Editing Sardis (section)

=== Lydian Period ===
{{See also|Lydia}}

[[File:Kroisos._Circa_564-53-550-39_BC._AV_Stater_(16mm,_10.76_g)._Heavy_series._Sardes_mint_(cropped).jpg|thumb|right|This 6th century coin reflects the Sardians' interest in [[glyptic art]].]]

In the seventh century BC, Sardis became the capital city of [[Lydia]]. From there, kings such as [[Croesus]] ruled an empire that reached as far as the [[Halys River]] in the east.<ref name="Greenewalt-2011-Steadman-McMahon" />{{rp|style=ama|pp=1116–118}} The city itself covered 108 [[hectare]]s including extramural areas and was protected by walls twenty meters thick.<ref name="Greenewalt-2011-Steadman-McMahon" />{{rp|style=ama|pp=1117}} The [[acropolis]] was [[terrace (building)|terrace]]d with white [[ashlar]] masonry to tame the naturally irregular mountainside. Visitors could spot the site from a distance by the three enormous burial [[tumulus|tumuli]] at [[Bin Tepe]].<ref name="Greenewalt-2011-Steadman-McMahon" />{{rp|style=ama|pp=1116–118}}

The city's layout and organization is only partly known at present. To the north/northwest, the city had a large extramural zone with residential, commercial, and industrial areas. Settlement extended to the Pactolus Stream, near which archaeologists have found the remains of work installations where alluvial metals were processed.<ref name="Greenewalt-2011-Steadman-McMahon" />{{rp|style=ama|p=1117}}

Multiroom houses around the site match Herodotus's description of [[fieldstone]] and [[mudbrick]] construction. Most houses had roofs of clay and straw while wealthy residents had roof tiles, similar to public buildings. Houses often have identifiable courtyards and food preparation areas but no complete house has been excavated so few generalizations can be drawn about Sardian houses' internal layout.<ref name="Greenewalt-2011-Steadman-McMahon" />{{rp|style=ama|pp-1118-1120}}

[[File:Terracotta_lydion_(perfume_jar)_MET_DP138638_(cropped).jpg|thumb|175px|The ''lydion'' was an everyday pottery shape used for cosmetics.]]

Religious remains include a modest altar which may have been dedicated to [[Cybele]], given a pottery fragment found there with her name on it.<ref name="Greenewalt-2011-Steadman-McMahon" />{{rp|style=ama|p=1118}} A possible sanctuary to [[Artemis]] was found elsewhere in the site, whose remains include marble statues of lions.<ref name="Greenewalt-2011-Steadman-McMahon" />{{rp|style=ama|p=1117}} Vernacular worship is evidenced in extramural areas by dinner services buried as offerings.<ref name="Greenewalt-2011-Steadman-McMahon" />{{rp|style=ama|p=1117}}

Textual evidence regarding Lydian-era Sardis include [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]'s account of a mudbrick building that had allegedly been the palace of Croesus and was still there in his own time.<ref name="Greenewalt-2011-Steadman-McMahon" />{{rp|style=ama|p=1117}}

The material culture of Sardis is largely a distinctive twist on Anatolian and Aegean styles. The city's artisans seemed to specialize in [[glyptic art]] including [[Seal (emblem)|seal]]s and jewelry. Their pottery blended Aegean and Anatolian pottery styles, in addition to distinctive twists which included the ''lydion'' shape and decorative techniques known as streaky-glaze and marbled-glaze. Narrative scenes on Sardian pottery are rare. Imported Greek pottery attests to the Lydians' "Hellenophile attitude" commented on by contemporary Greek writers. While those Greek authors were in turn impressed by Lydians' music and textiles, these aspects of Lydian culture are not visible in the archaeological record.<ref name="Greenewalt-2011-Steadman-McMahon" />{{rp|style=ama|p=1124}}