← back to the atlas
Sardis
★ UNESCO
World Heritage ◈ hidden gem
Sardis

📷 jdblack · Pixabay

Where in the world

Türkiye

The site

Sardis, in present-day Manisa Province, Turkey, is an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After Lydia fell it became capital of the Persian satrapy of Lydia and later a major centre of Hellenistic and Byzantine culture. Now an active archaeological site, Sardis was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2025.

Field notes

civilizations
Lydian
types
City · Village
occupied
1,200 BCE — 600 CE
country
Türkiye

See it in 3D

3D capture Temple d'Artémis, Sardes Archéomatique ↗
3D capture The Temple of Artemis at Sardis, (334 BC) Raiz ↗

Figures of this place

Laid to rest, born or died at Sardis

Croesus†
Croesusdied hereKing of Lydia
Polycrates†
Polycratesdied here6th century BC tyrant of Samos
Melito of Sardis†
Melito of Sardisdied hereAncient Roman Eunuch and saint
Eunapius✶
Eunapiusborn hereancient Greek sophist and historian
Artaphernes✶
Artaphernesborn herelate 6th/early 5th-century BC Persian general and satrap
Histiaeus†
Histiaeusdied heretyrant of Miletus and an instigator of Ionian Revolt (died 493 BC)
Xanthos✶
Xanthosborn here5th-century BC Greek historian and logographer
Tiribazus†
Tiribazusdied hereAchaemenid satrap (c. 440 BC-370 BC)

Chronicle

What happened at Sardis

  1. 546 BCESiege of Sardis
  2. 497 BCESiege of Sardis
  3. 394 BCEBattle of Sardis

Nearby sites

Ephesus ~86 km
Ephesus Türkiye
Pergamon ~102 km
Pergamon Türkiye
Aphrodisias ~105 km
Aphrodisias Türkiye
Hierapolis ~114 km
Hierapolis Türkiye
Official site ↗