Sardis: The City of Croesus and Alexander the Great
Discover the treasures of Sardis, from the Lydian Empire to the Roman Republic
Lydian Boat VaseThe Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Sardis was a leading city in the ancient world.
During the Iron Age (around 1000 to 550 BC), it was the capital and only city of the Lydians, a native people of Anatolia.
Gold Coin, Kingdom of Lydia - Croesus period (561-546 BC)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Lydians invented coinage, a new technology that was quickly adopted by their neighbors and revolutionized the global economy.
Lydian Fortification (Sardis)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
The Lydian kings developed their capital city of Sardis on a series of monumental terraces, creating a unique urban plan.
They also protected the city with a 20-meter-thick fortification wall, the largest in Anatolia.
Bin Tepe with Sardis in BackgroundThe Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
The elite tumulus cemetery at Bintepe, located across the Hermos (Gediz) River valley, is the largest tumulus cemetery in Anatolia.
Alyattes (Sardis)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Three of the tumuli at Bintepe are wider than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The largest of these, the tumulus of Alyattes, so impressed the Greek historian Herodotus a century later that he called it "the greatest structure ever built, apart from those of the Egyptians and Babylonians."
The Lydians were renowned for their exquisite craftsmanship in ivory, gold, fabrics, and other luxurious materials, but few examples of these works have survived at Sardis.
Lydian Pottery (Manisa Museum)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
The Lydians' pottery, marble sculpture, and other arts and crafts testify to their sophistication.
After the Persians conquered the Lydians in 547 BC, Sardis became the capital of a satrapy, a province of the Persian Empire.
The Temple of Artemis (Sardis)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Under Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic kings, the native Anatolian capital became a polis by Greek institutions such as a theater, representative government and the Temple of Artemis, one of the largest Ionic temples in the world.
However, The Temple of Artemis was never completed.
Gymnasium (Sardis)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
The Sardians adopted Roman customs, such as public bathing, and built a massive Bath-Gymnasium complex just outside the city.
Details from Gymnasium (Sardis)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Details of the Gymnasium
Synagogue (Sardis)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
A section of the Bath-Gymnasium complex was later converted into a synagogue, which became the largest synagogue in the ancient world.
Acropolis (Sardis)The Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of Türkiye
Like many other ancient cities, Sardis was destroyed by an earthquake in the late Roman period. The city's inhabitants then moved to the Acropolis, the highest point in Sardis.
The Acropolis was refortified with massive Byzantine walls, which are still among the most impressive ruins at the ancient site.
Click here to read more on Türkiye's archeological sites: Sagalassos.
The Excavation Directorate of Sardis
