The aim of this course is to enable students to evaluate the geography of western Anatolia in Antiquity through the perspective of historical geography and to analyze the formation, development, and regional relations of the Ionian cities within their geographical, social, and economic contexts. Within the scope of the course, students are expected to examine the spatial organization, harbor economies, interurban interactions, and cultural identities of ancient cities through ancient written sources, epigraphic evidence, and archaeological findings. Furthermore, through field studies and museum visits, the course aims to develop students’ abilities to observe the historical environment directly, interpret the relationship between geography and history, and evaluate ancient cities through an interdisciplinary approach.

This course aims to examine Ionia, one of the major cultural and urban regions of western Anatolia in Antiquity, through the perspective of historical geography. Within the scope of the course, the relationship between geography and history will be emphasized, and the influence of the natural environment on the foundation, development, economic structures, political relations, and cultural identities of cities will be analyzed. Particular attention will be given to the Ionian cities shaped around the Büyük Menderes basin and its surroundings, focusing on coastal–interior relations, harbor structures, trade networks, agricultural production capacities, and regional interactions. The course will examine Ionian cities such as Miletus, Priene, Myus, Ephesus, Colophon, and Teos in terms of urban planning, citizenship structures, public spaces, harbor economies, religious centers, and cultural production. In this process, major ancient written sources, especially Histories and Geographica, together with other ancient historians, geographers, and epigraphic evidence, will be used to analyze the historical and spatial characteristics of the region. Furthermore, the social structures, economic relations, regional rivalries, and positions within the Mediterranean world of the cities constituting the Ionian urban league will be discussed. The practical component of the course will include field visits to ancient cities and museums in and around Aydın whenever appropriate, enabling students to observe archaeological sites directly, evaluate the relationship between historical geography and physical space, and examine the urban fabric of ancient settlements on site. In this way, the course aims to provide students with the ability to analyze ancient cities not only through historical events, but also within the broader context of geographical environment, economic life, social organization, and cultural production.