12. Byzantion
Journal: Oxford University Press eBooks
Year: 2011

The Greeks founded a city they called Byzantion on the Asiatic side of mainland Greece. ‘Byzantion’ tells the story of this city. After Byzantion's foundation — traditionally in either 688 or 657 — very little is heard of the city's; politics until 499 when it revolted from its Persian suzerain as part of the ‘Ionian Revolt’. The importance of Byzantion to Athens lay in its ability to manage and tax the annual flow of ships trading in wheat and other staples from the Ukraine, south Russia, and t