A report on Miletus, Ionia and Achaemenid Empire

Greek settlements in western Asia Minor, Ionian area in green.

Map of Miletus and other cities within the Lydian Empire

The ruins of the ancient city of Pergamon

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest territorial extent under the rule of Darius I (522 BC–486 BC)

The Ionic Stoa on the Sacred Way in Miletus

Art relics from the Ionian cities of Asia

Apollo statue found in Miletus. Currently in Istanbul Archeology Museum

One of the earliest electrum coins struck in Ephesus, 620–600 BC. Obverse: Forepart of stag. Reverse: Square incuse punch.

The site of Miletus, once coastal, now inland. The plain was a bay in Classical Greece.

Map of the expansion process of Achaemenid territories

Coinage of Miletus at the time of Aristagoras. Late 6th-early 5th century BC.

Gorgone with serpent, Ionia, 575-550 BC.

Cyrus the Great is said, in the Bible, to have liberated the Hebrew captives in Babylon to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

Electrum coinage of Miletus, circa 600–550 BC.

The tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. At Pasargadae, Iran.

The plan of Milet in the Classical period

Possible coin of Ionia. Circa 600-550 BC

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC

Ionia, Achaemenid Period. Uncertain satrap. Circa 350–333 BC

The Persian queen Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great, sister-wife of Cambyses II, Darius the Great's wife, and mother of Xerxes the Great

The Library of Celsus in Ephesus was built by the Romans in 114–117. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, built by king Croesus of Lydia in the 6th century BC, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Map showing events of the first phases of the Greco-Persian Wars

An Ottoman mosque from the Turkish period in Miletus site

Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

The Market Gate of Miletus at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin

Achaemenid king fighting hoplites, seal and seal holder, Cimmerian Bosporus.

Location of Miletus at the Maeander River's mouth

Achaemenid gold ornaments, Brooklyn Museum

Map of the Black Sea, featuring the chronological phasing of major Milesian colonial foundations.

Persian Empire timeline including important events and territorial evolution – 550–323 BC

Thales of Miletus was a Greek mathematician, astronomer and pre-Socratic philosopher from the city. He is otherwise historically recognized as the first individual known to have entertained and engaged in scientific philosophy

Relief showing Darius I offering lettuces to the Egyptian deity Amun-Ra Kamutef, Temple of Hibis

The name Fikellura derives from a site on the island of Rhodes to which this fabric has been attributed. It is now established that the center of production was Miletus.

The 24 countries subject to the Achaemenid Empire at the time of Darius, on the Egyptian statue of Darius I.

The Battle of Issus, between Alexander the Great on horseback to the left, and Darius III in the chariot to the right, represented in a Pompeii mosaic dated 1st century BC – Naples National Archaeological Museum

Alexander's first victory over Darius, the Persian king depicted in medieval European style in the 15th century romance The History of Alexander's Battles

Frataraka dynasty ruler Vadfradad I (Autophradates I). 3rd century BC. Istakhr (Persepolis) mint.

Dārēv I (Darios I) used for the first time the title of mlk (King). 2nd century BC.

Winged sphinx from the Palace of Darius in Susa, Louvre

Volume of annual tribute per district, in the Achaemenid Empire, according to Herodotus.

The Sacred Way from Miletus with the remains of the stoa

Achaemenid tax collector, calculating on an Abax or Abacus, according to the Darius Vase (340–320 BC).

Letter from the Satrap of Bactria to the governor of Khulmi, concerning camel keepers, 353 BC

Remains of the stoa connecting the main Bath of Faustina to the Palaestra

Relief of throne-bearing soldiers in their native clothing at the tomb of Xerxes I, demonstrating the satrapies under his rule.

Achaemenid king killing a Greek hoplite. c. 500 BC–475 BC, at the time of Xerxes I. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Right entrance of the ancient Greek theatre

Persian soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians. Cylinder seal impression.

Color reconstruction of Achaemenid infantry on the Alexander Sarcophagus (end of 4th century BC).

