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3500—3000 BC
Prehistory
The settlement was originally on offshore islands at the mouth of the Meander River, inhabited by the Leleges, a Neolithic people who settled around the area’s springs and geothermal water sources. Because of constant silting by the river, these islands will eventually become part of the mainland.
2000 BC
Minoans Settle in Miletus
The Minoans of Crete settle in Miletus and the two civilizations are trading with each other. According to Strabo, writing much later, it was the Cretans who named the city Miletus, after a city of the same name on Crete.
c. 1450—1100 BC
Mycenaean Period
The Mycenaeans from mainland Greece, who have replaced the Minoans as a dominant civilization, take over control of Miletus.
12th or 13th Century BC
Trojan War
According to Homer in his work entitled “Illiad,” Miletus is the city of the Carians, and is aligned with Troy during the Trojan War. After the Trojan War, more people arrive from Caria and other Greek cities. There is friction and conflict with the Hittites, the major power in Asia Minor at the time.
c. 1200 BC
Miletus is Destroyed and Rebuilt
The Near East is in a period of drought and famine. Groups of people band together and raid various towns for food and loot. One of these groups is only known as “The Sea People,” who are so effective at attacking and conquering cities they bring about the Late Bronze Age Collapse. The Hittite Empire falls and Miletus is destroyed.
c. 800 BC
Miletus is resettled by the Greeks
Because of various troubles on the Greek mainland, more Greeks arrive at Miletus and gradually rebuild the city.
Mid-7th Century BC
Miletus Joins the Ionian League
Miletus becomes one of twelve Greek city-states of Ionia, the Aegean Region of Asia Minor, to join the Ionian League, a military alliance of the coastal city-states in western Asia Minor.
6th Century BC
The Milesian School
Miletus is an origin of the Greek philosophical and scientific tradition. Thales, followed by Anaximander, then Anaximenes collectively become known as the Milesian school. They begin the first speculations about the material construction of the world and natural phenomena with rational and logical explanations rather than with myths and supernatural causes.
6th Century BC
Miletus and the Lydian Empire Clash
Miletus clashes with Lydia, a powerful empire in central Asia Minor, and the tyrant Polycrates on Samos Island to the west.
6th Century BC
Persians Conquer Lydia and Take Miletus
Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, defeats King Croesus and Lydia, then conquers all Lydian territories. Miletus comes under Persian control and Persia dominates most of Asia Minor.
5th Century BC
Hippodamus of Miletus Designs the Modern Urban Layout
Hippodamus of Miletus (lived c. 480—408 BC), a Greek architect, urban planner, physician, meteorologist, and philosopher, designs a grid plan for cities that will be used to redesign Miletus, as well as many other cities.
499—493 BC
The Ionian Revolt
Miletus participates in the Ionian Revolt Against the Persians. Athens sends troops and supplies to help the Ionians, but eventually, Persia crushes the rebellion and takes control of Ionia again.
493 BC
Persian King Darius I Punishes Miletus
For its role in the Ionian Revolt, King Darius I (The Great) severely punishes Miletus by killing all of the men, selling all women and children into slavery, and castrating all of the young me and making them Eunuchs so that no Milesian will ever be born again. However, this is thought to be an exaggeration of what actually happened.
479 BC
Persians Lose Miletus
The Greeks defeat the Persian Navy, who lose many ships and are forced to retreat to Asia Minor. They temporarily lose some of the coastal cities, including Miletus. Fighting continues along the western coast of Asia Minor.
468—387 BC
Territory Changes Hands Between Athens and the Persians
Athens takes control of southwest Asia Minor, then the Persians retake control, but the Persian position in the area is now tenuous.
334 BC
Alexander the Great Besieges Miletus
Alexander the Great, on his great military campaign across Asia Minor to conquer Persia, besieges Miletus and eventually conquers the city. Alexander will go on to conquer most of the other cities in Asia Minor as well, before finally defeating Persia.
323 BC
Alexander the Great Dies, His Generals Take Charge
After Alexander the Great dies in Babylon, his generals divide the lands they conquered between themselves, and begin fighting each other over the territory. This includes Miletus, which will change hands several times over the years.
133 BC
Romans Take Control of Miletus
At this point King Attalus III of Pergamum, another of the descendants of one of Alexander’s generals, dies and leaves his kingdom, including Miletus, to the Romans. By doing so, he avoids civil wars between contestants for the throne. Miletus thrives under Roman governance, and the Miletus we see today is from the Roman period.
57 AD
Paul the Apostle Meets the Elders of the Church of Ephesus at Miletus
At the end of his third missionary journey, Paul is on his way to Jerusalem to participate in the celebration of Pentecost. Because of time limitations, he cannot go to Ephesus, so he meets the Ephesian church elders at Miletus instead. He may have met the elders at the Great Harbor Monument on its steps.
538 AD
Byzantine Emperor Justinian Rebuilds the City Walls
By this time the harbor of Miletus is well silted up by deposits from the Meander river, and is in decline, and is now just a small town.
14th Century AD
Seljuk Turks Conquer Miletus, City is Abandoned
What is left of Miletus’s harbor is still of some use, so the Seljuks use it as a port to trade with Venice. The port is still silting up, and the local area has been deforested and overgrazed. The city is gradually abandoned.
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Ken Grubb
Ken Grubb is an American travel writer, retired Special Investigator for the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), and former adjunct instructor for the University of Maryland at NATO bases in Izmir and at Incirlik Air Base, Türkiye. He’s a former managing partner of Turkey Central LLC, where he assisted people worldwide in visiting and living in Türkiye. Ken’s passion is the ancient Christian history of Türkiye and Greece, focusing on the places where the stories of the New Testament took place. He’s lived in Türkiye for more than 20 years.
