The Lydian Empire | Annick Payne

1 Annick Payne Entry Number 080 Lydian Empire (c. 685 B.C.E.-547 B.C.E.) Annick Payne 080 1 MAP, 1 TIMELINE, 2 PRIMARY SOURCES, 3 PHOTOGRAPHS <<MAP AND TIMELINE AT BEGINNING OF ENTRY>> The might of the Lydian Empire dominated western Asia Minor from the last quarter of eighth to the first quarter of the sixth century B.C.E. The country stretched from the Aegean sea to the valleys of the rivers Hermus (Gediz) and Cayster (Küçük Menderes) in western Anatolia (modern Turkey), with its capital city at Sardis. The Lydian Empire shared borders in the west with the Greeks, in the south with the Carians, in the east with the Phrygians and in the north with the Mysians. Lying at a cross-roads of eastern and western traditions, Lydian culture shows traces of Near Eastern, Anatolian and Greek influence. The native population spoke an Anatolian language, Lydian, and wrote in a national alphabetic script. Lydian society was feudal, ruled in historical times by the kings of the Mermnad dynasty. Tradition recalls a prior reign of a Heraclid dynasty lasting 505 years. Of the five Mermnad kings, who shall be introduced below, the founder of the dynasty, Gyges, and its last monarch, Croesus are best known. Aside from military achievements, conquests and political alliances which quickly put Lydia on a par with the established empires of her time, the Lydian Empire was renowned for its wealth. This was based on natural gold resources and furthered by the gold working industry. Lydia’s fame rests on her claim to have been the first state to 2 invent and to mint coinage of a guaranteed value, replacing the barter system little by little with a monetary one. Nonetheless, the development of coinage and the necessary technical skills did not materialize out of thin air but were most possibly inspired by Assyrian and Babylonian forerunners. Money was an important tool for the development of trade in general and ancient Sardis wrote economic history as the first market regulated by supply and demand. This economic climate in turn fostered highly specialized professions, such as purple dyeing or gold-thread weaving which contributed to Lydia’s fame and finances. Beyond wealth, good living and luxury items, the Lydian were known for their music, and to this day music theory speaks of a ‘Lydian mode’ (s. also v. Culture). Early History Lydia's early history is mainly obscure. During the late Bronze Age, most of the territory later known as Lydia belonged to the Hittite vassal states Mira-Kuwaliya and the Seha- River Land. As literary sources on western Asia Minor for the “Dark Ages” after 1200 B.C.E. are lacking, we cannot know at which point the area was settled and governed by the Lydians who seem to have achieved a certain political unity by the ninth or eighth century B.C.E.. Literary sources claim two early Lydian dynasties, namely the house of Atys - after whose son Lydus the Lydians were supposedly named - and the Heraclids, who allegedly ruled for twenty-two generations, c.1190-685 B.C.E. Yet the available sources belong to the realm of mythology and cannot be considered historical. The only firm evidence for this early period comes from the archaeological excavations at Sardis, suggesting that the capital of the later Lydian Empire had been continuously settled since 3 the Late Bronze Age. The Rulers of the Lydian Empire Lydian history finally reaches firm ground with the Mermnad dynasty, a line of five kings stretching from Gyges, the founder of the dynasty, to the last Lydian King Croesus. 1. Gyges (c. 685-645 B.C.E.) Gyges, the son of Dascylus, was a member of the Mermnads, a powerful family at the Lydian court. He had an affair with the wife of the last Heraclid king - known under the names Candaules, Sadyattes and Myrsilus - who helped depose her husband. Ancient authors record the usurpation in several versions, all embellished with mythical elements. The following underlying facts emerge: Gyges killed the Lydian king and took possession of both his throne and wife. He may have faced some opposition, but his claim to the Lydian throne was supported by the Delphic oracle, a favor which he repaid with copious dedications. By invoking the oracle at Delphi, Gyges formed a connection between oracle and Lydian kings which would last as long as the Lydian Empire. Gyges was a man driven to success, set on enlarging his country with military expeditions. In particular, he sought to conquer the western territories up to the Aegean coast. He fought Miletus, Smyrna, Magnesia and Colophon, and is even said to have ruled over the Trojan plain. It was he who allowed the Milesians to found their colony Abydus, and he may himself have founded a colony called after his father Dascylium (s.v. Colonies). The main threat to his young empire, meanwhile, were Cimmerian forces who had overrun Phrygia to the East of Lydia, and were unstoppably pushing westwards. 