Seal of Darius the Great hunting in a chariot, reading "I am Darius, the Great King" in Old Persian (𐎠𐎭𐎶𐏐𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁𐎴 𐏋, "adam Dārayavaʰuš xšāyaθiya"), as well as in Elamite and Babylonian. The word "great" only appears in Babylonian. British Museum.

Achaemenid calvalryman in the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Armoured cavalry: Achaemenid Dynast of Hellespontine Phrygia attacking a Greek psiloi, Altıkulaç Sarcophagus, early 4th century BC.

Reconstitution of Persian landing ships at the Battle of Marathon.

Greek ships against Achaemenid ships at the Battle of Salamis.

Iconic relief of lion and bull fighting, Apadana of Persepolis

Achaemenid golden bowl with lioness imagery of Mazandaran

A section of the Old Persian part of the trilingual Behistun inscription. Other versions are in Babylonian and Elamite.

A copy of the Behistun inscription in Aramaic on a papyrus. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the empire.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, was built by Greek architects for the local Persian satrap of Caria, Mausolus (Scale model)

Reconstruction of the Palace of Darius at Susa. The palace served as a model for Persepolis.

Lion on a decorative panel from Darius I the Great's palace, Louvre

Apadana Hall, Persian and Median soldiers at Persepolis

Lateral view of tomb of Cambyses II, Pasargadae, Iran

Plaque with horned lion-griffins. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Miletus (Hittite transcription Millawanda or Milawata (exonyms); Miletus; Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Ionia.

- Miletus

Before the Persian rule that started in the 6th century BC, Miletus was considered among the greatest and wealthiest of Greek cities.

- Miletus

Ionia proper comprised a narrow coastal strip from Phocaea in the north near the mouth of the river Hermus (now the Gediz), to Miletus in the south near the mouth of the river Maeander, and included the islands of Chios and Samos.

- Ionia

The cities within the region figured large in the strife between the Persian Empire and the Greeks.

- Ionia

In 499 BC, the then-tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, launched a joint expedition with the Persian satrap Artaphernes to conquer Naxos, in an attempt to bolster his position in Miletus (both financially and in terms of prestige).

- Achaemenid Empire

This treaty restored control of the Greek cities of Ionia and Aeolis on the Anatolian coast to the Persians while giving Sparta dominance on the Greek mainland.

- Achaemenid Empire

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The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world, was built by Greek architects for the local Achaemenid satrap of Caria, Mausolus (Scale model)

Caria

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Carian cities in white. This map depicts the current rivers and coastline and certain features have changed over the years, notably Miletus, Heracleia, and Myus were on the south side of a gulf and Priene on the north side; the river Maeander has since filled in the gulf. Also politically Telmessos, Miletus, and Kalynda were sometimes considered Carian and sometimes not

Relief of an Amazonomachy from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

Theatre at Halicarnassus in Bodrum, with the Bodrum Castle seen in the background.

A kylix found in Milas on display at Milas Museum

Coin of Maussolos as Achaemenid Satrap of Caria. Circa 377/6-353/2 BC

Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus, and commander of the Carian contingent, at the Battle of Salamis, 480 BC. Wilhelm von Kaulbach

Coin of Caria, Achaemenid Period. Circa 350-334 BC.

Carian soldier of the Achaemenid army, circa 480 BC. Relief on the tomb of Xerxes I.

Marble head of a goddess, found in the Hadrianic Baths of Aphrodisias, 2nd century AD.

The Temple of Zeus Lepsinos at Euromus was built on the site of an earlier Carian temple in the 2nd century AD during the reign of the emperor Hadrian.

Caria (from Greek: Καρία, Karia, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia.

Coastal Caria begins with Didyma south of Miletus, but Miletus had been placed in the pre-Greek Caria.

Caria was then incorporated into the Persian Achaemenid Empire as a satrapy (province) in 545 BC. The most important town was Halicarnassus, from where its sovereigns, the tyrants of the Lygdamid dynasty (c.520-450 BC), reigned.

