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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

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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. ’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

(s.v. Colonies). The main threat to his young empire, meanwhile, were Cimmerian forces who had overrun 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 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 , 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. As a token of peace, Alyattes gave his daughter Aryenis in marriage to

Cyaxares’ son Astyages. That Alyattes could thus foster dynastic links with rulers of much longer established empires shows the strength of his position.

Ardys colonized the plain of Thebe in , south of Mt. Ida around Adramyttium, a city named after Alyattes’ son or step-brother and at one point the residence of crown prince Croesus. Alyattes kept good relations with Greek sanctuaries, sent gifts to Delphi and built two temples at Miletus (for the latter, s.v. Medicine). He was buried to the north of Sardis at the Gygean Lake where his tomb, with a height of over 196.8 ft (60 m) the biggest Lydian royal grave, can still be seen today (s.v. Architecture). 7

Croesus (c. 560-547 B.C.E.)

Croesus, the eldest son of Alyattes and a Carian woman, was the last and most famous

Lydian king. Already under the reign of his father, he filled a powerful position as governor of Adramyttium and the plain of Thebe in Mysia. He had political enemies, presumably supporters of his step-brother Pantaleon, who wanted to prevent his accession and kept denouncing him to his father as suspiciously industrious. Such defamations he managed to deflate by taking out a private loan and with this money raising an army which he used to aid his father’s campaign against the Carians. Another story relates that an attempt was made at his life, instigated by his step-mother (s.v. Government).

Under Croesus reign, Lydia experienced her greatest might and wealth but it was also he who led to her downfall. Croesus engaged in a series of military campaigns with the aim to expand the empire. He subjected Ephesus, which was ruled by his nephew Pindarus, captured all Greek coastal cities and made them pay tribute to him. Only Miletus kept her independence, at this time as well as throughout the Persian war. Croesus meant to fight the Greek islands, too, but was dissuaded from this plan. Instead, he made peace treaties with them. In the course of his reign, he subjected all western Anatolia up to the Halys, with the exception of Lycia and Cilicia. Lydian rule over the subject territories appears to have been a light burden, consisting mainly of tribute obligations, and possibly the duty to supply troops. In this context, it is noteworthy that when Cyrus, king of Persia, tried to persuade the Ionians to desert Croesus, they refused.

Croesus kept friendly relations with King Gordius of Phrygia and had diplomatic ties with Egypt, Greece, Babylon and Sparta. With the latter he established a particular bond. 8

Life at Croesus’ court was colorful and very much styled in a Greek fashion. Croesus received many important Greek intellectuals, artists and poets in his palace, although

Herodotus’ famous tale how the wise Athenian Solon visited the Lydian king and conversed with him on the subject of happiness, is not historical. Croesus, whose wealth remains proverbial to this day (“rich as Croesus”), used Greek oracles for divination, supporting the temples of Apollo at Didyma and of Artemis at Ephesus, and lavishing gifts in particular onto the oracle at Delphi which he consulted on various occasions.

Meanwhile, Cyrus of Persia had become a threat to the Lydian Empire on its eastern frontier. He had seized the Median Empire and taken hostage King Astyages, Croesus’ brother-in-law (between 556 and 550 B.C.E.). Croesus desired war against Cyrus to avenge Astyages, curtail Cyrus’ power and expand his own empire. As allies for this enterprise he collected the Egyptian pharaoh Amasis, Labynetus of Babylon and the

Spartans.

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Before he crossed the river Halys, starting his Persian war, Croesus consulted the oracle at Delphi which prophesied that if he would march against Persia he would destroy a great Empire. This he took to mean the Persian Empire but it proved to be his own. After an attack on Cappadocia where Croesus seized the city Pteria, Cyrus sent messengers to his enemy with the following offer: if he were to become a Persian subject, Cyrus would install him as satrap in Lydia and forgive his prior hostile actions. Unable to accept such a slight, Croesus fought a large battle against Cyrus, indecisive in its outcome but leaving both sides with sizeable losses. The following day, Croesus returned to Sardis, to prepare a new campaign for the following spring. Cyrus, however, followed the Lydian king and 9 attacked and defeated the unsuspecting Lydian army. After a short period of occupation,

Cyrus also conquered the city of Sardis and a fortnight later captured Croesus. His subsequent fate is not easy to determine, ancient sources record that he was either burnt alive on a pyre or taken prisoner. With the total defeat of Croesus, the short but glorious history of the Lydian Empire came to an end, and Lydia became a satrapy under the rule of Persia, c. 547 B.C.E.

Agriculture/Nomadic Lifestyle

Lydia was an agriculturally rich land with fertile plains along the rivers Hermus and

Cayster where country estates were managed by feudal lords. Around the Tmolos and

Messogis ranges, cereals and fruit trees were grown, on higher ground olive trees and timber (pine, cedar, oak), the latter especially on the north side of the Tmolos. The volcanic area known as Catacecaumene had soil favorable to the production of excellent wines and harbored vineyards. The ground in the north Lydian mountains was less fertile and mainly acted as pasture for sheep and goat. Even less fertile was the border area with

Phrygia, and it is possible that the population here was semi-nomadic.

Animals/Wildlife/Domestication

Lydian pastimes included hunting and fishing. Fish were plenteous in the Gygean Lake and the Hermus river, and we have both literary and archaeological evidence for boar hunting. Other wild animals seem to have included the lion, an animal which features prominently on Lydian coins as a symbol of the royal house and also appears as the sacred animal of the goddess Cybele. The excavations at Sardis have unearthed remains 10 of the following beasts of burden, horses, donkeys and even camels, as well as those of sheep, goats, pigs and cattle. The Lydians were famous for their cavalry and the breeding of horses, and also bred dogs for war (s.v. War, Weapons, Military, and Diplomacy).

Architecture

The main evidence for Lydian architecture comes from the excavations at Sardis. While it is likely that Croesus had Greek architects in his employ, his capital city of Sardis was clearly not based on the geometric grid plan of contemporary Greek cities. Literary and archaeological evidence help reconstruct a fortified palace, royal mint and treasury, gold refinery, archives, market place and workshops at Sardis, as well as private dwellings.

One can differentiate two main construction types, building with the native riverstone- pisé-mudbrick combination, employed predominantly for domestic, commercial and industrial usage and cut-stone masonry for monumental buildings such as some chamber tombs and the acropolis walls. The latter also show Mesopotamian influence in the use of mudbrick for their lower sections. An example of Lydian masonry can be seen in the

Mound of Gyges (ca. 650 B.C.E.) which illustrates that the Lydians knew how to clamp, dowel and draft edges.

Private buildings were simple, most had one or two rooms and shared their walls with neighboring buildings. Herodotus describes Sardis as a city of reed huts and thatched roofs; while this picture of Sardis is believable, it may not have applied to all of the city and from the early sixth century B.C.E. the use of roof tiles and terracotta friezes became increasingly more dominant. An important building material would have been timber from the Tmolos region, but the climate is such that wooden building elements would not