Introduction

Sardis, the capital of ancient Lydia and then the western capital of the Persian Empire, was the capital of Seleucid Asia Minor north of the Taurus between 281 and 188 BCE. Its importance as a centre of royal power and administration was in part due to its position on significant trade routes, most notably as the terminus of the Royal Road. Antiochus III refounded the city in 213 BCE after it had supported Achaeus in his attempt to seize power. Around 190 BCE the Romans defeated Antiochus III and gave Sardis to the Pergamene king. Passing to Rome in 133 BCE, Sardis became part of the province of Asia and soon after became the centre of one of the nine conventus iuridici. In the period between 90 BCE and 17 CE the city declined somewhat, but by the Augustan era peace and confidence had returned. In 17 CE an earthquake devastated the city; reconstruction work went on well into the second century, by which time the city probably had a population of around 100,000. The Severan period was a time of great prosperity and the completion of much building work. The second half of the third century, although troubled elsewhere, seems to have been peaceful and prosperous in Sardis. Under Diocletian the city became the capital of the new province of Lydia and a major military centre. Commercial and industrial life continued to flourish until 616 CE, although conditions in the sixth century may have deteriorated.