Ionian Revolt

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Coin of Chios just before the revolt, circa 525–510 BC.

Coin of Lesbos, Ionia. Circa 510–480 BC.

Darius, with a label in Greek (ΔΑΡΕΙΟΣ, top right), on the Darius Vase.

The burning of Sardis by the Greeks during the Ionian Revolt in 498 BC.

Achaemenid cavalry in Asia Minor. Altıkulaç Sarcophagus.

Map showing the ancient kingdoms of Cyprus

Ionian revolt: Carian campaign (496 BC).

Greek hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting. 5th century BC

Ionian revolt, Battle of Lade and fall of Miletus (494 BC).

Ionian soldier (Old Persian cuneiform 𐎹𐎢𐎴, Yaunā) of the Achaemenid army, circa 480 BCE. Xerxes I tomb relief.

Coin of Chios after the revolt, circa 490–435 BCE. [[:File:ISLANDS off IONIA, Chios. Circa 525-510 BC.jpg|Earlier types known]].

The Ionian Revolt, and associated revolts in Aeolis, Doris, Cyprus and Caria, were military rebellions by several Greek regions of Asia Minor against Persian rule, lasting from 499 BC to 493 BC. At the heart of the rebellion was the dissatisfaction of the Greek cities of Asia Minor with the tyrants appointed by Persia to rule them, along with the individual actions of two Milesian tyrants, Histiaeus and Aristagoras.

The cities of Ionia had been conquered by Persia around 540 BC, and thereafter were ruled by native tyrants, nominated by the Persian satrap in Sardis.

Lydia

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Portrait of Croesus, last King of Lydia, Attic red-figure amphora, painted ca. 500–490 BC.

Tripolis on the Meander is an ancient Lydian city in Turkey.

Büyük Menderes River also known as Maeander is river in Lydia.

The Pactolus river, from which Lydia obtained electrum, a combination of silver and gold.

Early 6th century BC Lydian electrum coin (one-third stater denomination).

Lydian delegation at Apadana, circa 500 BC

Lydia's borders under the reign of Alyattes's son Croesus

Bin Tepe royal funeral tumulus (tomb of Alyattes, father of Croesus), Lydia, 6th century BC.

Croesus at the stake. Side A from an Attic red-figure amphora, ca. 500–490 BC

Lydia, including Ionia, during the Achaemenid Empire.

Xerxes I tomb, Lydian soldier of the Achaemenid army, circa 480 BC

Photo of a 15th-century map showing Lydia

Church of St John, Philadelphia (Alaşehir)

Lydia (Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, Śfarda; Aramaic: Lydia; Λυδία, Lȳdíā; Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish provinces of Uşak, Manisa and inland Izmir.

In 546 BC, it became a province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, known as the satrapy of Lydia or Sparda in Old Persian.

Gyges took advantage of the power vacuum created by the Cimmerian invasions to consolidate his kingdom and make it a military power, he contacted the Neo-Assyrian court by sending diplomats to Nineveh to seek help against the Cimmerian invasions, and he attacked the Ionian Greek cities of Miletus, Smyrna, and Colophon.

Ionians

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The Ionians (Ἴωνες, Íōnes, singular Ἴων, Íōn) were one of the four major tribes that the Greeks considered themselves to be divided into during the ancient period; the other three being the Dorians, Aeolians, and Achaeans.

The Seleucid king Antiochos ("Aṃtiyako Yona Rājā" ("The Yona king Antiochos")) is named as a recipient of Ashoka's medical treatments, together with his Hellenistic neighbours, in the Edicts of Ashoka (circa 250 BCE).

"Aṃtiyako Yona Rājā" ("The Greek king Antiochos"), mentioned in Major Rock Edict No.2, here at Girnar. Brahmi script.

In its narrowest sense, the term referred to the region of Ionia in Asia Minor.

