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Miletus, Ancient Greece, 1200BC

Ancient Miletus, Ancient Greece, Turkey, 1200BC


The ancient ruins of Miletus now lie almost 5km from the modern coastline, but it wasnt always that way. Until around 2000 years ago, Miletus sat on a peninsula sticking out into a large bay. This map is based on the ancient coastline, as well as Heroditus' architectural drawings of Miletus city plan.


From Wikipedia...

Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Ionia. Its ruins are located near the modern village of Balat in Aydın Province, Turkey. Before the Persian rule that started in the 6th century BC, Miletus was considered among the greatest and wealthiest of Greek cities.

Recorded history at Miletus begins with the records of the Hittite Empire, and the Mycenaean records of Pylos and Knossos, in the Late Bronze Age. Miletus was a Mycenaean stronghold on the coast of Asia Minor from c. 1450 to 1100 BC.

In 334 BC, the Siege of Miletus by the forces of Alexander the Great of Macedonia liberated the city from Persian rule. The liberation of most of the rest of Asia Minor soon followed. In this period, the city reached its greatest extent, occupying within its walls an area of approximately 90 hectares (220 acres).

In antiquity the city possessed a harbor at the southern entry of a large bay, The harbor of Miletus was additionally protected by the nearby small island of Lade. Over the centuries the gulf silted up with alluvium carried by the Meander River. Miletus had lost its harbor by the Roman era, and became an inland town in the early Christian era; before beinge abandoned to ruin as the economy was strangled by the lack of access to the sea."