Lydia: Map & History
Lydia was a powerful Iron Age civilization prominent in western Anatolia in the 8th to 6th centuries BCE.
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Lydia was a powerful Iron Age civilization prominent in western Anatolia in the 8th to 6th centuries BCE. Its capital and only city at Sardis. They are known in part for the world's first coinage, and rapid expansion based on their immense wealth in gold. They established cultural, economic, military, and diplomatic relations with the Greeks to their west, and the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Phrygians, and others to the east and south.
Modern Countries Once Part of Lydia
At its mapped extent, Lydia covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Lydia's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Lydia in Depth
History
Lydia's early history remains shrouded in obscurity. During the Late Bronze Age (1600 BC – 1200 BC), the territory that later became Lydia was part of a broader polity called Arzawa; in particular, Lydia would subsume sub-kingdoms of Arzawa named Mira and Šeḫa, as well as the city-state of Apasa (the precursor of the Greek Eφεσος Ephesus). Like the other Arzawa sub-states, they had tumultuous relations with the Hittite Empire, acting both as allies, enemies, and vassals at various points in time.
At approximately around 800 BC, the Lydian people appear to have established their presence and achieved some degree of political cohesion. However, precise dates and events are impossible to determine due to the absence of contemporary written records.
Culture and society
The Lydians in early Antiquity adhered to a religion which remains marginally attested due to the known sources covering it being largely of Greek origin, while Lydian inscriptions regarding religion are small in number and no Lydian corpus of ritual texts like the Hittite ritual tablets have been recovered.
Despite the small size of the recorded Lydian corpus, the various inscriptions relating to religion date from c. 650 to c. 330-325 BC, thus covering the period beginning with the establishment of the Mermnad dynasty under Gyges and ending with the aftermath of the Macedonian conquest under Alexander III and the beginning of the Hellenistic period.
Geography
Lydia is generally located east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish provinces of Uşak, Manisa and inland İzmir.
The boundaries of historical Lydia varied across the centuries. It was bounded first by Mysia, Caria, Phrygia and coastal Ionia. Later, the military power of Alyattes and Croesus expanded Lydia, which, with its capital at Sardis, controlled all Asia Minor west of the River Halys, except Lycia. After the Persian conquest the River Maeander was regarded as its southern boundary, and during imperial Roman times Lydia comprised the country between Mysia and Caria on the one side and Phrygia and the Aegean Sea on the other.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Lydia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lydia: Key Facts
| Capital | Sardis |
|---|---|
| Official language | Lydian |
| Currency | stater |
| Founded | 1200 BCE |
| Dissolved | 546 BCE |
Facts from Wikidata Q620765 (CC0).
Lydia Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 255,952 km² in 576 BCE.
Lydia: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Lydia exist?
Lydia is dated to 700 BCE – 541 BCE, in the Bronze & Iron Age Civilizations era.
What was the capital of Lydia?
The capital of Lydia was Sardis.
How large was Lydia at its peak?
At its peak in 576 BC Lydia covered about 255,952 km².
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