After the collapse of the mighty Hittite empire, Anatolia entered a dark period in her history. It is due to the Aegean migrations. However, from the ashes of this highly civilized state we see the rise of many Hittite principalities. They were known as Hieroglyphic Hittites. With the emergence of these states came a culture influenced by Eastern civilizations.

Mainly in the west we see the emergence of the state of Phrygia. Its capital was Gordion. This state came under the attack of the Cimmerian tribes who were trying to escape the pressure of the Scythians. The Phrygians, led by their king Midas, were unable to resist the Cimmerian attacks. And king Midas, in grief committed suicide by drinking bull's blood. Thus when only two centuries old, the state of Phrygia was wiped of the face of history, in 676 B.C.

After the collapse of the Phrygians, another state emerged in its stead. The Lydians, took over control of the plain of the Meandre (Menderes) and Gediz, which had been under the pressure of he Hittites and the Phriygians. Gyges is one of the famous names of this period. Called the hawk of kings, Gyges developed the commerce of the area. During his reign Lydia established trade and good relationships with other states. He increased the wealth of his own state at the same time. It was he who had the famous royal road built, which began at Ephesus, passed through Sardis and carried on to the east.

Heredotus of Halicarnassus wrote in detail the history of the emergence of this figure as a king from Haria. This is an interesting story in that it tells us about the Lydians.

Heredotes writes in detail the history of the kings before Gyges, stating that these were of 22 generations, who ruled for a total of 505 years. The last Lydian king was called Condaules. It is said that this king loved his wife very dearly and spoke of her as the most beautiful object on earth. At that time Gyges commanded Caryian mercenaries at the court. The king, being fond of Gyges, explained to him the beauty of his wife. Gyges however was apparently little impressed, whereupon the king exclaimed: "Gyges, you do not seem convinced. The ear does not tell the truth as does the eye, in which case you must see her naked". This proposal so astonished Gyges that he immediately exclaimed that he believed fervently in the beauty of the queen, saying that "when a woman is stripped of her clothes, she is also stripped of her shame", and protesting that "It is unfit for me to look upon the wife of my master, I beg that you may not force me to perform what would be a terrible wrong. I believe that she is the most beautiful woman in the world".

But the king was determined.

"Don't be afraid, Gyges" he said, "I will do it in such a way that she will not know that you can see her. You will be hidden behind the door of a sleeping chamber". He explains his plan, saying that he would go to bed, and she would follow. She would take off her clothes and lay them on a chair before joining him in the bed. Gyges was to hide where she could not see him, but would have her back turned. When she had gone to bed he would go out without her seeing him. The commander is persuaded without relish.

At night the plan is carried out as discussed, but the queen sees Gyges as he leaves. She suspects that the king had something to do with the event, but says nothing.

But in the morning she calls her most trusted servants and gives them orders. Then she has Gyges brought before her, and says to him:

"For you there are but two roads, Gyges. Either you will kill Kandoules and me, and take the throne of Lydia, or prepare to die in order to look never again on that which you should not have seen, but upon which you gazed to please the king. One of you must die. Either you, who committed such crime by watching me naked, or he who has forced you into this heinous crime must die.

Plead as he may, in the end, Gyges was forced to agree to murder the king, in order to save his own life. The queen hides him in her chamber during the day and once it is dark he murders the king with the dagger once given him by Kondaules. Thus the kingdom of Lydia gains a new ruler, and this legend gives rise to the dynasty of Gyges.

The reign of Gyges was indeed a remarkable one. Unfortunately, the Cimmerians who had meanwhile conquered Phrygia then attacked the Liydians. King Gyges managed to repulse the first attacks, but during the second onslaught, in 652 B.C., he died on the battlefield. The affluent and prospering Lydian cities were plundered and razed to the ground. The son of Gyges, Ardys took his place and Sadyattes succeeded him. He was in turn succeeded, 12 years later by Alyattes. The latter was to restore Lydia to its former greatness, and to banish the Cimmerians from Anatolia. He included within its boundaries, cities such as Ephesus and Miletus. He extended the western frontiers as far as the Aegean. He extended Lydia to the east as far as the Kizilirmak (river). Since the western border of the Persian lands had also reached this river, it was inevitable that they should clash. The Lydians and Persians commenced a frontier struggle, which was to go on for a very long time. As was foretold by Thales, the oracle of Miletus, the wars were ended with an eclipse of the sun by a treaty in 585 B.C.

