Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom in western Anatolia, in what is now Turkey, with its capital at Sardis. Its Mermnad dynasty, founded by Gyges in the seventh century BCE, built a wealthy and powerful state that expanded to the Aegean coast and brought many Greek cities under its control. The Lydians are credited with some of the earliest coins in the world, minted from electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver found in the river Pactolus. The last king, Croesus, became a byword for wealth. According to the Greek historian Herodotus he was defeated by Cyrus the Great of Persia in about 546 BCE, after which Lydia became a Persian province.
Before and after
- c. 1,200 BCEIron Age
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 450 BCEHallstatt culture
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 800 BCEUrnfield culture
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 150 BCEPhoenician script
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 546 BCELydia
- from c. 1,189 BCE to 1,077 BCETwentieth Dynasty of Egypt
- from 12th century BCE to 7th centuryOrigins of Utica
- from c. 1,077 BCE to 943 BCETwenty-first Dynasty of Egypt
- c. 1,051 BCESiege of Jebus
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The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 12th century BCE.