Ancient Region of Anatolia Lydia (Λυδία)
Location	Western Anatolia
State existed:	15-14th c. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black BC (as Arzawa) 1200-546 BC
Language	Lydian
Historical capitals	Sardis
Famous rulers	Gyges, Croesus
Persian satrapy	Lydia
Roman province	Asia, Lydia

Lydia (Assyrian: Luddu; Greek: Λυδία) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in Turkey's modern provinces of Manisa and non-coastal İzmir. Arzawa was the name of a region or kingdom in Western Anatolia, which later to be known as Lydia (Assyrian Luddu, Greek Λυδία in the post- Hittite Lydian was an Indo-European language spoken in the region of Lydia in western Anatolia (present-day Turkey) Sardis, also Sardes ( Lydian: Sfard, Greek: Σάρδεις, Persian: Sparda) modern Sart in This article refers to the historical King of Lydia For the opera by Reinhard Keiser, see Croesus (opera. Lydia (known as Sparda by the Achaemenids was a Satrapy (province of the Achaemenid Empire, with Sardis as its capitol In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa The Roman province of Asia, also called Phrygia was an administrative unit added to the late Republic. Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Geography Physical Ionia was of small extent not exceeding 90 geographical miles in length from north to south with a breadth varying from 40 to 55 miles but to this Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Manisa Province is a province in western Turkey. Its neighboring provinces are İzmir to the west Aydın to the south Denizli to İzmir is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast whose capital is the city of Izmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian. The Anatolian languages are a group of extinct Indo-European languages which were spoken in Asia Minor, the best attested of them being the Hittite language Lydian was an Indo-European language spoken in the region of Lydia in western Anatolia (present-day Turkey)

At its greatest extent, the Kingdom of Lydia covered all of western Anatolia. Lydia was later the name for a Roman province. In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa Coins were invented in Lydia around 660 BC. main - title Coin keywords numismatics coin review Events and trends 669 BC: Ashurbanipal succeeds his father Esarhaddon as king of Assyria.

Contents 1 Defining Lydia 2 Geography 3 Language 4 History 4.1 Early history: Maeonia and Lydia 4.2 Lydia in Greek mythology 4.3 First coinage 4.4 Autochthonous Dynasties 4.5 Persian Empire 4.6 Hellenistic Empire 4.7 Roman province of Asia 4.8 Roman province of Lydia 4.9 Under Turkish rule 5 Lydian gods 6 Notes 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

Defining Lydia

Aside from a legend related by Herodotus,^[1] who states that the name Lydia came from king Lydus at the time of the fall of Troy (the Bronze Age), and that Lydus' brother Tyrrhenus led the Tyrrhenians (Etruscans) to Italy, the name Lydia is limited to Greek and Assyrian records and Biblical passages no earlier than the 8th century BC. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash For the 6th century Byzantine writer see Joannes Laurentius Lydus. Troy ( Greek: grc Τροία Troia, also, Ilion; Latin: Trōia, Īlium, Hittite: Wilusa or The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for In Etruscan mythology, Tyrrhenus was one of the founders of the Etruscan Federation of twelve cities along with his brother Tarchon. Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy It seems to be associated with Guggu of Luddu (Gyges) in Assyrian records,^[2] who acceded to the throne about 680 BC as the first of the Mermnad Dynasty. Gyges (Γύγης was the founder of the third or Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings and reigned from 716 BC to 678 BC (or from c This page lists the kings of Lydia, an ancient kingdom in western Anatolia

Despite events portrayed as historic in Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid, the Bronze Age Sea People called the Teresh and the Etruscan-like language of the Lemnos stele, the recent decipherment of Lydian and its classification as an Anatolian language mean that Etruscan and Lydian were not even in the same language family; moreover, there is no substantial evidence of Etruscans in Lydia. Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or For the group of nine Ancient Egyptian deities see Ennead. The Aeneid (əˈniːɪd in The Sea Peoples is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political The Lemnian language is a language of the 6th century BC spoken on the island of Lemnos. Lydian was an Indo-European language spoken in the region of Lydia in western Anatolia (present-day Turkey) Since Ionia was between historical Lydia and the sea, the Lydians had no coastline from as early as at least the 10th century BC from which to launch and maintain fleets. Historic Lydia was not a maritime power, and there is no documentary evidence of any state or people possibly called Luddu before the 8th century BC.

