Lydia | Anatolia, History, & Map (2024)

FAQs

What country is Lydia today? ›

Today, we know that the kingdom of Lydia, located in what is now Turkey, emerged after the fall of the Hittite Empire in around 1180. Lydians could have lived there all along, or maybe they took advantage of the confusion to invade the region.

Lydia, ancient land of western Anatolia, extending east from the Aegean Sea and occupying the valleys of the Hermus and Cayster rivers.

Lydian religion was polytheistic, with a pantheon in the seventh and sixth centuries BC that was partly Anatolian and partly Greek (like much else in Lydian culture). Some gods and goddesses worshipped by Lydians were fundamentally Anatolian, others were partly or wholly Greek.

According to Herodotus, Lydia was ruled by three dynasties from the second millennium BC to 546 BC. The first two dynasties are legendary and the third is historical. Herodotus mentions three early Maeonian kings: Manes, his son Atys and his grandson Lydus. Lydus gave his name to the country and its people.

Its neighbours were Caria (south), Phrygia (east), and Mysia (north). The cities located on the coast such as Smyrna and Ephesus were intermittently under the control of Lydia.

Lydia was from the city of Thyatira, located in Asia Minor in the region known as Lydia (Peterson, 2009). It was known for its “purple dye and textiles” (p. 460). Possibly Lydia sold cloth to wealthy clients in Philippi, and she should be considered a woman of status (Bock, 2007).

From now on, Lydia was known as the Persian satrapy (province) Sparda and governed by a viceroy or satrap. The new rulers improved the route that connected Sardes, Gordium and the capitals of Persia (Susa, Persepolis, Pasargadae), which became known as the Royal road.

Lydia dominated western Asia Minor in the first half of the sixth century bc, closely interacting with its various Near Eastern and Greek neighbors, until the defeat of its final king Croesus at the hands of Cyrus II of Persia.

Lydia is the western part of Turkey. Its center consists of the city of Sardes and the lofty valley of the river Hermus. The country is fertile, but its greatest asset is the small river Pactolus, which carries gold.

Lydia was most likely from Greek background, since originating from Thyatira, Asia Minor, but probably romanized one, while she lived in a Roman settlement.

What was the downfall of Lydia? ›

The Lydian Empire fell when King Croesus lost his kingdom after losing a battle to the Persian King Cyrus ll circa 546 BCE. Although the Lydian Empire fell, Lydia itself remained a political and commercial region under Persian and later Roman control.

After her entire household accepted Christ as Savior and was baptized, Lydia invited Paul and Silas to stay in her home (Acts 16:15). When Paul and Silas were thrown into a Philippian prison, Lydia visited them and attended to their needs. Her house became the meeting place of the first European church.

It derives from the Greek Λυδία, Ludía, from λυδία (ludía; "beautiful one", "noble one", "from Lydia/Persia"), a feminine form of the ancient given name Λυδός (Lydus). The region of Lydia is said to be named for a king named Λυδός; the given name Lydia originally indicated ancestry or residence in the region of Lydia.

Renan thinks it means "the Lydian"; Thyatira is a city of Lydia. Lydia was (1) living in Philippi, (2) of the city of Thyatira, (3) a seller of the purple-dyed garments from her native town, (4) and "one that worshipped God." Her occupation shows her to have been a woman of some capital.

Conversion and Baptism: Lydia is first mentioned in Acts 16:14-15. She is described as a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, a region known for its dyeing industry. Lydia is notable for being the first recorded convert to Christianity in Europe.

The ancient city of Lydia was located in western Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. Lydia was an ancient kingdom in the western part of Asia Minor (now known as Anatolia), and its capital was Sardis. The region of Lydia was situated inland, with the Hermus River running through it.

The Lydians (Greek: Λυδοί; known as Sparda to the Achaemenids, Old Persian cuneiform 𐎿𐎱𐎼𐎭) were an Anatolian people living in Lydia, a region in western Anatolia, who spoke the distinctive Lydian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian group.

The Croeseid, anciently Kroiseioi stateres, was a type of coin, either in gold or silver, which was minted in Sardis by the king of Lydia Croesus (561–546 BC) from around 550 BC.