Sardis – From the Lydian Capital to the Roman City | 1984–1999

Located near Salihli in Manisa province, on the northern slopes of Mount Bozdağ (ancient Tmolus), Sardis was one of the most important cities of ancient Anatolia. Once the capital of the Lydian kingdom, it played a remarkable role in political and economic history, the development of coinage, monumental architecture, and the coexistence of different cultures. Its remains reflect a long history spanning Lydian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods.

One of the city's most prosperous eras came in the seventh and sixth centuries BCE, when Lydia became a powerful kingdom in western Anatolia. Under the Mermnad dynasty, beginning with King Gyges, the Lydians extended their influence across the region. An important source of wealth was the gold-bearing sediment carried by the Pactolus River, today's Sart Çayı. Precious metals from the surrounding mountains helped Sardis become a center of metallurgy and trade.

Sardis occupies a special place in the history of money. The earliest stamped coins made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, appeared in western Anatolia toward the end of the seventh century BCE and are closely associated with Lydia. Lydian refiners subsequently developed methods of separating gold from silver, allowing coins of more consistent purity and weight to be issued. Under King Croesus in particular, this innovation marked an important development in commerce and exchange.

Croesus, known in Turkish as Karun, became proverbial for his wealth. Yet Lydia's independence ended around 547/546 BCE when Cyrus II of Persia captured Sardis. The city remained a major administrative center under Persian rule and became famous as the western terminus of the Royal Road linking Anatolia with the Persian heartland.

Alexander the Great's arrival in 334 BCE ushered in the Hellenistic era. After his death, Sardis passed between successor kingdoms and underwent important architectural changes, particularly under the Seleucids. The monumental Temple of Artemis, one of the city's most striking surviving landmarks, began to take shape on a grand scale during this period.

The Temple of Artemis stands beyond the ancient urban center, at the foot of the surrounding hills. Dedicated to the goddess Artemis, it was designed in the Ionic order during the Hellenistic period and modified in Roman times. Construction and use extended over centuries, and the temple was never completed exactly as originally planned. Two tall Ionic columns still stand amid massive foundations, fallen capitals, fluted column drums, and other carefully carved architectural fragments.

During my visits to Sardis in 1984 and 1999, I photographed the temple from several viewpoints using black-and-white and color film. I wanted to record not only the two standing columns but also the scattered architectural pieces and their setting against the hills of western Anatolia. The contrast between the slender columns and the open landscape conveys something of the scale of the vanished building. Even the fallen capitals and weathered blocks preserve the craftsmanship of its builders.

Sardis came under Roman rule after the kingdom of Pergamon was bequeathed to Rome in 133 BCE. It remained a major commercial and cultural center. A devastating earthquake struck in 17 CE, after which the city was rebuilt with assistance from Emperor Tiberius. Among its most imposing Roman remains is the great Bath-Gymnasium complex, which developed particularly during the second century CE and served the social, bathing, and educational life of the city.

The complex's monumental marble façade, with its tiers of columns, arches, and elaborate decoration, is among the most recognizable sights at Sardis. Much of the façade visible today was re-erected during archaeological restoration using surviving ancient architectural elements. It therefore records both Roman architectural ambition and the work of modern conservation. My photographs show the façade at different distances, including its capitals, carved ornament, and Greek inscriptions.

Another extraordinary monument is the great synagogue adjoining the Bath-Gymnasium complex. Historical sources attest to a substantial Jewish community in Sardis, with roots reaching back to the Hellenistic era. In Late Antiquity, part of a large Roman public building was adapted for synagogue use; alterations during the fourth century CE were especially important in establishing the form of the surviving complex.

The synagogue's size and rich decoration offer valuable evidence of the community's place in the city's social and economic life. Marble revetments, columns, Greek donor inscriptions, and intricate mosaic floors survive. Interlocking circles and other geometric patterns, composed of contrasting colored stones, reveal a sophisticated decorative tradition. I photographed these surfaces and the synagogue's architectural spaces during my analog-film visits, drawn particularly to the rhythms of the mosaic patterns and the workmanship of the marble.

Sardis continued to be important under the Eastern Roman Empire. It also holds a place in early Christian history as one of the seven churches addressed in the Book of Revelation. Over time, warfare, earthquakes, and changing trade routes diminished its prominence, but the site retained traces of successive communities and architectural traditions.

Modern archaeological investigations began in the early twentieth century. Major excavations took place between 1910 and 1914, and research resumed in 1958 under an expedition associated with Harvard and Cornell universities. Work at the Temple of Artemis, the Bath-Gymnasium, the synagogue, residential areas, and workshops has transformed our understanding of Sardis from a legendary Lydian capital into a richly layered ancient city.

I photographed Sardis on two separate occasions, in 1984 and 1999, fifteen years apart. Working with analog film, I concentrated on two very different architectural settings: the Temple of Artemis and the Roman Bath-Gymnasium and synagogue complex. The temple's standing columns and scattered stonework evoke the city's Hellenistic and Roman religious architecture, while the grand façade and richly patterned synagogue reveal later chapters in its urban and cultural history.

What struck me most was the coexistence of so many histories within one landscape: the wealth of the Lydian kings and the evolution of coinage, the great sanctuary of Artemis, the monumental public buildings of Roman Sardis, and the worship space of a prominent Jewish community. These photographs are not only records of ancient monuments. Taken in 1984 and 1999, they also preserve the appearance of the archaeological site at two particular moments, before subsequent excavation, conservation, and landscape changes.