Editing Histiaeus (section)

==Scythian campaign of Darius I (circa 513 BC)==
[[File:The Greeks preserve the bridge of Darius.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Greeks under Histiaeus preserve the bridge of Darius I across the [[Danube]] river. 19th century illustration.]]
According to [[Herodotus]],<ref>Herodotus. (2003). "[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories]], Book 5." Trans. Aubrey De Selincourt. Rev. John Marincola. London: Penguin Group. {{ISBN|0-14-044908-6}}</ref> Histiaeus, along with the other Chiefs/Tyrants under Darius' rule, took part in the [[European Scythian campaign of Darius I|Persian expedition]] against the [[Scythia]]ns, and was put in charge of defending the bridge that Darius' troops had placed across the [[Danube]] River. The Scythians attempted to persuade Histiaeus and the others to abandon the bridge; one faction, led by [[Miltiades the Younger|Miltiades]] of [[Athens]], at that time tyrant of the [[Thracian Chersonese|Chersonese]], wanted to follow the Scythians' advice.  However, Histiaeus argued that they should stay, as they owed their positions as tyrants to Darius and would surely be overthrown if he were killed.

Instead, according to Herodotus, Histiaeus suggested that they pretend to follow the Scythian plan.  So Histiaeus was sent as an ambassador to the Scythians to tell them that the tyrants would accept the Scythian plan, while the rest of the tyrants acted as if they were demolishing the bridge. Histiaeus persuaded the Scythians to look for the Persian forces.

Herodotus writes that while the Scythians were away, the Persians returned to the Danube and Histiaeus organised the ships to successfully ferry them across the river.

During the expedition, Histiaeus' troops had started building a settlement at Myrcinus (site of the later [[Amphipolis]]) on the [[Struma (river)|Strymon]] River. After returning with Darius to [[Sardis]], Darius asked Histiaeus what he wanted in return for his service.  Histiaeus responded that he wanted to be given control over [[Myrcinus]], to which Darius agreed.

However, the Persian commander [[Megabazus]] suspected Histiaeus' interest in the strategically important area, which controlled key roads from Persian controlled territory into [[Europe]], as well as known sources of [[silver]] and [[timber]].  Nevertheless, Darius considered Histiaeus to be loyal, and asked him to come back to [[Susa]] with him as a friend and advisor. Histiaeus' nephew and son-in-law [[Aristagoras]] was left in control of Miletus.<ref name="MW85">{{cite book |last1=Waters |first1=Matt |title=Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550–330 BCE |date=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107009608 |pages=85–86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EjhEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |language=en}}</ref>