While the Hebrew Bible mentions Lud in three different places, scholars of various religions are not agreed as to whether all these represent the same entity. The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic Lud ( לוּד) was a son of Shem and grandson of Noah, according to Genesis 10 (the " Table of Nations " The only instance generally agreed to refer to the Anatolian Lydia occurs in Isaiah 66:19 where Lud is listed with Javan (Ionia) as being one of the people "that draw the bow" who have not heard of God. Isaiah (; Greek:, Ēsaiās; Arabic: اشعیاء, Ash-ee-yaa; "Salvation of/is YHWH " is

The name Lydia and its Biblical and Assyrian forms appear to have been or were derived from an exonym assigned by the Ionian Greeks (who invaded the coastal part of their country) on the basis of some now unknown understanding. An exonym (from Greek el ἔξω exo = out el ὄνομα onoma = name is a name for a place that is not used within that place by the local The endonym survives in a larger and more official body of records inscribed in bilingual and trilingual stone-carved notices of the Achaemenid Empire: Lydian Śfard, the satrapy of Sparda (Old Persian), Aramaic Saparda, Babylonian Sapardu, Elamitic Išbarda. An exonym (from Greek el ἔξω exo = out el ὄνομα onoma = name is a name for a place that is not used within that place by the local The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Lydian was an Indo-European language spoken in the region of Lydia in western Anatolia (present-day Turkey) See also the related deity Satrapes. Satrap (Persian ساتراپ was the name given to the governors of the Provinces of ancient The Old Persian language is one of the two attested Old Iranian languages (besides Avestan) Aramaic is a Semitic language with Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Elamite is an Extinct language, which was spoken by the ancient Elamites. ^[3] These in the Greek tradition are associated with Sardis, the capital city of Gyges, constructed in the 7th century BC. Sardis, also Sardes ( Lydian: Sfard, Greek: Σάρδεις, Persian: Sparda) modern Sart in The inscriptions mean, however, the entire state; moreover, the entire people.

This array of names evidences the development of the Lydian language itself: Anatolian p became f and there was extensive syncope of vowels. Lydian was an Indo-European language spoken in the region of Lydia in western Anatolia (present-day Turkey) Saparda must precede Śfard. If the Sepharad of the Hebrew Bible is Śfard that word can be dated to at least as early as 600 BC, before the Persians invaded Lydia. Sepharad is a Biblical placename of uncertain location Persian inscriptions refer to two places called "Saparda" one in Media and the other in The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic

Like the Lydian language, the names Lydia and Śfard seem to have appeared out of the Greek Dark Ages without documentation of their immediate precedents or any known connections to the historical records of the Bronze Age. The Dark Ages (ca 1150 BC–800 BC refers to Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for The cultural ancestors appear to have been associated with or part of the Luwian political entity of Arzawa and yet Lydian is not part of the Luwian subgroup (as is Carian and Lycian). Luwian (sometimes spelled Luvian) is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Arzawa was the name of a region or kingdom in Western Anatolia, which later to be known as Lydia (Assyrian Luddu, Greek Λυδία in the post- Hittite The Carian language was the language of the Carians. It was an Anatolian language, apparently closer to Lycian than to Lydian. Lycian (Lycian Trm̃mili) is a modern adjective meaning in this case the inscriptional language of ancient Lycia as well as its presumed spoken counterpart The ancestral population was Anatolian but not Luwian. In this gap the Greeks placed the Maeonians of the Trojan Battle Order but the connections are essentially legendary; no documents illuminate them. The Trojan Battle Order or Trojan Catalogue is a section of the second book of the Iliad listing the allied contingents that fought for Troy

Geography

The boundaries of historical Lydia varied across the centuries. It was first bounded by Mysia, Caria, Phrygia and coastal Ionia. Mysia (Μυσία was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia (part of modern Turkey) Municipalities of Caria Cramer's detailed catalog of Carian towns in Classical Greece is based entirely on ancient sources Geography Physical Ionia was of small extent not exceeding 90 geographical miles in length from north to south with a breadth varying from 40 to 55 miles but to this Later on, the military power of Alyattes and Croesus expanded Lydia into an empire, with its capital at Sardis, which controlled all Asia Minor west of the River Halys, except Lycia. Alyattes may refer to Alyattes I, king of Lydia (ca 740 BC Alyattes II, king of Lydia (619-560 BC "Sidyma" redirects here For the Moth Genus named thus see Sidyma (moth. Lydia never again shrank back into its original dimensions. After the Persian conquest the Maeander was regarded as its southern boundary, and under Rome, Lydia comprised the country between Mysia and Caria on the one side and Phrygia and the Aegean on the other. The Büyük Menderes River (historically the Maeander also spelled Meander) Turkish: Büyük Menderes Nehri, Ancient Greek: Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean.

