Miletus. Detailed history

As the “jewel of Ionia,” as the historian Herodotus proclaimed, Miletus (also spelled Miletos) lay on the mouth of the Meander River in a fertile region next to Caria in southern Ionia. It was probably the earliest Ionia colony, with subsequent cities founded to the north. The city had four harbors, and the earliest temple to Athena, from the eighth century, was discovered there, near the Lion Harbor. According to myth, it was founded in the Bronze Age by colonists from Crete fighting in the Trojan War, and archaeological evidence confirms Mycenaean material during this period.

The site was originally populated by Carians, and again archaeological evidence points to the arrival of Greeks around 1000. The city had six tribes, the usual four Ionian representing the Greek colonists and two from the Carian population, or probably rather the offspring of early intermarriages between colonists and locals. This colony was ruled by kings, supposedly descendants of Neleus, the son of King Codrus of Athens. This monarchy ruled for several generations until being overthrown by the aristocratic oligarchy. The city controlled the sanctuary of Apollo from nearby Didyma, ten miles south, which became well known and respected.

The Miletus colony not only had strong maritime activity, but also continued its encroachment inland, along the river to the rising mountains. The region was renowned for its pasture and wool-producing region. Ultimately, Miletus was stopped in its expansion by the arrival of the Cimmerians and Lydians and hemmed in by the mountains. This produced in turn a social crisis since without further land for growth and with its existing lands in the hands of the nobility, the city saw social unrest from the rising mercantile class who would not gain land or power.

This in turn led to a growth in colonization. The city became one of the chief founders of colonies in the Black Sea and the Propontis (the Sea of Marmara). This region allowed access to the grain lands of Russia and the rich sea catch of tunny as they came out of the Black Sea into the Mediterranean. Milesian sailors soon found that they could traverse the dangers of the Hellespont and Bosporus straits using the night breezes and currents/eddies.

Miletus is credited with establishing nearly 100 colonies (if one includes the colonies established by their daughter cities). These colonies became a virtual monopoly for Miletus and allowed their craftsmen to influence tribes such as the Scythians, with their gold objects. They also competed with Samos for advancing trade and contact with Egypt. And Miletus helped the pharaoh Psammetichus I (664-610) fend off his rivals and were allowed to establish a trading center at Naucratis, Egypt. While many of Naucratis’ colonists came from the landless citizens of Miletus, aristocrats must have also been important in these endeavors since the colonies remained on good terms with the mother city. The ruling council, or “Perpetual Sailors,” clearly ensured that Miletus would receive benefits from the new colonies and their trading ventures; but it also became known for its business honesty.

Continual internal strife gave rise to the tyrant Thrasybulus. Like so many other tyrants, he used the discontent of the poor and the mistrust between them and the aristocracy to establish control in Miletus around 600. He was a friend of the tyrant Periander at Corinth, who when asked how to keep control of the people, went into a field of wheat and chopped off the tallest stalks, indicating that he kept control by ridding himself of potential threats. Although he had made friends with other tyrants and kings, including in Egypt, Thrasybulus had to contend with Lydia to the east, ruled by King Gyges.

The relations with Lydia were often contradictory; while Gyges would attack Miletus, he would also help the city against its neighbor city of Colophon, overthrowing the strongest city of Ionia. Gyges’s political strategy was to attack any city of Ionia that could cause him problems. The Lydian king Alyattes would continually attack Miletus for twelve years straight. Due to their rich maritime trade and ability to receive grain from Russia, Miletus was able to withstand the attacks, and ultimately Lydia and Miletus made peace. Thrasybulus probably also introduced from Lydia the first Ionian coinage, with the backward-looking lion’s head as the first symbol. They initially used electrum instead of gold to make the coins and used the early Euboic weights, where 3,600 silver shekels equaled 1 talent.

For all of his accomplishments Thrasybulus could not withstand the internal social issues plaguing Miletus. The two major forces were the Perpetual Sailors, representing the old aristocracy based on wealth, and the Barefists (merchants). A compromise through arbitration occurred, and the city was able to settle down. The rise of Croesus of Lydia could not be stopped, however, and Miletus was put under his dominion. Although not completely subject to the Lydians, it did receive preferential treatment and reaped the benefits of peaceful coexistence without ever forming a formal treaty.

When Cyrus of Persia defeated Croesus, all of Ionia came under the control of the Persians, with Harpagus as the Persian satrap in Sardis. He favored the city and reinstalled the tyrant Histiaeus, who helped in the Persian invasion into Thrace under Darius in 513 and was rewarded. Darius, however, soon began to mistrust Histiaeus, and after summoning him to Susa, imprisoned him. Histiaeus began to plot a rebellion with his successor and son-in-law, Aristagoras, who had not been successful in his rule, failing to take Naxos with Persian help and losing the wool trade in the West when its partner, Sybaris, had been destroyed in 510. Perhaps his fellow citizens’ criticism forced him to finally give up control, and he established a democratic government and made full plans for the rebellion.

Aristagoras traveled to Greece, where he could only evoke lukewarm support from the Athenians and Eretrians. Their arrival with a total of twenty-five ships resulted in the capture and burning of Sardis, and after they left, Ionia was forced to face the full power of Persia alone. Aristagoras was killed in action in Thrace, and Miletus was taken and destroyed after its fleet was defeated at Lade (495) when the Samians, the traditional enemy of Miletus, abandoned their allies, including Miletus during the battle, allowing the Persians to be victorious. The city was then taken by the Persians and razed, with the population deported; also, the Persians destroyed the nearby sanctuary of Apollo at Didyma.

Herodotus blamed the rebellion on Miletus, but it is more probable that general dissatisfaction with Persian rule resulted in the rebellion. Persia had curtailed Ionian economies, and its use of local tyrants had caused civil unrest. These, together with Persian levies, probably produced a general sentiment of distrust and agitation against Persia. The Ionian cities’ inability to unite resulted in the Greek cities in Asia from failing to gain their freedom.

After the Persian defeat in 479 at Plataea and Mycale, the Delian League, which was transformed by the Athenian into the Athenian Empire, successfully liberated the Greek cities of Asia Minor from the Persians. Miletus, too important to remain abandoned, grew again into a strategic city and port. The city was ultimately made a subject of Athenian forces in order to provide funds, and it received an Athenian garrison. It is probable that Miletus had not recovered sufficiently to be seen as independent, so it became a tributary member.

The city came into conflict with Samos, one of the few nontributary states under the control of nearby Priene. Miletus lost the war with Samos and then appealed to Athens for help. In theory, Samos should have been favored, but the Athenians gave Priene to Miletus, which resulted in the revolt of Samos in 440. Miletus did not appear to receive any special reward from Athens, and in 412, it joined the rebellion of Ionian cities against the Athenians, supported by Sparta and Persia.

The Treaty of Miletus between Sparta and Persia restored the latter’s control over the Ionian cities. These cities now became part of the Persian Empire again. The city would remain part of the Persian Empire until it was taken by Alexander the Great in 334.