Miletus

Miletus (Greek: Μίλητος transliterated as Miletos or Militos, Turkish: Milet) was an ancient city on the western coast of Anatolia (in what is now the Aydin Province of Turkey), near the mouth of the Maeander River. The site was inhabited since the Bronze age. It is first mentioned in Hittite records as Millawanda or Milawata. In the time of Hittite king Mursili II (ca. 1320 BC), Millawanda became a bridge-head for the expansion of the Mycenean Greeks in Asia Minor.

Homer records that at the time of the Trojan War, it was a Carian city (Iliad, book II). Other Greek myths relate that the city was founded by a hero named Miletus, who fled Crete after falling foul of King Minos. These myths further relate that the hero Miletus found the city only after slaying a giant named Asterius, son of Anax; and that the region known as Miletus was originally called 'Anactoria'.

Later, the city of Miletus would become one of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor. Its gridlike layout, planned by Hippodamos, became the basic layout for Roman cities. The city also once possessed a harbor, before it was clogged by alluvium brought by the Meander.

Scholars have generally agreed that the Anatolian city Millawanda or Milawata mentioned in Hittite records should be identified with Miletus. In the 1500s BC, settlers from Crete moved there. In the 6th century BC, Miletus had become a maritime empire, having founded several colonies. It was under Persian rule until 479 BC, when the Greek became victorious over the Persians. During this time several other cities were formed by Milesian settlers, spanning across what is now Turkey and even as far as Crimea.

Miletus was an important center of philosophy and science, producing such men as Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes.

In 334 BC, the city was liberated from Persian rule by Alexander the Great.

The New Testament mentions Miletus as the site where the apostle Paul met with the elders of the church of Ephesus before his capture and travel to Rome for trial, as well as the city where Trophimus, one of Paul's travelling companions, recovered while sick.

During the Byzantine age Miletus became a residence for archbishops. The small Byzantine castle called Castro Palation located on the hill beside the city, was built at this time.

Seljuk Turks settled into the city in the 12th century A.D. and used Miletus as a port to trade with Venice.

Finally, Ottomans utilized the city as a harbour during their rule in Anatolia. As the harbour became silted up, the city was abandoned. Today the ruins of city lie some 10 kilometres from the sea.

The first excavations were conducted by the German archaeologist Theodor Wiegand but these were interrupted several times by wars and various other events. Today, a team of German archaeologists is currently engaged in excavating Miletus. One artifact recovered from the city during the first excavations is the Market Gate of Miletus, which was transported piece by piece to Germany and can be seen at the Pergamon museum in Berlin.

External links

References

John Garstang, The Hittite Empire (University Press, Edinburgh, 1930), pp. 179-80.