A group of ancient cities of northwestern Asia Minor (west coast of Anatolia) which were founded at the end of the 2nd millennium BC by Greeks. The earliest settlements, on the islands of Lesbos and Tenedos and on the mainland between Troas and Ionia, were formed from migrations during 1130-1000 BC. At the end of the 6th century, after fighting between Greece and Persia, Darius I incorporated Aeolis into a province of the Persian Empire.