of Chios. The second is the Messogis range between the Caÿster and Maeander ranges, which becomes the Mycale peninsula, which reaches out towards the island of Samos. None of these mountain ranges exceed . Ionia enjoyed the reputation in ancient times of being the most fertile region of Asia Minor. Herodotus declares "in terms of climate and weather, there is no fairer region in the whole world." History From the 18th century BC the region was a part of the Hittite Empire with possible name Arzawa, which was destroyed by invaders during the 12th century BC together with the collapse of the Empire. Ionia was settled by the Greeks probably during the 11th century BC. The most important city was Miletus (the Millawanda/Milawata of Hittites). There is no record of any people named Ionians in Late Bronze Age Anatolia but Hittite texts record contact with Ahhiyawans ("Achaeans") without being clear on their location. Miletus and some other cities founded earlier by non-Greeks received populations of Mycenaean Greeks. Settlement Greek settlement of Ionia seems to have accelerated following the Bronze Age collapse, but the lack of contemporary sources makes the sequence of events unclear. The ancient Greeks believed that the Ionians were the descendants of Ion (either a son or grandson of Hellen, the mythical ancestor of the Greeks) and had migrated from Greece to Asia Minor in mythic times. The story is attested from the Classical period. Herodotus states that in Asia the Ionians kept the division into twelve cities that had prevailed in Ionian lands of the north Peloponnese, their former homeland, which became Achaea after they left. However, the story of the migration is recounted most fully by the Roman-period authors Strabo and Pausanias. They report that the Ionians were expelled from the Peloponnese by Achaians, and were granted refuge in Athens by King Melanthus. Later, when Medon was selected as King of Athens, his brothers, the "sons of Codrus", led a group of Ionians and others to Asia Minor. Simultaneously, the Aeolians of Boeotia settled the coast to the north of the Ionians and the Dorians settled in Crete, the Dodecanese and in Caria. According to Pausanias, the sons of Codrus were as follows: Neileus conquered Miletus from the Cretans. Pausanias and most other sources present Neileus as the overall leader of the Ionians. Androclus conquered Ephesus from the Leleges and Lydians, conquered Samos, and died defending