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siege, notable, ancient

Siege of Eretria

Siege of Eretria was a siege conducted in 490 BC at Eretria, in what is now Greece. It was part of the Greco-Persian Wars, which ran from 499 BC to 449 BC. The recorded result: Persian victory; Destruction of Eretria; Eretrians enslaved. Recorded strength: Unknown against Ancient sources: 100,000–300,000; 10,000 Persian Immortals; 600 ships; 25,000 Men (modern consensus).

See it on the globe Read the article

Map showing the Greek world during the Greco-Persian Wars (ca. 500–479 BC).
Map showing the Greek world during the Greco-Persian Wars (ca. 500–479 BC).. User:Bibi Saint-Pol, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought490 BC
WhereEretria, Greece38.393N, 23.794E
OutcomePersian victory; Destruction of Eretria; Eretrians enslaved
BelligerentsEretriaagainstAchaemenid Empire
Part ofGreco-Persian Wars499 BC to 449 BC

Where it sits in the Greco-Persian Wars

Siege of Naxos, 499 BCSiege of Eretria, 490 BCSiege of Lindos, 490 BCSiege of Byzantium, 478 BC499 BC478 BCSiege of Eretria, 490 BC
5 placed engagements of the Greco-Persian Wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date490 BC (year precision)
PlaceEretria, Greece
38.393N, 23.794E
KindSiege, ancient
StrengthUnknownAncient sources: 100,000–300,000; 10,000 Persian Immortals; 600 ships; 25,000 Men (modern consensus)
Commanders
  • Datis
  • Artaphernes (nephew of Darius I)
Siege of EretriaSiege of EretriaSiege of EretriaBattle of DeliumBattle of OenophytaSiege of EuriposSiege of NegroponteBattle of OenophytaSiege of EuriposAthensPatraTripoliErmoupoliVolosLamia100 km38.393N, 23.794E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 490 BC

Siege of Eretria is one of 99 engagements of the 5th century BC in the atlas and one of 493 in present-day Greece.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q2525990, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Eretria, revision 1370741042, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.