Lydia
Lydia, a kingdom of ancient Asia Minor. Lydia, in what is now western Turkey, was bordered on the north by Mysia, on the east by Phrygia, on the south by Caria, and on the west by Ionia. Lydia was on the trade routes between Greece and the Middle East, and Lydian coins were the earliest used in Greece. Considerable progress was made here in the arts of wool dyeing and iron smelting. Lydian merchants were renowned for their wealth.
Little is known of Lydian history until 687 B.C., when Gyges became king and established a dynasty. Under Croesus' rule (560-546), most of Asia Minor, including the coastal lands, was conquered. In 546 B.C., however, Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Lydia, burned Sardis, its capital, and ended the independent existence of the kingdom.