Sardis

Definition

Sardis, also Sardes (Lydian: Sfard, Greek: Σάρδεις, Persian: Sparda) was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, one of the important cities of the Persian Empire, the seat of a proconsul under the Roman Empire, and the metropolis of the province Lydia in later Roman and Byzantine times. The earliest reference to Sardis is in the The Persians of Aeschylus (472 BCE).

In Hittite times the city was probably called Uda, while it was called Hyde during the Heraclid dynasty. The Mermnad king Gyges made Sardis the capital of Lydia in 687 BCE, which it remained until Lydia was defeated by the Persians under King Croesus (c. 547 BCE). Sardis then became the capital of the satrapy of Lydia, a division of the Persian empire.

The early Lydian kingdom was advanced in the industrial arts and Sardis was the chief seat of its manufacturers. The most important of these trades was the manufacture and dyeing of delicate woolen textiles and carpets. The stream Pactolus, which flowed through the marketplace, "carried golden sands" in early antiquity, which may have been gold dust (there were gold mines near Sardis), or simply a metaphor for the city's wealth. The city remained a center of commerce and trade throughout antiquity, until Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished. Last reviewed by Jan van der Crabben on 28 April 2011. Please help and improve this definition!

Donate and help us!

We're a non-profit organisation and we need your help! This website costs money and research material isn't cheap either. We are supported only by our donors. Please consider donating; even small amounts help. Thank you!

Peer Review

Are you qualified to peer review ancient history information? Apply now and help provide quality ancient history information on the web!

Illustrations

Sardis Books

• The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika Xenophon Anchor (07 December 2010) Price: $18.64

• Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia Anonymous University of California Press (07 November 2005) Price: $55.27

• The Histories Herodotus Oxford University Press, USA (15 May 2008) Price: $8.60

• A Greek Army on the March: Soldiers and Survival in Xenophon's Anabasis... John W. I. Lee Cambridge University Press (28 January 2008) Price: $98.61

• Early Hellenistic Coinage from the Accession of Alexander to the Peace... Otto Mørkholm Cambridge University Press (31 May 1991) Currently unavailable