Ionians appear in a number of Old Persian inscriptions of the Achaemenid Empire as Yaunā (𐎹𐎢𐎴𐎠), a nominative plural masculine, singular Yauna; for example, an inscription of Darius on the south wall of the palace at Persepolis includes in the provinces of the empire "Ionians who are of the mainland and (those) who are by the sea, and countries which are across the sea; ...."

During the 6th century BC, Ionian coastal towns, such as Miletus and Ephesus, became the focus of a revolution in traditional thinking about Nature.

Alexander riding Bucephalus on a Roman mosaic

Alexander the Great

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King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.

Alexander III riding Bucephalus on a Roman mosaic

Map of The Kingdom of Macedon in 336 BC, birthplace of Alexander

Roman medallion depicting Olympias, Alexander's mother

Archaeological Site of Pella, Greece, Alexander's birthplace

Philip II of Macedon, Alexander's father

Battle plan from the Battle of Chaeronea

Pausanius assassinates Philip II, Alexander's father, during his procession into the theatre

The emblema of the Stag Hunt Mosaic, c. 300 BC, from Pella; the figure on the right is possibly Alexander the Great due to the date of the mosaic along with the depicted upsweep of his centrally-parted hair (anastole); the figure on the left wielding a double-edged axe (associated with Hephaistos) is perhaps Hephaestion, one of Alexander's loyal companions.

The Macedonian phalanx at the "Battle of the Carts" against the Thracians in 335 BC

Gérard Audran after Charles LeBrun, 'Alexander Entering Babylon,' original print first published 1675, engraving, Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC.

Alexander Cuts the Gordian Knot (1767) by Jean-Simon Berthélemy

Name of Alexander the Great in Egyptian hieroglyphs (written from right to left), c. 332 BC, Egypt. Louvre Museum.

Site of the Persian Gate in modern-day Iran; the road was built in the 1990s.

Administrative document from Bactria dated to the seventh year of Alexander's reign (324 BC), bearing the first known use of the "Alexandros" form of his name, Khalili Collection of Aramaic Documents

The Killing of Cleitus, by André Castaigne (1898–1899)

Silver tetradrachm of Alexander the Great found in Byblos (ca 330-300 bc.) (BnF 1998–859; 17,33g; Byblos, Price 3426b)

The Phalanx Attacking the Centre in the Battle of the Hydaspes by André Castaigne (1898–1899)

Alexander's invasion of the Indian subcontinent

Asia in 323 BC, the Nanda Empire and the Gangaridai of the Indian subcontinent, in relation to Alexander's Empire and neighbours

Alexander (left) and Hephaestion (right): Both were connected by a tight friendship

Alexander at the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes (1796)

A Babylonian astronomical diary (c. 323–322 BC) recording the death of Alexander (British Museum, London)

19th-century depiction of Alexander's funeral procession, based on the description by Diodorus Siculus

Detail of Alexander on the Alexander Sarcophagus

Kingdoms of the Diadochi in 301 BC: the Ptolemaic Kingdom (dark blue), the Seleucid Empire (yellow), Kingdom of Pergamon (orange), and Kingdom of Macedon (green). Also shown are the Roman Republic (light blue), the Carthaginian Republic (purple), and the Kingdom of Epirus (red).

A coin of Alexander the Great struck by Balakros or his successor Menes, both former somatophylakes (bodyguards) of Alexander, when they held the position of satrap of Cilicia in the lifetime of Alexander, circa 333-327 BC. The obverse shows Heracles, ancestor of the Macedonian royal line and the reverse shows a seated Zeus Aëtophoros.

Alexander (left), wearing a kausia and fighting an Asiatic lion with his friend Craterus (detail); late 4th century BC mosaic, Pella Museum

A Roman copy of an original 3rd century BC Greek bust depicting Alexander the Great, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen

A mural in Pompeii, depicting the marriage of Alexander to Barsine (Stateira) in 324 BC; the couple are apparently dressed as Ares and Aphrodite.

The Hellenistic world view: world map of Eratosthenes (276–194 BC), using information from the campaigns of Alexander and his successors

Dedication of Alexander the Great to Athena Polias at Priene, now housed in the British Museum

Alexander's empire was the largest state of its time, covering approximately 5.2 million square km.