4 To fight the Cimmerians, Gyges sought the help of the Assyrian king Assurbanipal (s. also v. War, Weapons, Military, and Diplomacy) between 668 and 665 B.C.E. and to this end became an Assyrian vassal. While details of the aid received are not preserved, Gyges fight must have been successful since Assyrian annals record that he sent two captured Cimmerian chieftains in iron fetters to Assurbanipal. Also, the chronology of these events is unclear and it is impossible to decide whether the Cimmerian invasion of 657 B.C.E., attested by Assyrian sources, belongs into the context of Gyges' successful defense against them. At any rate, Gyges now became a power to be reckoned with on the international political scene, and he formed an alliance with the Egyptian pharaoh Psammetichus I (after 663 B.C.E.). The latter's rebellion against his Assyrian overlord, successfully concluded c. 655 B.C.E., was supported by Gyges with troops coming probably from Caria and Ionia. As a consequence, Gyges lost Assyrian support for himself. He was defeated by and died during a second onslaught of the Cimmerians under the chieftain Lygdamis, but we have no reliable information on the circumstances of his death. In the Greek world, Gyges was famous for his lavish gifts of silver and gold to the Greek oracle at Delphi which in turn supported his position in Lydia. These fabulously rich offerings may have inspired the various Greek legends on the figure of Gyges. Ardys (c. 645-615 B.C.E.) Gyges’ son Ardys succeeded him on the throne and restored the Lydian Empire after the devastation caused by the Cimmerians. The dates of his rule given above are only approximate, exact dates are difficult to establish as ancient sources disagree substantially 5 as to how many years it lasted. Ardys’ reign was overshadowed by Cimmerian raids which brought his Empire to the brink of collapse. During his rule, the Cimmerians laid waste to Ionia, destroyed Magnesia, and, possibly in conjunction with two other Anatolian peoples, the Treres and Lycians, captured the lower city of Sardis. The acropolis was the only part of the city which Ardys managed to hold. From this vantage point, however, he managed to drive his enemies out of the country and began to rebuild the empire. His rule saw further acquisition of territory for the Lydian Empire, in particular the capture of the city of Priene. Ardys paid homage to the king of the declining Assyrian Empire and began a war with Miletus. He did not live to see it end, and the war was continued under his heirs. Sadyattes (c. 615-610 B.C.E.) There is no reliable historical information on Ardys’ immediate successor, his son Sadyattes, other than that he continued to wage war on Miletus for six years. Beyond this, we only have a tale on Ardy’s alleged lewd nature. According to this, he is supposed to have raped, then taken his sister as wife and later to have married two more sisters. Alyattes (c. 610 -560 B.C.E.) Sadyattes’ son Alyattes is considered the true founder of the Lydian Empire, because he expelled the Cimmerians from Asia and expanded his territory considerably. Under his reign, the Lydian Empire occupied all land from the Aegean coast to the river Halys (Kizil Irmak). 6 Although exact details elude us, the general chronology of Alyattes’ wide-ranging military activities is probably as follows: first, he fought the Milesians, ending the war with a treaty which recognized the independence of the city of Miletus. After that, he fought in Bithynia, and he demolished Smyrna around 600 B.C.E.. The siege mound erected by his troops is still visible today (s. also v. War, Weapons, Military, and Diplomacy). The capture of Smyrna was followed by an unsuccessful expedition towards Clazomenae, while operations against the Carians seem to have resulted in the capture of much of Caria in general and in securing a number of Carian ports in particular. Relations with Phrygia were presumably friendly during Alyattes' reign. His expansion policy finally caused an open conflict with the Medians soon after 600 B.C.E. A five-year campaign against King Cyaxares of Media eventually culminated in a battle at the river Halys on May 28th 585 B.C.E. A solar eclipse - predicted by Thales of Miletus, known to the Greeks as one of the “seven wise men” - abruptly ended this engagement and brought about an end to the war. The river Halys was established as the boundary between the two countries.

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