By this time, the greatest of the hawk kings, Cresus was on the throne of Lydia. During his reign, the wealth of the state reached a climax. The treasury was filled with gold, and Lydia minted its own coins for the first time in its history. Trade increased the wealth of the state steadily. However, this wealth decreased the Lydian interest in their armed forces, which were taken over by mercenary soldiers.

As history retails, the armies of the Persian King Cyrus the Ureat marched into Anatolia and confronted the troops of Lydia on the banks of the Kizilirmak. The Lydian king lost the battle, and was forced to retreat to Sardis in order to re-group his forces. Not having estimated that the Persians would pursue them with such speed, they were forced to defend their capital. The Persians were ordered to swarm the city walls. The Persian soldiers, mounted on camels charged the Lydian cavalry. The Persian camels frightened the horses of the latter. So the Lydians were deprived of their most powerful defences, the cavalry retreating into the city. Just two weeks later, the finest city in the near eastern world was the Hands of the Persians, and was being looted and razed to the ground. Cyrus the Great had Croesus tied to a stake and gave orders for him to be burnt. However, he later felt sorry for the king, and tried to have the fire put out. No attempts could quench the flames, but just then a torrent of rainfall put out the fire, thus saving the king. The Persian king became convinced that Croesus was favored by the Gods, and had him called to his side, saying:

"Croesus, who told you to invade my lands, ant to come against me like an enemy rather than a friend?". Croesus replied: "This was caused by my bad fortune and your good fortune. It is the fault of the Greek gods, which equipped me with false pride, encouraging me to attack you. No one is mad enough to choose war when peace is available. During times of peace, sons bury their fathers, but during wars, it is the fathers who lower their sons into the grave."

Cyrus liked these words, and having Croesus untied, he drew him to him. Croesus looked at the city of Sardis, which was being looted, and begged permission to speak his thoughts of the sight. When Cyrus gave him permission, he asked what the mob was doing. Cyrus replied that they were looting the city, whereupon Croesus replied:

"The city is no longer mine, it is your city they are looting" Although Cyrus wanted to put an end to the looting, he was unable to do so. And so the dynasty of Lydia, the kingdom and all its major cities were razed from the earth.

From excavations carried out at Sardis, we can now trace the history of the city to 1500 B.C.. Traces of Lydian civilizations are evident up to the defeat by the Persians. Then Persian rule can be seen, followed by the rule of Alexander the Great. Under him, the city was ruled by his commanders. In the year 150 B.C. it was annexed to Pergamon, finally submitting to Roman rule, like all of Anatolia.

In 17 A.D. a serious earthquake shook the city. After this the Roman emperors built a great many fine buildings, a Gymnasium, Baths, Stadium, Agora and the Basilica.

In the 4 century A.D., the city became a Bishopric. During the Ottoman period, the city of Sardis fell into misuse, but the name survived and was given to a village nearby. The most magnificent building excavated by the American Board is the temple of Artemis. This temple, dating from the Hellenistic period, is built in the Roman fashion. It has eight columns on either facade and twenty along the sides. During the earthquake mentioned earlier, the temple was partially destroyed, and was restored by the Romans. As a reminder of the earthquake, a column was placed on the eastern side of the city. This column, which was 17.30 meters in height, was inscribed with the words "I am the first to rise up from the disaster". During the Christian period, a small church was built behind the temple. A small shrine is to be found to the west of the temple.

Sardis, which covers a large area, with the acropolis, gymnasium and houses has besides the Artemis temple, the synagogue, which was restored in a recent period. It was built over the remains of the Gymnasium complex in the 2 century A.D.

Little survives of the glorious city of the Lycian period.

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