Lydia Sardes Ancient City

The remains of the ancient city of Sardis are located in the village of Sart, in the Salihli district of Manisa. Excavations have demonstrated that Sart and its environs, which functioned as the capital of the Lydian Kingdom, have accommodated various settlements for more than 5,000 years and also constituted important centres of settlement during the Roman and Byzantine periods.

Recognised in history as the place where coins were first minted under state assurance in the Lydian period, the city of Sardis became a prosperous centre by virtue of agriculture, animal husbandry, trade and gold extraction from the Pactolos (Sart) River.

For 14 centuries, from the 7th century BC to the Early Byzantine Period in the 7th century AD, Sardis preserved its position as a city of considerable importance in relation to transport, administration and trade. Referred to in the Book of Revelation as one of the seven churches in Western Anatolia that played an important role in the spread of Christianity to the West, Sardis possesses particular religious significance.

The ancient city, which contains one of the world’s most splendid Ionic-style temples surviving to the present day, also includes, among its well-preserved Roman structures, a monumental bath-gymnasium complex, together with the largest synagogue of the ancient world.