Language

The Lydian language was an Indo-European language in the Anatolian language family, related to Luwian and Hittite. Lydian was an Indo-European language spoken in the region of Lydia in western Anatolia (present-day Turkey) The Anatolian languages are a group of extinct Indo-European languages which were spoken in Asia Minor, the best attested of them being the Hittite language Luwian (sometimes spelled Luvian) is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Hittite or Nesili is the Extinct language once spoken by the Hittites, a people who created an empire centered on ancient Hattusas (modern It used many prefixes and particles. An affix is a Morpheme that is attached to a stem to form a word In Linguistics, the term particle is a word lacking a strict definition but has the function of changing the relation of the parts of the sentence to one another and is therefore ^[4] Lydian finally became extinct during the first century BC. According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken The 1st century BC started the first day of 100 BC and ended the last day of 1 BC.

History

Early history: Maeonia and Lydia

Lydia arose as a Neo-Hittite kingdom following the collapse of the Hittite Empire in the twelfth century BC. The states that are called Neo-Hittite, or more recently Syro-Hittite, were Luwian, Aramaic and Phoenician -speaking political entities of Hittites is the conventional English-language term for an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa In Hittite times, the name for the region had been Arzawa, a Luwian-speaking area. Arzawa was the name of a region or kingdom in Western Anatolia, which later to be known as Lydia (Assyrian Luddu, Greek Λυδία in the post- Hittite According to Greek source, the original name of the Lydian kingdom was Maionia (or Maeonia): Homer (Iliad ii. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient 865; v. 43, xi. 431) refers to the inhabitants of Lydia as Maiones (Μαίονες). Homer describes their capital not as Sardis but as Hyde (Iliad xx. 385); Hyde may have been the name of the district where Sardis stood. ^[5] Later, Herodotus (Histories i. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. 7) adds that the "Meiones" were renamed Lydians after their king, Lydus (Λυδός), son of Attis, in the mythical epoch that preceded the rise of the Heracleid dynasty. For the 6th century Byzantine writer see Joannes Laurentius Lydus. Attis (sometimes written as "Atys" was Cybele 's lover Eunuch attendant and driver of her lion-driven chariot This etiological eponym served to account for the Greek ethnic name Lydoi (Λυδοί). Etiology (alternatively aetiology, aitiology) is the study of causation. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Hebrew term for Lydians, Lûḏîm (לודים), as found in Jeremiah 46.9, is similarly considered to be derived from the eponymous Lud son of Shem; in Biblical times, the Lydian warriors were also famous archers. Ludim is the Hebrew term for Lydia used in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah ( יִרְמְיָהוּ Yirməyāhū in Hebrew) is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaism Lud ( לוּד) was a son of Shem and grandson of Noah, according to Genesis 10 (the " Table of Nations " Some Maeones still existed in historical times in the upland interior along the River Hermus, where a town called Maeonia existed, according to Pliny the Elder (Natural History book v:30) and Hierocles. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author Hierocles may refer to Hierocles (Stoic, 2nd century Stoic philosopher Hierocles (charioteer, 2nd-3rd century presumed lover and court

Lydia in Greek mythology

Lydian mythology is virtually unknown, and their literature and rituals lost, in the absence of any monuments or archaeological finds with extensive inscriptions; therefore those myths involving Lydia are mainly in the realm of Greek mythology. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance

For the Greeks, Tantalus was a primordial ruler of mythic Lydia, and Niobe his proud daughter; her husband Zethos linked the affairs of Lydia with Thebes, and through Pelops the line of Tantalus was part of the founding myths of Mycenae's second dynasty. In Greek mythology Tantalus ( Greek Τάνταλος was a son of Zeus and the Nymph Plouto. Niobe (Νιόβη was the daughter of the semi-legendary ruler Tantalus, called the " Phrygian " and sometimes even as "King of Phrygia Amphion and Zethus (also Zethos) in ancient Greek mythology, were the twin sons of Zeus by Antiope. Thebes ( Classic Greek Θῆβαι, Mod Θήβα) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range which divides In Greek mythology, Pelops ( Greek Πέλοψ, from pelios: dark and ops: face eye king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus was venerated "Lion Gate" redirects here For other uses see Lions' Gate (disambiguation. ^[6]

