Greek refugees established from the Dardanelles to Caria, with the most important being Miletus, Phocaea, Ephesus and Smyrna. The prominence of the Ionians gave to the region the name Ionia. The Greeks of Asia Minor contributed significantly in the ancient Greek history, from the Ionian Revolt, the Ionian League and the conquests of Alexander the Great, to the Hellenistic kingdoms of Pergamos and Pontus. The Ionians were the first Greek-speaking people that the Persians encountered, and the Persian name for Greece became "Younan" or "Yunan" (یونان), derived from the word "Ionia." The name spread throughout the Near East and Central Asia. Following
Achaea (ancient region) Achaea (ancient region) Achaea () or Achaia (; , "Akhaia", ) was (and is) the northernmost region of the Peloponnese, occupying the coastal strip north of Arcadia. Its approximate boundaries were to the south the mountain range of Erymanthus, to the south-east the range of Cyllene, to the east Sicyon, and to the west the Larissos river. Apart from the plain around Dyme, to the west, Achaea was generally a mountainous region. The name of Achaea has a slightly convoluted history. Homer uses the term Achaeans as a generic term for Greeks throughout the "Iliad"; conversely, a distinct region of