Destinations

Ionians were a western Anatolian people distinguished by language and cultural traditions. Ionia, ancient district in Anatolia. The region received its name from the Ionians. The area is mountainous and includes three fertile valleys, watered by the rivers Gediz, Ergene, and Menderes. Ionia was extremely prosperous in ancient times because of a flourishing agriculture and commerce. In the 7th and 6th centuries bc Ionia made important contributions to Ioan art and literature, and particularly to philosophy. Great cities grew up, of which Ephesus, Clazomenae, Erythrae, Colophon, and Miletus were the most celebrated. Several cities, such as Miletus and Phocaea, became important commercial centers and sent out colonies westward as far as present-day Spain and northward to the Black Sea.

Erythrae from East From top of the Acropolis to the Roman villa

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Erythrae from East From top of the Acropolis to the Roman villa

Common interests led the 12 Ionian cities to form a confederacy, within which each city remained autonomous. Smyrna (now Izmir) was originally settled by the Ioans, but was later occupied by colonists from Colophon and became an Ionian city. In the 7th and 6th centuries bc the cities of Ionia were involved in a series of wars with the kings of Lydia, to whom Ionia yielded a nominal submission. Ionia exercised a powerful influence on Lydian culture, its own culture being influenced in turn by Lydia. In 546 bc the Ionians came under the sway of Persia, but revolted from Persian rule in 500 bc, assisted by the Greek cities of Athens and Eretria. The revolt was put down, but the participation of Athens and Eretria gave the Persians a pretext for declaring war on Greece. With the defeat of Persia by the Greeks in 479 bc, the Ionian cities became nominally free, but in reality they were dependent on Athens. Around 334 bc Alexander the Great annexed the cities to his Hellenic empire. Subsequently, Ionia was incorporated into the Roman and Byzantine empires. The culture of the area continued to flourish but was destroyed in the 15th century.