In Greek myth, Lydia was also the first home of the double-axe, the labrys. Labrys is the term for a doubleheaded Axe, known to the Classical Greeks as pelekys ( or Sagaris, and to the Romans as a bipennis ^[7] Omphale, daughter of the river Iardanos, was a ruler of Lydia, whom Heracles was required to serve for a time. For the city in Sicily formerly called Omphale see Daedalium. In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera " or His adventures in Lydia are the adventures of a Greek hero in a peripheral and foreign land: during his stay, Heracles enslaved the Itones, killed Syleus who forced passers-by to hoe his vineyard; slew the serpent of the river Sangarios; ^[8] and captured the simian tricksters, the Cercopes. Serpent is a word of Latin origin (from serpens serpentis "something that creeps snake" that is commonly used in a specifically mythic or In Greek mythology, the Cercopes ( Greek: Κέρκοπης Greek etymology kerkos, English translation: "tail" were mischievous forest Accounts speak of at least one son born to Omphale and Heracles: Diodorus Siculus (4. 31. 8) and Ovid (Heroides 9. Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC – 17 AD was a Roman poet known to the English -speaking world as Ovid who wrote on many topics including 54) mention a son Lamos, while pseudo-Apollodorus (Bibliotheke 2. The Bibliotheca (in English: Library) in three books provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic Legends 7. 8) gives the name Agelaus, and Pausanias (2. Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus 21. 3) names Tyrsenus son of Heracles by "the Lydian woman. "

All three heroic ancestors indicate a Lydian dynasty claiming descent from Heracles. Herodotus (1. 7) refers to a Heraclid dynasty of kings who ruled Lydia, yet were perhaps not descended from Omphale. He also mentions (1. 94) the recurring legend that the Etruscan civilization was founded by colonists from Lydia led by Tyrrhenus, brother of Lydus. Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy In Etruscan mythology, Tyrrhenus was one of the founders of the Etruscan Federation of twelve cities along with his brother Tarchon. However, Dionysius of Halicarnassus was skeptical of this story, pointing out that the Etruscan language and customs were known to be totally dissimilar to those of the Lydians. Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Halicarnassus c 60 BC–after 7 BC was a Greek historian and teacher of Rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of The Etruscan Language was spoken and written by the Etruscan civilization in the ancient region of Etruria (modern Tuscany plus western Later chronographers also ignored Herodotus's statement that Agron was the first to be a king, and included Alcaeus, Belus, and Ninus in their list of kings of Lydia. Agron was the fourth king of Maeonia which was also known as Lydia from this time onwards (after his predecessor Lydus) Ninus, in texts arising in Hellenistic period and later was accepted as the eponymous founder of Nineveh, and thus the city itself personified although he does not Strabo (5. 2. 2) makes Atys, father of Lydus and Tyrrhenus, to be a descendant of Heracles and Omphale. All other accounts place Atys, Lydus, and Tyrrhenus among the pre-Heraclid kings of Lydia. The gold deposits in the river Pactolus that were the source of the proverbial wealth of Croesus (Lydia's last historical king) were said to have been left there when the legendary king Midas of Phrygia washed away the "Midas touch" in its waters. Pactolus (Sart Çayı is a river near the Aegean coast Turkey. This article refers to the historical King of Lydia For the opera by Reinhard Keiser, see Croesus (opera. In Greek mythology, Midas or King Midas (in Greek Μίδας is popularly remembered for his ability to turn everything he touched into Gold In antiquity Phrygia (Φρυγία was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey.

