hment of troops, under the
command of one of his generals, named Megabyzus, in Thrace, on the
European side, ordering Megabyzus to establish himself there, and to
reduce all the countries in that neighborhood to his sway. Darius
then proceeded to Sardis, which was the most powerful and wealthy of
his capitals in that quarter of the world. At Sardis, he was, as it
were, at home again, and he accordingly took an early opportunity to
send for Histiaeus, as well as some others who had rendered him special
services in his late campaign, in order that he might agree with them
in respect to their reward. He asked Histiaeus what favor he wished to
receive.

Histiaeus replied that he was satisfied, on the whole, with the
position which he already enjoyed, which was that of king or governor
of Miletus, an Ionian city, south of Sardis, and on the shores of the
AEgean Sea.[I] He should be pleased, however, he said, if the king
would assign him a certain small territory in Thrace, or, rather, on
the borders between Thrace and Macedonia, near the mouth of the River
Strymon. He wished to build a city there. The king immediately granted
this request, which was obviously very moderate and reasonable. He did
not, perhaps, consider that this territory, being in Thrace, or in its
immediate vicinity, came within the jurisdiction of Megabyzus, whom
he had left in command there, and that the grant might lead to some
conflict between the two generals. There was special danger of
jealousy and disagreement between them, for Megabyzus was a Persian,
and Histiaeus was a Greek.

[Footnote I: For these places, see the map at the commencement of the
next chapter.]

Histiaeus organized a colony, and, leaving a temporary and provisional
government at Miletus, he proceeded along the shores of the AEgean Sea
to the spot assigned him, and began to build his city. As the locality
was beyond the Thracian frontier, and at a considerable distance from
the head-quarters of Megabyzus, it is very probable that the
operations of Histiaeus would not have attracted the Persian general's
attention for a considerable time, had it not been for a very
extraordinary and peculiar train of circumstances, which led him to
discover them. The circumstances were these:

There was a nation or tribe called the Paeonians, who inhabited the
valley of the Strymon, which river came down from the interior of the
country, and fell into the sea near the place where Histiaeus was