Miletus

Greek settlement at the mouth of the Meander valley in Turkey (western Anatolia), inhabited from the 2nd millennium BC. By the beginning of the 1st millennium BC, it was an Ionian Greek city, colonizing Black Sea and Egyptian Delta areas in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. Miletus played an important role in the founding of the Greek colony of Naukratis in Egypt and founded more than 60 colonies on the shores of the Black Sea, including Abydos, Cyzicus, Sinope, Olbia, and Panticapaeum. Before 500 BC, Miletus was the greatest Greek city in the east. Miletus produced the classical historian Hecateus and the town planner Hippodamus. It was destroyed by the Persians in 494 BC and the new layout reflected Hippodamian planning. The city came under Athenian, Persian, Greek and (in 129 BC) Roman control. Impressive ruins survive nearby of the re-built Hellenistic Greek oracular temple of Apollo and a Roman theater. The harbor mouth was guarded by statues of lions. Subsequently, the harbor silted up and Miletus declined, but occupation continued into the early Byzantine period. In 263 AD, it survived an attack by the Goths and was refurbished by the emperor Diocletian. New Byzantine churches and monumental buildings were eventually erected within its boundaries. In the 10th century, the citadel was destroyed by an earthquake but was again rebuilt over the ancient ruins. The ruins occupy the former peninsula extending northward from the hill of Kalabak Tepe. Only one temple, from the 6th century BC, survives in part on Kalabak Tepe. To the south there are extensive remains of the classical city from the 5th century BC to Roman imperial times. The Hellenistic council house has some of the earliest known examples of true pilasters.

This ancient settlement on a bay at the mouth of the Meander River in southwest Turkey was inhabited from the 2nd millennium bc. By the beginning of the 1st millennium bc it was an Ionian Greek city, colonizing Black Sea and Egyptian Delta areas in the 7th and 6th centuries bc. Miletus produced philosophers, the classical historian Hecateus and the town planner Hippodamus. Destroyed by the Persians in 494 bc, the city came under Athenian, Persian, Greek and (in 129 bc) Roman control. Impressive ruins survive nearby of the re-built Hellenistic Greek oracular temple of Apollo, and a Roman theatre. Subsequently, the harbour silted up and Miletus declined, but occupation continued into the early Byzantine period. In ad 263 it survived an attack by the Goths and was refurbished by the Emperor Diocletian. Excavations have shown that between the time of Justinian and the 11th century the city underwent a drastic transformation. Although the Late Antique city was smaller than its predecessor, new Byzantine churches and monumental buildings were erected within its boundaries. The main effort went into building a system of fortifications around the Roman theatre. In effect, the theatre was turned into a castle which became the focal point of a citadel whose walls were lined with square towers; inside were churches and small houses. In the 10th century the citadel was destroyed by an earthquake but was again rebuilt over the ancient ruins; the small Byzantine town became known as Kastron ton Palation — the castle of the palace.