The Ionian Civilization (1200 - 545 BC), Ionia is the common name given to city states founded on the Western and Southwestern Coasts of Anatolia, which are the present-day provinces of İzmir and Aydın.

The Ionian city states (the most significant of which were Ephesus, Miletus and Samos) established commercial control throughout the Mediterranean basin, and made major scientific, philosophical and artistic contributions. They were considered the basis of successive Greek and Roman civilizations.   

Some Achaeans who were living in Greece left their country and sailed to the Anatolian coast around 1200 BC, initially to establish new colonies, and later because they were forced out by the Dorians.  They settled in a land between Phokai in the north, and the Meander River in the south, and founded 12 city states in this territory. These city states were Phokai, Klazomenai (Clazomenae), Erythrai, Teos, Colophon, Lebedos, Ephesus, Priene, Myos, and Miletus on the mainland of Anatolia and Khios and Samos, which were island states. As the Ionians settled at the final stop along the trade routes, they flourished rapidly and made great cultural and scientific contributions, in part because of their involvement in agricultural and marine trade.

The Ionians thrived in separate city states and did not establish a political unity. The city states initially were ruled by kings, but later nobles overthrew the kings and seized political power. From time to time they had to cede power to powerful rulers and tyrants. This was the case with the Lydian Empire, which waged campaigns to extend its territory up to the Aegean coast. The Lydians prevented the Ionians from setting up commercial ties with Anatolia and Western Asia, so the Ionians had to engage in marine trade. This led to the Ionians creating a large navy, and they established many colonies throughout the Black Sea, the North Aegean, Southern Italy and the Sicilian coast, and they controlled trade in the Mediterranean. Many cities such as Amasra, Sinop, Trabzon, Batumi, Kefe (Feodosiya or Theodosiya), Varna, Enez, Napoli, Syracuse in Sicily (Siracusa), Marseilles, and Nice were first colonized by the Ionians. But these colonies were not able to develop International commercial ties, even though they were involved in farming, fishing and wine making.  
Other noteworthy characteristics of the Ionian civilization are single room houses and the continuation of the Attican tradition of ceramic work.

Miletus, Ephesus, Erythai and Smyrna flourished and gained importance in 750 – 700 BC. The "Iliad", the first example of western literature, was written by Homer in this period...

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