Greek World. <ref>Holland, Tom. Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West (London, Doubleday, 2006), p 87</ref>