Sardis
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
Interest
Key Innovation
Invention of coinage
Famous King
Croesus (c. 560–546 BCE)
Temple Style
Ionic (one of the largest)
Date Range
c. 1200 BCE – 1402 CE
“Sardis was the birthplace of coinage — one of the most consequential innovations in economic history.”
Sardis was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. The Lydians of Sardis are credited with being among the first people to mint coins, around 600 BCE. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Persian satrapy of Lydia.
read_wikipedia →overview
Sardis (modern Sart) in Manisa Province was the capital of the Lydian Kingdom from approximately the 7th to the 6th century BCE. Under King Croesus (reigned c. 560–546 BCE), Sardis was one of the wealthiest cities in the ancient world. The Lydians of Sardis are credited with being among the first people to mint coins, around 600 BCE, using electrum (a natural gold-silver alloy) found in the nearby Pactolus River. This innovation transformed commerce across the ancient Mediterranean. The site's most prominent surviving monument is the Temple of Artemis, one of the largest Ionic temples ever built. Though never completed, its standing columns remain impressive. The city also contains a remarkably well-preserved Roman-era synagogue, one of the largest ancient synagogues known, with elaborate mosaic floors and marble decoration. Sardis continued as an important city through the Roman and Byzantine periods before its destruction during Tamerlane's campaigns in 1402.
why_it_matters
evidence
Distinguishing what is well-established from what remains debated.
confirmed
3- Lydian electrum coins from Sardis are among the earliest known coins in history, dating to c. 600 BCE.
- The Sardis synagogue is one of the largest known ancient synagogues.
- Croesus was the last king of Lydia before the Persian conquest by Cyrus the Great in 546 BCE.
inferred
1- The wealth of Sardis was partly based on gold-bearing deposits in the Pactolus River.
debated
1- Whether Sardis or another Lydian city was the absolute first to mint coins remains a point of scholarly discussion.
excavation
Princeton expedition
Led by Howard Crosby Butler / Princeton
Howard Crosby Butler led the first major excavation, uncovering the Temple of Artemis.
Harvard-Cornell project
Led by George Hanfmann / Harvard-Cornell
George M.A. Hanfmann began a long-term project that uncovered the Roman gymnasium complex and synagogue.
More Photos
Museum Artifacts
location
Related Sites
sources
- Sardis from Prehistoric to Roman Times — George M.A. Hanfmann (1983)
- The Origins of Coinage in Lydia — Robert Wallace (2006)