Miletus

Miletus, ancient Greek city of Ionia, on the west coast of Asia Minor (part of modern Turkey), and the most prosperous of the 12 cities of the Ionian confederacy. Miletus was situated near the mouth of the Meander (now called the Büyük Menderes) River and had four excellent harbours thus enabling it to develop an extensive trade. Miletus was renowned for the production of fine textiles, especially woollen cloth. The Milesians established a number of colonies in the north, primarily on the Hellespont (Dardanelles), the Propontis (Sea of Marmara), and the Euxine (Black) Sea. Merchant fleets from Milesia sailed to every part of the Mediterranean Sea and even reached the Atlantic Ocean.

Miletus was repeatedly attacked by the rulers of the neighbouring country of Lydia but managed to withstand these assaults until it was subjugated by King Croesus in the early 6th century bc. Following the conquest of Lydia by Cyrus the Great, Miletus fell under the sway of Persia. From 499 to 494 bc Miletus led the revolt of the Ionians against Persian rule but after its final defeat was razed by Darius I. It was rebuilt in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, but never regained its former power. The city's economic decline was hastened by the silting up of its harbours during the early Christian period (c. ad 300-600). Miletus was the birthplace of the early Greek philosophers Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes.