group of ancient cities on the west coast of Anatolia, which were founded at the end of the 2nd millennium BC by Greeks speaking an Aeolic dialect. The earliest settlements, located on the islands of Lesbos and Tenedos and on the mainland between Troas and Ionia, resulted from migrations during 1130–1000 BC. A second group of Aeolian settlements was colonized in the 7th century BC. At the end of the 6th century, Darius I incorporated Aeolis into one of the satrapies (provinces) of the Persian Empire.