from Mylasa
Iron Age The city's earliest historical mention is at the beginning of the 7th century BC, when a
Carian leader from Mylasa by name Arselis is recorded to have helped
Gyges of Lydia in his contest for the
Lydian throne. The same episode is at the origin of the accounts surrounding the beginning of the cult for and the erection of the statue of Labrandean Zeus in the neighboring sanctuary of
Labranda, held sacred by peoples across western Anatolia, with the statue holding the
labrys brought over by Arselis from
Lydia. Labrandean Zeus (
sometimes also named "Zeus Stratios") was one of the three deities proper to Mylasa, all named Zeus but each bearing indigenous characteristics. Of these, the cult of Zeus Carius (
Carian Zeus) was also notable in being exclusively reserved, aside from the Carians, to their Lydian and
Mysian kinsmen. One of the finest temples was also the one dedicated to Zeus Osogoa (originally, just
Osogoa), in
Milas Museum Persian period Under
Achaemenid rule Mylasa was the chief city of Caria. A ruler appointed by the
Persian Emperor (
satrap) ruled the city in varying degrees of allegiance to the emperor.
Lygdamid dynasty The first dynasty of rulers under the Achaemenid Empire was the
Lygdamid dynasty (520-450 BCE). Between 460-450 BC, Mylasa was a regionally prominent member of the
Delian League, like most Carian cities, but the Persian rule was restored towards the end of the same century. .
Hecatomnid dynasty The
Hecatomnids, the dynasty founded by
Hecatomnus, were officially
satraps of the
Persian Empire but Greek in language and culture, as their inscriptions and coins witness. Mylasa was their capital and the mausoleum of Hecatomnus can still be seen today which served as an architectural precedent from which the later mausolea of the dynasty developed. During the long and striking reign of
Mausolus, they became virtual rulers of
Caria and of a sizable surrounding region between 377-352 BC. During Mausolus's reign the capital was moved to
Halicarnassus, but Mylasa retained its importance. Mausolus was the builder of the famous
Ancient Wonder of the World, the
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
Roman period from Milas, Turkey. Late
Hellenistic period, 1st century BCE. Marble.
Museum of Archaeology,
Istanbul,
Turkey. In 40 BCE Mylasa suffered great damage when it was taken by
Labienus in the
Roman Civil War. In the Greco-Roman period, though the city was contested among the successors of Alexander, it enjoyed a season of brilliant prosperity, and the three neighbouring towns of
Euromus,
Olymos and
Labranda were included within its limits. Mylasa is frequently mentioned by ancient writers. At the time of Strabo (the first century BCE), the city boasted two remarkable orators, Euthydemos (in Greek Εὐθύδημος) and Hybreas (Ὑβρέας), whose relationship gave rise to the adage "necessary evil". Euthydemos and Hybreas were antagonistic politicians, and when Euthydemos died, Hybreas spoke at his funeral, where he noted, ”You are a necessary evil: we can live neither with you nor without you." Various inscriptions tell us that the
Phrygian cults were represented here by the worship of
Sabazios; the Egyptian, by that of
Isis and
Osiris. There was also a temple of
Nemesis. An inscription from Mylasa provided one of the few certain data about the life of
Cornelius Tacitus, identifying him as governor of
Asia in 112-13.
Christian era Among the ancient
bishops of Mylasa was
Saint Ephrem (fifth century), whose feast was kept on January 23, and whose relics were venerated in neighbouring city of
Leuke. Cyril and his successor, Paul, are mentioned by
Nicephorus Callistus and in the
Life of Saint Xene.
Michel Le Quien mentioned the names of three other bishops, and since his time the inscriptions discovered refer to two others, one anonymous, the other named Basil, who built a church in honour of
Saint Stephen. The
Saint Xene referred to above was a Roman noblewoman who, to escape the marriage which her parents wished to force upon her, donned male attire, left her country, changed her name from Eusebia to Xene ("stranger"), and lived first on the island of
Cos, then at Mylasa. Since the
Fourth Crusade, Mylasa has remained a
titular see of the
Roman Catholic Church,
Mylasensis; the seat has been vacant since the death of the last bishop in 1966.
Turkish era , but on a much smaller scale
Beys of Menteşe Milas and the surrounding region (the Byzantine
theme of
Mylasa and Melanoudion) was taken over by the
Turks under the command of Menteşe Bey in the late thirteenth century, who gave his name to the
beylik (
Menteşe) that established its capital in the city. The administrative center of his descendants was the castle of
Beçin located in the contemporary dependant township of the same name at a distance of from Milas and which was easier to defend.
Ottoman rule Milas, together with the entire
Beylik of
Menteşe was taken over by the
Ottoman Empire in 1390. However, just twelve years later,
Tamerlane and his forces overcame the Ottomans in the
Battle of Ankara, and returned control of this region to its former rulers, the Menteşe
Beys, as he did for other
Anatolian beyliks. Milas was brought back under Ottoman control, this time in 1420 by the Sultan
Mehmed I. One of the first acts of the Ottomans was to transfer the regional administrative seat to
Muğla. From 1867 until 1922, Milas was part of the
Aidin Vilayet of the
Ottoman Empire. At the turn of the twentieth century, according to 1912 figures, Milas' urban center had a population of 9,000, of whom some 2,900 were
Greek, a thousand or so
Jewish, and the remaining majority were
Turkish. The Greeks of Milas were exchanged with
Turks living in
Greece under the 1923 agreement for the
exchange of Greek and Turkish populations between the two countries, while the sizable Jewish community remained as a presence till the 1950s, at which time they emigrated to
Israel; Jews formerly of Milas still visit frequently to this day. ==Climate==