Miletus

Miletus, an ancient Ionian city, on the Latmian Gulf, on the W. coast of Asia Minor, near the mouth of the Mseander. It was founded by a band of colonists from Pylos, became a thriving commercial town, and before 650 B.C. had planted some 60 or 80 colonies along the coasts of the Hellespont, the Propontis, and the Euxine. The Milesians long resisted the encroachments of the Lydian monarchs, but finally submitted to Croesus. After his fall they were conquered by the Persians, but took the lead in a rebellion against Darius (500 B.C.), and, as a punishment, were transported to the mouth of the Tigris. Later, Miletus again became a busy mart, but never regained its lost glory. The philosophers Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes, and the historian Hecateus were natives.