The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist style, 1st to 2nd century AD, Gandhara, northern Pakistan. Tokyo National Museum.

This medallion was produced in Imperial Rome, demonstrating the influence of Alexander's memory. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

Alexander in a 14th-century Armenian manuscript

Alexander in a 14th-century Byzantine manuscript

Alexander conquering the air. Jean Wauquelin, Les faits et conquêtes d'Alexandre le Grand, 1448–1449

Folio from the Shahnameh showing Alexander praying at the Kaaba, mid-16th century

Detail of a 16th-century Islamic painting depicting Alexander being lowered in a glass submersible

A Hellenistic bust of a young Alexander the Great, possibly from Ptolemaic Egypt, 2nd-1st century BC, now in the British Museum

A fresco depicting a hunt scene at the tomb of Philip II, Alexander's father, at the Archaeological Site of Aigai, the only known depiction of Alexander made during his lifetime, 330s BC

In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Persian Empire and began a series of campaigns that lasted for 10 years.

After an initial victory against Persian forces at the Battle of the Granicus, Alexander accepted the surrender of the Persian provincial capital and treasury of Sardis; he then proceeded along the Ionian coast, granting autonomy and democracy to the cities.

Miletus, held by Achaemenid forces, required a delicate siege operation, with Persian naval forces nearby.

Persian soldier (left) and Greek hoplite (right) depicted fighting, on an ancient kylix, 5th century BC

Greco-Persian Wars

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Herodotus, the main historical source for this conflict

Thucydides continued Herodotus's narrative

The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent under Darius the Great

Persian and Median Immortals in ceremonial dress, bas-relief in Persepolis

According to Herodotus, the Athenians, hoping for protection against Sparta, made the gift of "Earth and Water" to the Persians in 507 BC.

Coinage of Athens at the time of Cleisthenes. Effigy of Athena, with owl and ΑΘΕ, initials of "Athens". Circa 510-500/490 BC.

The burning of Sardis by the Greeks and the Ionians during the Ionian Revolt in 498 BC.

Map showing main events of the Ionian Revolt.

The soldiers of Xerxes I, of all ethnicities, on the tomb of Xerxes I, at Naqsh-e Rostam.

Probable Spartan hoplite (Vix crater, c. 500 BC).

Major events in the second invasion of Greece

Schematic diagram illustrating events during the Battle of Salamis

Spartans fighting against Persian forces at the Battle of Plataea. 19th century illustration.

Athens and her "empire" in 431 BC. The empire was the direct descendant of the Delian League

Map showing the locations of battles fought by the Delian League, 477–449 BC

Dynast of Lycia, Kherei, with Athena on the obverse, and himself wearing the Persian cap on the reverse. Circa 440/30–410 BC.

Coinage of Tiribazos, Satrap of Lydia, with Faravahar on the obverse. 388–380 BC.

The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek-inhabited region of Ionia in 547 BC. Struggling to control the independent-minded cities of Ionia, the Persians appointed tyrants to rule each of them.

In 499 BC, the tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, embarked on an expedition to conquer the island of Naxos, with Persian support; however, the expedition was a debacle and, preempting his dismissal, Aristagoras incited all of Hellenic Asia Minor into rebellion against the Persians.

Histiaeus

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Coinage of Miletus at the time of Histiaeus. AR Obol (9mm, 1.07 g). Forepart of lion left, head right. Stellate and floral design within incuse square. Late 6th-early 5th century BC.

The Greeks under Histiaeus preserve the bridge of Darius I across the Danube river. 19th century illustration.

Histiaeus (, died 493 BC), the son of Lysagoras, was a Greek ruler of Miletus in the late 6th century BC. Histiaeus was tyrant of Miletus under Darius I, king of Persia, who had subjugated Miletus and the other Ionian states in Asia Minor, and who generally appointed Greeks as tyrants to rule the Greek cities of Ionia in his territory.