Sardis Ancient City, located in Sart town of Salihli district of Manisa, served as the capital of the Lydian State in ancient times. It is known as the place where money was first printed under the guarantee of the state in history. This is the starting point of the famous King's Road, the homeland of Karun, whose name is synonymous with wealth. Bin Tepeler, located on the southern edge of Lake Marmara and a Lydian tumulus cemetery, is considered the largest tumulus site in the world. The Ancient City of Sardis and the Thousand Hills Lydian Tumulus are on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

Sardes, which was one of the most important cities of Anatolia in terms of transportation, administration and trade from the 7th century BC to the 7th century AD, is surrounded by the fertile Gediz Plain (Hermus in ancient times), high plateaus and forests in the mountains, drinking water from the surrounding streams and handicrafts. It was a privileged city with its impenetrable castle (Acropolis). Thanks to the natural gold alluvium they obtained from the Sart Stream (Paktolos in ancient times), the Lydians gained great wealth and became the richest and most powerful people of Anatolia. For this reason, the city has been called Golden Sardis for centuries. The royal tumuli (Thousand Hills), located 7 km north of Sardis, show us the wealth and power of the Lydians today.

Trade routes were very important in ancient times. Just like the famous Silk Road and Spice Road, the King's Road was one of the trade routes that had an important place in the development of trade in ancient times. The King's Road starts from Sardes Ancient City and Ephesus Ancient City in the west and extends to Persepolis, the capital of the Persians.

The King's Road was first built by King Giges of Lydia. It was repaired and rearranged in the 5th century BC during the reign of Persian Emperor Darius I. Although today it is mostly known as the Persian King's Road, it can actually be considered a joint work of the Lydian and Persian civilizations.

After the Lydian State collapsed in 546 BC, the city of Sardis came under the rule of the Persians. Later, the city, which came under the rule of the Macedonian King Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire, became an important episcopacy center.

Most of the artifacts unearthed from the excavations in the ancient city of Sardis are now exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of New York.

How to get to the Sardis Ancient City?

The ruins of the ancient city of Sardes are located in the Sart town of Salihli district of Manisa, on the slopes of Bozdağ (Thomos, as it was called in ancient times). The ancient city is scattered on both sides of the Izmir-Ankara highway.

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