First coinage

According to Herodotus, the Lydians were the first people to introduce the use of gold and silver coin, and the first to establish retail shops in permanent locations. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash ^[9] It is believed that these first stamped coins were minted around 650-600 BC. The first coin was made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. Electrum is a naturally occurring Alloy of Gold and Silver, with trace amounts of Copper and other metals An alloy is a Solid solution or Homogeneous mixture of two or more elements, at least one of which is a Metal, which itself has It was made in the 1/3 stater (trite) denomination, meaning that it weighed 4. The stater was an ancient coin of Greek or Lydian origin which circulated from about 700 BCE to 50 CE 76 grams. It was stamped with a lion's head, the king's symbol. 14. 1 grams of electrum was one stater (meaning "standard"). A stater was about one month's pay for a soldier. To complement the stater, fractions were made: the trite (third), the hekte (sixth), and so forth, including 1/24 of a stater, and even down to 1/48th and 1/96th of a stater. The 1/96 stater was only about 0. 14 to 0. 15 grams. The name of Croesus of Lydia became synonymous with wealth. Sardis was renowned as a beautiful city. Around 550 BC, Croesus paid for the construction of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The Temple of Artemis ( Greek: Ἀρτεμίσιον In Greek mythology, Artemis language|Greek] ( Nominative), ( Genitive))] was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister Ephesus ( Hittite Apasa; Ancient Greek; Turkish Efes) was a city of ancient Anatolia. The Seven Wonders of the World (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is a well known list of seven remarkable constructions of Classical antiquity. Croesus was beaten by Cyrus II of Persia in 546 BC, and the kingdom became a satrapy. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia See also the related deity Satrapes. Satrap (Persian ساتراپ was the name given to the governors of the Provinces of ancient

Autochthonous Dynasties

Main article: List of Kings of Lydia

Lydia was ruled by three dynasties:

Atyads (1300BC or earlier) - Heraclids (Tylonids) (to 687 BC) According to Herodotus the Heraclids ruled for 22 generations during the period from 1185 BC, lasting for 505 years). Events and trends 689 BC — King Sennacherib of Assyria sacks Babylon. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash Alyattes was the king of Lydia in 776 BC^[10]. The last king of this dynasty was Myrsilos or Candaules.

• Candaules - After ruling for seventeen years he was assassinated by his former friend Gyges, who succeeded him on the throne of Lydia. Candaules (Κανδαύλης also known as Myrsilos (Μυρσίλος was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia from 735 BC to 718 BC.

Mermnads

• Gyges, called Gugu of Luddu in Assyrian inscriptions (687-652 BC or (690-657 BC) - Once established on the throne, Gyges devoted himself to consolidating his kingdom and making it a military power. Gyges (Γύγης was the founder of the third or Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings and reigned from 716 BC to 678 BC (or from c The capital moved from Hyde to Sardis. Barbarian Cimmerians sacked many Lydian cities, except for Sardis. See Cimmeria (Conan or Cimmeria (Poem for the fiction of Robert E Gyges was the son of Dascylus, who, when recalled from banishment in Cappadocia by the Lydian king Mursylos — called Candaules "the Dog-strangler" (a title of the Lydian Hermes) by the Greeks — sent his son back to Lydia instead of himself. Gyges turned to Egypt, sending his faithful Carian troops along with Ionian mercenaries to assist Psammetichus in shaking off the Assyrian yoke. Some Bible scholars believe that Gyges of Lydia was the Biblical figure of Gog, ruler of Magog, who is mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel and the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John ( pronounced, from the Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου

• Ardys II (652-621BC)

• Sadyattes (621-609BC) or (624-610BC) - Herodotus wrote (in Inquiries) that he fought with Cyaxares, the descendant of Deioces, and with the Medes, drove out the Cimmerians from Asia, took Smyrna, which had been founded by colonists from Colophon, and invaded Clazomenae and Miletus. Ardys II was the twenty-seventh king of Lydia and second king of the Mermnad dynasty the son of King Gyges of Lydia; see List of Kings of Lydia. Sadyattes, son of Ardys II, was King of Lydia from 624 BC to 610 BC Cyaxares, Hvakhshathra, or Kayxosrew (𐎢𐎺𐎧𐏁𐎫𐎼 Uvaxštra, Greek Κυαξαρης; r The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. See Cimmeria (Conan or Cimmeria (Poem for the fiction of Robert E This article is on the Ancient Greek city of Smyrna principally in connection with the ruins remaining to this day Klazomenai (also spelled Clazomenae, Greek: Κλαζομεναί, modern-day Kilizman near İzmir in Turkey) was an Miletus (mī lē' təs ( Ancient Greek: Μίλητος literally Transliterated Milētos, Latin Miletus) was an Ancient

