Archaeology
SardisPlace descriptionAfter the Cimmerian destruction of the Phrygian capital of Gordium in 700BC, the Lydian Kingdom became the power in Asia Minor and made Sardis as its capital. At the north of Sardis and south of Gygean Lake there was a royal cemetery called Bin Tepe with about 100 tumuli. Croesus (560-546BC) was the Lydian king known for his gold, but it was also during his time that the city was captured by Cyrus in 546BC. The Cyrus’ occupation was reflected in the architecture of a pyramid tomb which was strikingly similar to the famous tomb of Cyrus at Pasargadae. Sardis remained to be the capital of the Persian satrapy of western Asia Minor until the campaign of Alexander the Great. After the battle of Ipsus, Sardis was in the hands of the Seleucids from 270 till 190BC. The Seleucid rule ended after the Roman victories over Antiochus III. But during the reign of this Seleucid king, a group of Jewish veterans in Mesopotamia was transferred to Lydia. The city was transferred to the Pergammene king Eumenes II in 18BC. From 133BC onwards, together with other Pergamene territories, Sardis was under the direct Roman rule. According to Josephus (AJ XVI. 171), Julius Caesar confirmed the Jewish privileges in the city. In AD17, a devastating earthquake destroyed twelve Asian cities, and Sardis was the worst amongst them. With the aid from Rome, Sardis recovered from the damage. Claudius also completed an aqueduct to transport water, and it was mentioned in a bilingual inscription. Fragments of statues of other emperors have also been discovered. Cybele and Artemis were the patron-deities of the city. On a reused block from a synagogue, Artemis was holding a deer whereas Cybele was holding a lion. The great temple built by Croesus was dedicated to Artemis but it was destroyed in 499BC during the Ionian Revolt. It was the fourth larges Ionic temple in the Greek world. But it was covered with landslides during the earthquake in AD17. Coins during the time of Marcus Arelius, Commodus and Elagabalus depicted the temple and the image of Artemis. There was also a theatre and a Roman stadium in the city near the acropolis. A Marble Hall complex including a gymnasium and a bath was transformed into a civic basilica in the 2nd century AD. A Hebrew inscription showed that the building was subsequently turned over to the Jews. Around AD170-250, it was converted into a synagogue. Further extension took place between AD350 and 400. |