Lydia

Lydia, in classical geography, was a district of Asia Minor, bounded by the AEgean on the W., Mysia on the N., Phrygia on the E., and Caria on the S. The ancient civilisation of Lydia, which bears some traces of a Hittite origin, exercised a powerful influence on the Ionic colonists who settled along the coast, and through them on the general development of Greek religion and culture. The third dynasty of Lydian kings, founded by Gyges (q.v.), ruled at Sardis from the beginning of the 7th to the middle of the 6th century B.C.; the last and most powerful monarch of this line was Croesus (q.v.), who extended his dominions as far as the Halys on the E., and overcame the Greek colonies on the W., but was eventually overthrown by the Persians. Lydia was afterwards conquered by the Macedonians, formed part of the kingdoms of Syria, and Pergamus successively, and eventually passed to the Romans.