• Alyattes II (609 or 619-560BC) - one of the greatest rulers of Lydia. Alyattes, king of Lydia (619-560 BC the real founder of the Lydian empire, was the son of Sadyattes, of the house of the Mermnadae. When Cyaxares attacked Lydia, the kings of Cilicia and Babylon intervened and negotiated a peace in 585 BC, whereby the Halys was established as the Medes' frontier with Lydia. Geography Cilicia extended along the Aegean coast east from Pamphylia, to Mount Amanus ( Gavurdağı Mount) which separated it from Syria Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq Herodotus writes:

"On the refusal of Alyattes to give up his supplicants when Cyaxares sent to demand them of him, war broke out between the Lydians and the Medes, and continued for five years, with various success. In the course of it the Medes gained many victories over the Lydians, and the Lydians also gained many victories over the Medes. "

The Battle of the Eclipse was the final battle in a fifteen-year war between Alyattes II of Lydia and Cyaxares of the Medes. The Battle of Halys, also known as the Battle of the Eclipse, took place at the Halys River (present-day "Kızılırmak" river in Turkey on May It took place on May 28, 585 BC, and ended abruptly due to a total solar eclipse.

• Croesus (560-546 BC) - the expression "rich as Croesus" came from this king. This article refers to the historical King of Lydia For the opera by Reinhard Keiser, see Croesus (opera. The Lydian Empire came to an end when Croesus attacked the Persian Empire of Cyrus II and was defeated in 546 BC.

Persian Empire

Main article: Lydia (satrapy)

In 546 BC, the Achaemenid king Cyrus II captured Sardis and Lydia became his satrapy. Lydia (known as Sparda by the Achaemenids was a Satrapy (province of the Achaemenid Empire, with Sardis as its capitol Events and trends 546 BC — Croesus, Lydian king, is defeated by Cyrus of Persia near the River Halys The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of

Hellenistic Empire

Lydia remained a satrapy after Persia's conquest by the Macedonian king Alexander III of Macedon. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' Macedon or Macedonia ( Greek grc Μακεδονία grc-Latn Makedonía) was the name of a kingdom centered in the northern-most When Alexander's empire fell apart after his death, Lydia went to the major Asian diadoch dynasty, the Seleucids, and when it was unable to maintain its territory in Asia Minor, Lydia fell to the Attalid dynasty of Pergamum. The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i The Attalid dynasty was a Hellenistic dynasty that ruled the city of Pergamon after the death of Lysimachus, a general of Alexander the Great Its last king avoided the spoils and ravage of a Roman conquest war by leaving the realm by testament to the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial

Roman province of Asia

Roman province of Asia

Photo of a 15th century map showing Lydia

When the Romans entered its capital Sardis in 133 BC, Lydia, as the other western parts of the Attalid legacy, became part of the province of Asia, a very rich Roman province, worthy of a governor of the high rank of proconsul. The Roman province of Asia, also called Phrygia was an administrative unit added to the late Republic. In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa Ancient Rome In the Roman Republic, a proconsul was a Promagistrate (like a Propraetor) who after serving as Consul, spent a year The whole west of Asia Minor had Jewish colonies very early, and Christianity was also soon present there. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Acts of the Apostles 16:14-15 mentions the baptism of a merchant woman called "Lydia" who came from Thyatira, in what had once been the satrapy of Lydia. The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. For the Moth Genus, see Thyatira (moth. Thyateira (also Thyatira) is the ancient name of the modern Turkish Christianity spread rapidly in the 3rd century AD, centered on the nearby Exarchate of Ephesus.

