At the end of the 8th century, Euboea fell into decline with the outbreak of the Lelantine War and the baton of colonial foundation was passed to other Greek cities. In the 7th century, many colonies were founded in Ionia, Southern Italy, Thrace and on the Black Sea. Other Greek colonies were founded on the coast of Gaul, on the Cyrenaica peninsula in Africa and also in Egypt. In this burst of colonial expansion cities such as Corinth, Miletus, Megara and Phocaea took the lead.