Roman province of Lydia

Under the tetrarchy reform of Emperor Diocletian in 296 AD, Lydia was revived as the name of a separate Roman province, much smaller than the former satrapy, with its capital at Sardis. Tetrarchy ( Greek: "leadership of four " can be applied to any system of government where power is divided between four individuals Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus ( ca. December 22 244 The modern historian Timothy Barnes takes December 22 as his birthdate Events By Place Roman Empire Galerius is defeated in combat by the Persians under Narseh outside Ctesiphon Together with the provinces of Caria, Hellespontus, Lycia, Pamphylia, Phrygia prima and secunda, Pisidia and the Insulae (Ionian islands), it formed the diocese (under a vicarius) of Asiana, which was part of the praetorian prefecture of Oriens, together with the dioceses Pontiana (most of the rest of Asia Minor), Oriens proper (mainly Syria), Aegyptus and Thraciae (on the Balkans, roughly Bulgaria). In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglican churches, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a Bishop. Vicarius is a Latin word meaning substitute or deputy. It is the root and origin of the English word " Vicar " and Cognate to the Persian The praetorian prefectures ( Latin: praefectura praetorio, in Greek variously named ἔπαρχότητα των πραιτωρίων or ὑπαρχία Under the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (610-641), Lydia became part of Anatolikon, one of the original themata, and later of Thrakesion. Although the Seljuk Turks conquered most of the rest of Anatolia for Islam, forming the Sultanate of Ikonion, Lydia remained part of the Byzantine Empire. The Seljuq (also Seljuq Turks, Seldjuks, Seldjuqs, Seljuks; in Turkish Selçuklular; in Ṣaljūqīyān; in During the occupation of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade, Lydia continued to be a part of the Byzantine orthodox 'Greek Empire' based at Nicaea. The Fourth Crusade (1202&ndash1204 was originally designed to conquer Muslim Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt.

Under Turkish rule

Lydia finally fell to new Turkish beyliks, which were all absorbed by the Ottoman state in 1390. thumb|350px|Anatolian Turkish Beyliks map Anatolian Beyliks or Turkmen Beyliks ( Turkish: Anadolu Beylikleri, Ottoman Turkish: The area became part of the Ottoman vilayet (province) of Aydin, ending up as the westernmost part of the modern republic of Turkey. A wilāyah (ولاية or vilâyet (in Persian and Ottoman Turkish) is an administrative division usually Aidın (Αϊδίνιο is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey 's Aegean Region. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches

Lydian gods

Notes

References

• Goldsborough, Reid. "World's First Coin"
• R.S.P. Beekes. The Origin of the Etruscans.

See also

• List of Kings of Lydia
• List of satraps of Lydia
• Ludim
• Digda

External links

• Livius.org: Lydia

Historical regions of Anatolia
Aeolis | Cappadocia | Caria | Cilicia | Bithynia | Galatia | Ionia | Lycaonia | Lycia | Lydia | Mysia | Pamphylia | Paphlagonia | Phrygia | Pisidia | Pontos | Troad

This page lists the kings of Lydia, an ancient kingdom in western Anatolia List of all the known Satraps (governors of Lydia, a Satrapy of the Persian Empire: Tabalus (546 - 545 Mazares Ludim is the Hebrew term for Lydia used in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. This article is about the Lydian town in Anatolia Turkey. For pokemon see Diglett The name Digda is a Lydian word Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Alternative meaning the Aeolis region of Mars. Geography Aeolis was an ancient district on the western coast of Asia Minor Cappadocia (or Capadocia, Turkish Kapadokya, from Greek: Καππαδοκία / Kappadokía which in turn is from the Persian: Municipalities of Caria Cramer's detailed catalog of Carian towns in Classical Greece is based entirely on ancient sources Geography Cilicia extended along the Aegean coast east from Pamphylia, to Mount Amanus ( Gavurdağı Mount) which separated it from Syria Description Several major cities sat on the fertile shores of the Propontis (which is now known as Sea of Marmara) Nicomedia, Chalcedon, Cius Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Geography Physical Ionia was of small extent not exceeding 90 geographical miles in length from north to south with a breadth varying from 40 to 55 miles but to this In ancient geography Lycaonia was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor, north of Mount Taurus. "Sidyma" redirects here For the Moth Genus named thus see Sidyma (moth. Mysia (Μυσία was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia (part of modern Turkey) Origins of the Pamphylians There can be little doubt that the Pamphylians and Pisidians were the same people though the former had received colonies from Greece and other Geography The greater part of Paphlagonia is a rugged mountainous country but it contains fertile valleys and produces a great abundance of hazelnuts and fruit – particularly plums In antiquity Phrygia (Φρυγία was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. Geography Although close to Mediterranean Sea on the map the warm climate of the south cannot pass the height of the Taurus Mountains. Geography The Black Sea region loosely called Pontus by various scholars has a steep rocky coast with rivers that cascade through the gorges of the coastal ranges Troas or The Troad is the historical name of the Biga peninsula ( modern Turkish: Biga Yarımadası) in the northwestern part of Anatolia

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